Jeannette's Custom Cakes

It’s no joke that anyone who knows about decorating cake, knows that it takes A LOT of time. For every minute it takes to do the actual cake part of it, there are probably 2 or 3 times the amount of time spent on the smaller details. When one of my faithful clients came to me with this idea, I knew that this was going to be one of those cakes. Here is my initial sketch.

Yup. Most of it is just scribbles, but the end result ended up being about 95% bang on. That’s pretty good considering cakes never go exactly according to plan. You always need a back up idea. I really took my time with this one, it was a quieter weekend, so I really made sure everything was exactly the way I wanted it.

All stacked and ready to be carved.

Easiest cake carving ever. Step one of crumb coating.

This is exactly what I was talking about earlier. This is the actual cake part, all the rest is the details. This would have been so boring if it was just the cake! Next these little guys were added.

I can’t handle the cuteness. (is that even a word?)

Yup. Adorable. I know.

Cakes like this make my week. And really show how much I love my job. Happy 3rd Birthday Lachlan!! Thanks again Sara for a great idea. I can’t wait for the next one!

Have a great week everyone!

Sometimes I really don’t know how big a project is, or is going to be until I’m smack dab in the middle of it. This was one of those cases. When the ladies at Lucidia Studios told me that they had a crazy idea for a cake for their customer appreciation party, I was all ears. Simply because I knew it was going to be good. And good it was. For anyone who isn’t familiar with Lucidia, they are a custom design firm here in town, one of the best. They used to have a website built around a fridge, it won awards and caught the attention of many. They have since upgraded the website, and a question they keep getting asked is where did the fridge go? Here is the picture of the old site, a portion of it anyways.

Well. I found the fridge. First it was in my oven, then my fridge (weird!) Somehow it all came together into a cake that was 2 feet tall. That’s huge for this little bakery!

Yes, I’m a nerd. no doubt there. In my defense, this was my husbands idea. It was necessary to see the scale though. It was pretty big!

I lost count how many batches of icing I made for this. Easily 8-10. She was a lot of work, and took a lot of time. I’m now taking 2 days off just to recover. You know what though? The best part is I had a blast doing it. Not many people can say that about their job! Here’s the final product!

Go figure this was the only picture of it done that I got. I’ll be getting some better ones in the near future. Stay tuned!! New photos have been added to the gallery, and as usual, thank you everyone for the patience! It’s a one woman show over here. Have a great weekend!

Hey everyone, I’ve gotten a lot of emails over the past month asking questions on all of the topics I’ve listed below. Please use them as reference, If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to send us a message through the contact form. Have a great week!!!

HOW MUCH DO YOUR CAKES COST?
Every single cake we make is custom.  As a result of that, we do not have a general price list.  If you are interested in a cake, please contact us with any ideas you have, how many people it needs to feed and the day you require the cake. From there we would be happy to get you a quote.
In general, there is never a basic, or simple cake over here. We specialize in the different and whimsical cakes.
DO YOU MAKE INDIVIDUAL CAKES, CUPCAKES OR DECORATED COOKIES?
We do offer individual cakes, providing that they are accompanied with a larger order. We also sell cupcakes and decorated cookies. Check out our blog entries for specials on both.
HOW FAR IN ADVANCE SHOULD I ORDER A CAKE?
We tend to book up quickly; so the sooner you reserve your place on our calendar, the better.  Our busy season is from May – September, so if your order falls in that timeframe, please contact us sooner than later.
HOW DO I ORDER A CAKE?
The easiest way to order a cake from us is to contact us with any ideas you have, how many people it needs to feed and the day you require the cake. From there we would be happy to get you a quote. For cupcakes or cookies, the same applies. A minimum order of a dozen is required to fill your cupcake or cookie order.
DO YOU OFFER TASTINGS?
We apologize but we are not set up to do tastings.
DO YOU HAVE A RETAIL STORE?
No. Jeannette has a full bakery in her home.
DO YOU TEACH CLASSES?
At this time, no lessons or classes of any kind are being offered.
WHEN SHOULD I PICK UP MY CAKE?
In order to have a time that is suitable for both you and Jeannette, a few days before your cake is due to be picked up, please contact the bakery to arrange a time.  We can’t stress this enough, please be on time. If you are running late, please call us. If we don’t answer, please leave a message.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOURS OF OPERATION?
Being a home-based business, we don’t have specific 9-5 hours. Jeannette operates the business on her own, so please be patient when contacting her. Sometimes it takes a while depending on how busy she is. Also we have voicemail, please take advantage of that.

