We’re seeing yellow! You might have noticed that things are looking a little different around here. Last weekend we revealed a cheerful new logo that speaks to the many ways we’ll be inspiring you to #bakeyourworldhappy this year. In celebration of our bright new look, we’re showcasing some of our favorite bakers and bloggers who inspire us every day. Read on for uplifting advice and dessert inspo from some serious pros — and how to enter our #BakeYourWorldHappy giveaway!
Erin Gardner | ERIN BAKES
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I’ve been baking for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been doing it professionally for about 16 years now.
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
I started my sweets career as a restaurant pastry chef. A sugar flower class in NYC ended up steering me towards cake and the rest is history!
What’s your favorite project to create?
I love working with chocolate and Candy Melts. My absolute favorite thing to make at the moment are chocolate flowers!
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
I like to look to the elements that usually appear with a cake for inspiration – tableware, linens, floral designs, gift wrap, etc.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
Give yourself more time than you’ll think you’ll need when you’re just starting out. It’s better to have time to kick back and relax at the end, rather than rush around trying to get your cake done in time.
JENNY KELLER | JENNY COOKIES
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I’ve been baking since 2006! As a brand new mom, I began baking from home as a creative outlet. Buttercream decorated sugar cookies quickly became a passion and I was baking for every season and any reason. Friends and family were constantly asking for them, calling them “Jenny Cookies”. Cookies turned into cakes and cakes into mini desserts and soon I was cobbling all of these treats together into dessert tables for parties, events and holidays. The rest is history!
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
Surprisingly, I never aspired to be a baker or own a bakery! As a cliché Seattle native, I owned a successful espresso business for several years after college. After my first daughter was born, I sold my business to stay home with her. I think the entrepreneur in my personality needed a creative outlet and cookies were just the thing!
What’s your favorite project to create?
My favorite projects are those that stretch and challenge me. I strive to be and do better than my last project, so I’m always brainstorming new ideas and creative ways to do what I love to do, but with a fresh look. My signature buttercream sugar cookies will always be nearest and dearest to me so I love to challenge myself to come up with new ways to decorate and present them.
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
I’m very inspired by great color palettes, interior design and rich textures. Seasons are also very inspiring, from the colors each time of year brings along with different flavors I incorporate into baked treats.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
My best advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators is to be authentic. Find your own personal style and run with it! Learn as much as you can and practice often. And always, bring dessert.
Learn how to make Jenny’s letter cookie cake here!
MANDY MERRIMAN | BAKING WITH BLONDIE
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I’ve been blogging for 8 years, but focusing mostly on cakes/cupcakes as of last March. I’m currently working on my manuscript and cake photography for a cookbook in 2019!
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
I was inspired to be a baker/decorator by how completely versatile cake decorating can be. A cake is a blank canvas for anything you want to create, anything you want to celebrate, and anything you’d like to say. Baking and decorating cakes is an art, and a tasty piece of art, at that!
What’s your favorite project to create?
My favorite projects to create are cakes and cupcakes! Not only baking and decorating them, but photographing them is a huge part of the fun for me.
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
I find inspiration in everything. I love making classics, because I feel like everyone should have a great classic recipe for traditional flavors, but also stepping outside of the box and trying new less-traditional flavors. I love creating a cake after a dessert I’ve tried, a color scheme I love, or even after a candy bar, cookie, or other non-cake treat I’ve devoured. I also love the baking community, and putting my own spin on a new cake technique I’ve seen.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
My advice to upcoming bakers is to build up your cake confidence in your own kitchen one cake at a time! Your first cake might not be perfect, but I’ll be it still tastes amazing. Keep going, keep trying! Have fun! Keep a notebook in your baking cupboard and write down your recipes as you go. Keep track of what worked and what didn’t. Draw out your cakes before you make them. And it will turn into your own cake bible to keep close while making even more beautiful cake creations in your own kitchen.
BETH KLOSTERBOER | HUNGRY HAPPENINGS
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I took my first candy making class when I was 13 years old and have been decorating fun treats ever since.
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
I loved sweets as a kid and found that I could bake a batch of cookies or make a cake for the cost of a cheap package of store bought treats. So I began to bake for my family so that I could enjoy better tasting desserts. My mom is an artist and she always encouraged us be creative so when she saw how much I loved working with desserts she took me to my first Wilton class. I was instantly hooked. By 16 I had taken several classes and had learned to decorate cookies, cakes, and cupcakes and was making and selling fun treats to family and friends.
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
I find inspiration everywhere. Most people look at things for what they are but I see practically everything in terms of food. I look at clip art, greeting cards, fabrics, crafts, toys, magnets, and Christmas ornaments and see them in my mind as food crafts.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
Learn the basic skills either by taking hands-on classes or by working with a mentor then just have fun experimenting.
Learn how to make Beth’s Bumble Bee Cookies here!
ELLEN BRIGHT
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I’ve always loved baking from a young age but I only gave decorating ago three years ago!
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
My mom’s delicious cake recipe that I had to share with others, which is the cornerstone of my business today. My Grandma. She always decorated cakes for her 15 grandchildren. Each year before my birthday I would look forward to searching through the Wilton Yearbook and choosing my favourite cake! I decided to give decorating a try to fancy up a cake that I was bringing to a dinner party. People seemed impressed and encouraged me to keep at it!
