How I came to be a Cake Snob

For anyone that knows me, you know that I love all things pertaining to cake. And while you may be thinking, "who doesn't love cake??", there's much, much more to it for me than just downing the sugary morsels.

While I do enjoy eating cake, it's actually the creation of the sweet treats that I truly love. If you ask my friends, old roommates or family members, they will attest to the fact that I frequently, if not always, make my own birthday cakes. And it's not because I wouldn't appreciate people making them or getting one from the store. I just enjoy doing it... that, & I prefer the taste of a homemade cake over an Albertson's bakery special any day of the week.

Because of this, Dave now refers to me as a cake snob. (Hello?! Who likes dry, coarse, store-bought cakes that are covered in greasy, plastic-tasting frosting. Really.) Just ask him about trying to find our wedding cake.

You may wonder why and how I came to this level of cake (snobbery) love. Well, I will tell you.

After graduating from BYU, I got a job at a Baskin-Robbins in Lake Robbins. This may not sound like the dream job for a recent college graduate, but I needed something to pay the bills so I swallowed my pride and went back to a job I had in high school and during summer breaks. However, my old boss decided to hire me on exclusively as their cake decorator. I had done decorating in the past, but I had also performed all of the other mundane duties like scooping ice cream, scraping down bins, taking inventory in the walk-in freezer, mixing toppings and mopping up the shop. My sister, Kali, can attest to the fact that while it may sound fun, it was hard work!

So, when he extended the offer, I jumped at the chance to decorate. During the next few months, I would come home smelling like waffle cones and buttercream, my arms covered in a rainbow of bright colors and ice cream in my hair(???). And, you know what? To this day, it has been my favorite job of all time.

I worked in a small corner of the shop, next to the front door. Uniformed in a pink shirt, khaki shorts and blue apron, I would wield pastry bags, sprinkles and fudge with pure joy. The act of creating something was key. As I created whatever design came to my mind, customers would peer through the glass case and say the cake I had just finished was exactly what they wanted. My favorite part was when little kids asked if they could watch me. To them, it was a magical thing as roses, sweeping borders, wild polka dots and confetti appeared to flow directly from the decorating tips onto the frozen cakes.

From that time on, all family functions, parties or other social gatherings were the perfect excuse/ opportunity for me to continue creating. Even though I no longer get paid for it, I still love the process of doing it.

A few weeks ago, we had a YW fundraiser/dessert auction where I made some of my sweet treats. Below are pictures of my ward-famous filled cupcakes. Both cupcakes are made with chocolate fudge cake, bursting with chocolate mousse filling and topped off with milk chocolate frosting. I hope you enjoy the tantalizing images - just be careful not to drool onto your keyboard!

Dove Dark-Chocolate Cupcake

Chocolate-covered Strawberry Cupcake