Alright, so anyone that knows me, knows that my friends mean a lot to me. Whether they like to hear it or not. I’ve known Curt since high school, he was one of those guys that I kept in contact with after high school, he shot my wedding, and his wife Jes is a great friend of mine. So needless to say, I see him pretty often. I’m not kidding when I say this, everytime I brought a cake or even a bag of chips to a party, it was followed by, “it’s no Lambeau Field”. There was only one way I was going to get him to stop harassing me about it. Make it.

Now as much as I did this for Curt, I’ll admit, It was just as much for me. This is how I learn, jump in head first, learn as I go, make mistakes, and hope for the best. It’s not like you can google “how to make a lambeau field cake”. Did it turn out good, yes. I was happy with the end result. Here it is!

This was the biggest cake I have done to date, and it took the longest. I’m proud of myself, and it taught me not to think “whoa, I can’t do that”. Instead, now it’s “sure, I’d love to!” Is it perfect? Nope, not even close. Will I do better next time? You bet your behind I will. Head on over to Curt’s site for more pictures. He took some great ones!!

Well 2010 was a great year, no doubt about that! The business is now officially 1 year old! Happy Birthday to us!

Thank you everyone for making this business the success that it is, and for our future growth. We have a new shop, new ideas and some great new things coming! Not only that but we will be celebrating curtmas very soon!! So stay tuned for that, it promises to be a touchdown!

This year got started with a birthday cake for my grandmother, she turned 82 yesterday. My family buys her everything Betty Boop, it’s adorable. Not only that but she loves taking baths, so the cake of course had to have those elements. I loved it!, and for the first time in a long time, I actually cringed when my uncle cut into it.

Happy Birthday Grandma Betty! I love you so much!!!

New cakes were also added to the gallery, enjoy!!!!

Yes yes, it’s true, and I couldn’t be happier! My little cake business has grown out of my kitchen! FINALLY! No more tripping over fondant buckets, washing dishes and spraying water all over or sitting at the same little table working all day. We’ve moved! Ok so it’s not a big move…or even really a “move” at all. All it took was a lot of hard work from some amazing people and a walk down 13 stairs. We’ve converted our finished basement into the new home of Jeannette’s Custom Cakes. I’ve been waiting for this day for almost 8 months now, I can’t believe it’s finally here. Before I get into all the awesome new things, I feel like showing you where I used to work. To say it was a little crammed is an understatement, I even took a picture when I was working so you could really get the feel of it.

Nope, you’re right, that’s not a lot of space to work. Especially since the cakes seem to be getting bigger! Don’t get me wrong it was perfect for something that started out as a hobby, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect what was about to come.

All of my new things started arriving in little pieces, so my house has been a disaster for 8 months. New shelves, cake tools, ovens (yup 2), a sink, stainless steel tables and a fridge. Take a look at some of the mess.

Everytime I walked past this (my office is the white door) I tried not to look at it, but now, I can’t help but stop, stare and be thankful for what has become such a huge part of my life.

Are you ready to see it? Here she is!

Everything is so shiny!!!!! (for now anyways)

Danielle (my sister) this is for you! I put pink in my business colours because it is her favourite colour, anyone that knows me knows that I’m not a huge fan, but it reminds me of her, so even though she lives in London, everytime I see the pink I know she’s experiencing this all with me!

SO much sink space!!

Seriously who knew I had so much stuff. It’s so nice to have everything organized and in it’s own space. Having a seperate working space is so much better than being in the same kitchen all day.

Thanks to everyone who helped, we all know that I didn’t do any of this. Anthony, Daddy, John, Uncle Brian, Gord and Arlene, you are all magicians. All I had to do was keep making cake

We’re not done yet, lots to come in this little space still, so stay tuned.

Half the phone calls I get these days are people wanting to order a cake for someone but they have no idea what they want the cake to look like. After a few minutes on the phone with them I can generally understand what they are looking for, even if they don’t know it themselves. Sometimes these cakes end up better than expected simply because I tend to challenge myself more than usual. This past week was a great example of that. I got a call mid-week from a certain MPP for the Sault (thanks David!) looking for a birthday cake for his wife. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but knew the colours she liked and how many people were coming. Perfect. I loved it. An open canvas to do something new. I decided that a HUGE gift box would be pretty cool. The cake took as much prep work as actual construction work, it was the biggest one I have made to date. It was huge.