What’s your favorite project to create?
Definitely cupcakes! I love choosing a fun colour palette and being creative with different piping tips and designs.
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
Most of my decorating is quite flower-oriented. I try to just do something pretty, pastel, whimsical, fun. Definitely inspired by anything pastel, candy coloured, or simply the colours my clients request which I try to turn into something beautiful.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
Follow your heart! Do what excites you. Be creative and try new things, you’ll only keep getting better. Sometimes an accident can turn into a beautiful thing!
AMBER SPIEGEL | SWEET AMBS
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I’ve been baking and decorating for as long as I can remember, but I narrowed my focus to cookie decorating in 2009.
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
I have such a sweet tooth and I’ve always loved to bake! I spent a lot of time painting and drawing growing up because nearly everyone in my family is an artist, so cookie decorating is a way for me to combine all of my favorite things.
What’s your favorite project to create?
My favorite projects are the ones where I can really use my creativity. When a client gives me free reign on a set of cookies, that’s my happy place!
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
A lot of my inspiration comes from antique and vintage items, like fabrics, teacups, dishes, and jewelry. I also enjoy creating cookies that are based on trends. I’m really into unicorns and galaxy inspired designs at the moment!
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
If you’re just starting out as a baker or decorator, it can be so frustrating when things don’t go the way you’d planned. But, as long as you’re enjoying what you’re doing and have a passion for it, keep on going!
LYNDSAY SUNG |COCO CAKE LAND
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
I was a total novice when I started baking eleven years ago after getting a Kitchen Aid stand mixer as a wedding present. I started off my baking career by making truly awful muffins and ugly cakes… but I read as much as I could on decorating and baking and started to hone my skills! Pretty soon I was churning out buttercream swirl cupcakes and playing with fondant. My style and designs have crystalized over the years and now I’m mostly known for kawaii buttercream animal cakes! Now, eleven years later, I have a book coming out in August (also called Coco Cake Land!) so kind of a fun journey from garbage rock hard water muffins to full fledged cake book.
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
Apparently I told my husband when we first started dating that I wanted to be a cake decorator. At the time I was in art school and playing music in bands! I think I’ve always loved the look of buttercream roses and piping and fancy ruffly borders. I was drawn to the nostalgic aesthetic of vintage cake books, and my early cakes really reflected that obsession. Receiving the stand mixer though really kicked off my flour-covered baking days.
What’s your favorite project to create?
I love doing animal face cakes or super cute looking cakes based on my illustrations. I grew up drawing every day, and my sisters and I loved Hello Kitty and all the Sanrio characters – I am certain this imprinted on me at an early age. So now most of my cakes have that similar feel.
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
I love Japanese animal characters, and I’m often inspired by things like my 5 year old’s stuffies! Anything with a cute face is fair game for turning into a cake! I love seeing what my fellow bakers are up to, there is such a talented and supportive community of bakers out there – but I always try to find my own style. I think enjoying drawing and illustrating helps me too as I can sketch out ideas and colour them in using my son’s fruity-scented felts, hehe. I share my drawings often in my Instagram Stories.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
Keep working at it! Know that all of your favourite bakers have made crappy looking cakes before and everyone has had cake fails. But like anything, practice makes “perfect.” Enjoy your time in the kitchen, turn some music on, have fun! Try to find your own personal style that you enjoy. In this digital day and age, it is also good form to cite your inspiration, if you happen to make an exact replica of another designer’s work! I’m also a firm believer in being an active and supportive member of the baking community! I’ve met so many great cake designers, bakers and enthusiasts online and on Instagram and through my blog cococakeland.com and being open and friendly will benefit both you and your fellow bakers.
DULCIA CARO | DULCIA BAKERY
How long have you been baking and decorating sweet treats?
After graduating from college in 2008, I discovered a love of baking and cake decorating. I started as a joby spending hours researching recipes and reading books on baking and decorating techniques.
What inspired you to be a baker/decorator?
I began baking at home for family and friends, bringing cakes and other baked goods to parties. As I gained experience, I experimented with new recipes and eventually I began taking orders. In 2010, I decided to pursue my dream of being a full time Cake Artist and Baker. I continued my education by taking courses at various schools; including the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park and the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in New York City, among others.
During the ensuing years, I realized that my passion for baking and decorating was a gift I wanted to share, so I became a Certified Wilton Instructor and started teaching.
What’s your favorite project to create?
Honestly, I’m very passionate about decorating cakes, cookies and cupcakes.
Where do you find inspiration when trying to create new projects and/or designs?
I love taking pictures of flowers, sightseeings, I also collect fashion magazines, pieces of fabric, decorative wrapping paper, ribbons etc. Those things are a big part of inspiration in my art. There are infinite possibilities to one’s creativity.
What’s your advice to upcoming bakers and cake decorators?
If you are really passionate about the baking/decorating world, follow your dreams, be ready and don’t give up!
We want YOU to bake your world happy, too!
Show us how you #bakeyourworldhappy by posting a photo of a project you’ve made using the hashtags #BakeYourWorldHappy and #Sweepstakes as well as a brief caption about your creation for a chance to win a bundle of Wilton products! Click here for official rules!
