Cake Interview With My Custom Cake Bakery
Welcome to the Baker & Cake Decorator Interviews Series!
Hi, sweet friends! I am delighted to feature Saniya Khalid with My Custom Cake Bakery in Cypress, Texas, for April’s cake interview. Saniya has some gorgeous cake designs to share! She shares her story of how she got started with her cake business after obtaining her education in pharmacy, as well as her favorite creations, in the baker interview below. Follow her cakes on her Instagram. Click here to find a ton of inspiration and personal stories from talented cake decorators all over the world.
Cake Interview with My Custom Cake Bakery
This interview has been edited for clarity and length, preserving original responses.
Check out what Saniya had to say in our interview:
Can you share a bit about yourself?
I am Saniya Khalid, wife to a loving husband and mother to 2 adorable kids. I am a pharmacist by education, but a baker and cake decorator by profession. Born and brought up in India, got married and moved to USA.
I had no intent of getting into baking whatsoever; in fact, I wanted to pursue a master’s in pharmacy. But God had better plans for me and here I am, enjoying what I do & spreading happiness with my cakes/treats.
How did you get started with cake decorating?
It all started with COVID, when we were all in the lockdown phase, and the boredom led me to develop a new hobby, which I worked on until I became passionate about it. I used to watch innumerable youtube videos and save inspirations from Pinterest, and little did I know i would get hooked to it, and it was a great distraction for me at that time and the joy I experienced each time after completing a cake was unmatched. All the efforts felt worth it in the end.
And this is how gradually my hobby turned into a business. Since last year, I’ve been a full-time cake decorator and baker.
What is your favorite & least favorite process of baking/cake decorating?
My favourite part is piping buttercream designs on the cake using piping bags and nozzles, and my least favourite part is working with fondant; hence, I don’t do all fondant cakes. I do, however, make fondant accessories. In my opinion, fondant doesn’t taste good, it’s bland sweet and most of the people just remove the fondant layer from cakes before eating. So I feel it’s just a waste of time, effort, and resources. I specialise in buttercream cakes, so whenever i get a fondant cake order, I let my clients know that I adapt fondant designs to buttercream and get as close as possible to the clients request, which so far my clients have always loved.
Invest in developing your skills. Work hard on it and refine your work accordingly. Skills are something that nobody can take from you, and if you refine your skills, eventually, clients who appreciate quality work will find you.
Saniya Khalid
Do you have a memorable order that challenged you?
Honestly, we bakers have a quite bit of challenging cakes than we expect. This recent Eid, 2025, I had multiple orders due one day before for pickup. I hadn’t realized the number of cakes, cupcakes & treats I would have to make for that one day. It was the most exhausting, challenging, and focused week I’ve had recently. Of course, it’s a blessing to have an influx of orders on hand, and with God’s help, through proper planning, organizational skills, hard work, and focus, I was able to execute and deliver each single order due that day.
This challenge also gave me a glimpse of God’s mercy on my potential to do things. #blessed #grateful
What are your must-have decorating tools?
Must-haves for me are a stainless steel turntable for cake, my KitchenAid stand mixer (I can’t stress enough about this one), a steel offset spatula, cake scrapers (I have mine from Ester Cakes, which I’ve had for 5 years and they still work perfectly fine to date).
What is your favorite buttercream to work with?
I loooveeee working with Italian meringue buttercream. It’s wayyy less sweet, creamier, and melt-in-your-mouth kind of a buttercream. It’s also pretty stable in my opinion.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
The cake industry is full of talented cake artists/bakers/decorators. Each day, Instagram shows me a new artist to get inspired by. And of course, Pinterest has always been a go-to for me.
What are your favorite trends?
I love marbled cakes; it’s amazing how each cake artist comes up with a different technique for marbling them. The vintage heart cakes and the candle cake are my recent obsession. I have also been wanting to make an Amalfi and Mermaid theme cake. And I have been eyeing the full dessert table spread for “Winnie the Pooh”😍, waiting for some angel to order it with me 🙂
For 2025, what do you hope to accomplish for your business?
For 2025, I’m aiming to grow as a business by making more long-term clients by providing them quality products, and I feel I am ready to take my business to the next level. Now, I am working on more such plans 😉
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a baking business?
Invest in developing your skills. Work hard on it and refine your work accordingly. Skills are something that nobody can take from you, and if you refine your skills, eventually, clients who appreciate quality work will find you.
What is your favorite food?
I enjoy eating Nashville hot chicken burgers/nashville hot chicken loaded fries. Good Chinese is always a yes for me. And, of course, Biryani (an authentic Hyderabadi aromatic rice dish with lamb cooked tender in a yogurt sauce).
What is your favorite dessert?
I love making cupcakes (although they have a bad raport in the dessert section), but i believe, a good recipe with flavorful italian buttercream will hit the spot). I love Indian desserts, such as gulab jamun (fried milk dough balls soaked in sugar syrup) and carrot halwa. Apart from desi desserts, I love brownies, tiramisu, and anything chocolate.
My Favorite Creations
Viral Candle Cake
Such a gorgeous candle cake, which the theme has been trending on TikTok!
Valentine Stenciled Cookies
I love the stencil effect for these fondant-covered Valentine’s cookies! For some Valentine’s inspiration, click here.
Teacher Appreciation Cookies
These teachers’ appreciation cookies are so adorable! Perfect for the hard-working teachers out there!
Vintage Tea Cookies
What a lovely set of vintage tea inspired cookies!
Strawberry Delights
This cake looks absolutely divine and is perfect for your dessert menu!
Soccer Cake
Such a fantastic birthday cake idea for soccer-loving fans!
Moana Cake
This is a beautiful Moana cake with a beach design for a birthday girl! For some tropical cake inspiration, click here.
Moana Treats
Beautiful set of treats to go with the Moana cake!
Beauty and the Beast Cakesicles
A lovely set of framed cakesicles!
Eid Cake
A gorgeous cake with a buttercream crescent moon for Eid! Here’s some Eid cake inspiration.
Disco Cowboy Cake
So fun!! Perfect for a cowboy and disco loving gal!
Dholki Cake
This is a stunning cake for a Mehndi!
Coquette Wedding Cake
An elegant and classic wedding cake for anyone who wants a refined and modern wedding cake!
More about My Custom Cake Bakery
Saniya Khalid specializes in custom buttercream cakes and unique treats located in Cypress, TX.