I fell in love with the bow. As usual. Even complete with sparkles, curly q’s and sugar gems!

A gift box is a great idea when you want to get someone a cake as their gift, but not sure what to get them! Happy Birthday Jane, I hope you had a great 40th!

On another note, I made some more Christmas cookies yesterday, more festive ones. Get your orders in for them asap. Minimum order is a dozen, great for gift add-ons! Also don’t forget we do have gift certificates, they make great stocking stuffers.

Have a great week everyone! Enjoy the snow!

WOW! what a night! We had SO much fun. First off it just shows how sometimes the best ideas come from someone else’s perspective. Sandra MacKinnon suggested that I do this about 2 weeks before, I immediately said yes, then realized how much work was going to have to go into it. At first I wasn’t sure if it was going to be worth it, but boy was I wrong. I had no idea that this many people went to the parade, it was like an endless sea of people. What a great crowd.

Anthony was put in charge of decorating cupcake, she turned out beautiful, complete with a big pink bow on the front of her, white lights and some pink christmas balls.

Of course we couldn’t just drive in the parade, that would have been boring. So the night before 200 cookies were baked, decorated and wrapped. I would have loved to make enough for everyone but lets be honest, that’s not realistic. We tried to give them out to the little kids, it made them smile. My neice Kaleigh and step-sister Mandy came with us too. Kaleigh had a huge smile on her face all night, it made my day. Here she is with her mom and all the cookies!

Last but not least what would a float for a cake business be without a cake? So again, what could I do? I fight with myself constantly about things like this. How cool would it be to make a christmas tree cake! 7 tiers high! I woke up Saturday morning, stacked the cakes, looked at it, and just started. It turned out so great!

Anthony did a great job decorating the back with pink fabric (thanks Melissa and Miranda) the garland, and the lights, I was shocked when I saw the final result! It was more than I could have ever expected! Since it was Sandra’s idea to go in the parade, she and her sister Heather helped out too! They walked behind the car with Kaleigh and I all night handing out cookies, little do they know, they now have to walk with me in every other parade I’m so lucky to have friends and family help me out, I appreciate everything that you all do for me!

It’s no joke that I rely on my husband for a lot. He doesn’t even mind driving cupcake!

Nights like this make me proud to be part of such a great community. Happy Holidays everyone!

Hey everyone!

Just a quick little update from the wedding expo last week! Thanks to all the ladies (and a few gents) who stopped by the booth to see what we had going on. We answered lots of questions and had some free samples, it was a great night! On another note, the cookie giveaway that was there never got picked up, so yes, now I am having a raffle for anyone interested (and in the sault) To enter comment on this post from noon to 5pm tomorrow ( wednesday, november 17th) , your name will go into the raffle and I will select the winner tomorrow night. Here they are!

I need to thank my voluntoldeers (yup you read it) my husband Anthony, sister Danielle, step mom Mare  and one of my best friends, Katie. You guys were great. I appreciate it!

Being silly as always…

Last but not least, we will be in the Santa Claus Parade on Saturday November 20th! Keep an eye open for cupcake, she has her new clothes on and will have some fancy new accessories for the season.

Have a great week everyone!

When Mario Rocchetta announced that he was bringing some of his friends Thad Luckinbill, Michael Graziadei and Billy Miller from The Young and the Restless to the Sault for an intimate event my mind started working in overdrive. Not only was this rare to the Sault, it would be a great event to be at!

I’m still working on getting my name out there, and showing which new and exciting products we are offering. This was a great opportunity for me to showcase the work I can do, not to mention the world of cupcakes. Cupcakes are so fun because they can be done in so many different flavours, colours and designs. They are great for any party, or for a friday afternoon at the office. Here is a picture of some of them. Many thanks to Nikita Andrews for the photos, I still can’t believe I forgot my camera.

We did 400 of these bad boys. Flavours included chocolate with mint buttercream, red velvet with cream cheese buttercream, lemon with vanilla buttercream and vanilla with chocolate buttercream. They were a hit, and so was the cake. People were taking pictures all night. It made me proud.

Thanks Mario for letting me showcase my work, that I still consider something new and exciting for the Sault. Bigger and better things coming, I promise.

Here’s Mario with the boys including Greg Rikaart who showed up later, and Scott Cook who was the MC for the evening.