March Cake Decorator Spotlight

Butter Me Up Cakes

For March, I’m introducing you to Andrea (@butter_me_up_cakes) from Lloydminster, Canada. (I googled to see where exactly in Canada and it’s so far away from Houston, Texas!) She’s a full-time mom to two adorable girls and a self-taught cake decorator who recently started learning last year.

(Side note: Her answers are in Canadian English.)

Hi Andrea! Tell us about yourself.

Hi guys! My name is Andrea and I’m a Canadian girl from the prairies. I am a registered dental hygienist and have been practicing for almost 6 years now. I also am a Christian and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart and best friend for going on 13 years (now don’t you be doing the math to try and figure out how old I am. 😉 Together, we have two super smart and adorable little girls. We are also in the process of adding to our family through adoption. I’d describe myself as someone who is outgoing, funny/goofy, easy going, and I love to laugh! I also love being with family and friends.

How did you start making cakes?

Cake decorating is something I stumbled on while I was on maternity leave with our youngest daughter Gemma. My husband farms as well as works a full-time job, so during seeding and harvest time at our farm, he is away for weeks at a time and I really wanted a hobby that I could do from home. I made my daughters birthday cake at the end of April 2018 and I was hooked! I had sooo many more ideas I wanted to try. It was a skill that came very naturally to me but don’t get me wrong, I have had a few major fails!

Looking back 11 months ago to the cake that ‘started it all’, I feel so incredibly grateful that God gave me the gift of cake designing. In His goodness, He gave me the ‘hobby’ that I’d been searching for. He knew just how much joy cake designing would bring me (and others!) and he revealed it at a time when I really needed it. 

Do you have a favorite buttercream?

I primarily use Swiss meringue buttercream because I love how light and fluffy it is. I also like that it isn’t as sweet as traditional American buttercream. However, I’m not a die hard. Different styles and decorating techniques call for different icings! Each buttercream has its pros and cons and as I’ve become more knowledgeable and experienced, I’m able to discern which will be best suited for my project!

What is your favorite cake flavor?

Ooooh, this is so hard! Can I say it varies with my mood? Hahaha! I love chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream and chocolate ganache but I also love any cake with fresh fruit curds- lemon, passionfruit, lime, the list goes on!

How do you describe your cake style?

Hmmm, I would say modern but elegant with a playful, whimsical twist.

Do you have any favorite tools in your tool kit?

I love a good quality turntable (I use Ateco), luxe sprinkles, edible gold leaf, and my cake scraper!

How do you come up with ideas for your amazing cakes?

I am one of the rare/weird cake decorators that doesn’t plan what I am going to do on a cake before I start. I will be dirty icing my cake and an idea will pop into my mind- a lot of times I also tweak my idea as I go. Sometimes, however, I am instantly inspired by a sprinkle color combo, another cake designer, nature, or artwork I see online.

Do you have any advice for someone who is starting out in the cake business?

I would say perfect your cake/frosting recipes before you start selling them- the way a cake looks is obviously important but the way a cake tastes will keep your customers coming back to YOU. Also, don’t be afraid to charge appropriately for your cakes. It hurts my heart when I see local ladies charging 45 or 50$ for a 4 layer cake that I know took them hours to create. On the days that the passion isn’t there (because there will be those days!) feeling like your getting paid adequately for your time helps keep you going.

What is your favorite color?

I love working with blush pink as it is so universal. I also love black cakes even though hard to properly achieve, any other color you add to it just pops!!!

Cookies or cupcakes?

I love decorating sugar cookies so I’m going with cookies!

Cakes I’ve Done

My Enchanted Garden Birthday Cake

This cake was so much fun to make and very special! It was my birthday cake. It isn’t often that I get time to just ‘play’ and try new techniques without worrying they might fail. This cake originally started out as a coral stripes cake but I wasn’t loving it so I painted over it and start it again. I am really happy with how this ‘enchanted garden’ looking cake came out.

Inside is a new recipe I have in the works- carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

Blue & Pink Gender Reveal Cake

I absolutely loved creating this gender reveal cake! The client didn’t care about the design as long as it was blue and pink. 

Blue Geode Cake

I was so excited when I received an order for a geode cake and was able to finally hop on the geode trend (albeit a bit late!) These cakes are time-consuming but worth every minute when you see the end product! This was ordered by two sisters as a surprise for their mom because all moms are ‘gems’, am I right?

Cookies & Chocolate Treats Cake

When the customer ordered this cake, he requested a cake that had lots of little treats, specifically cookies and chocolate, that his wife could pick off and enjoy. He wanted to keep it classy and have it be a different shade of his wife’s favorite color, blue!
I love how this cake turned out and I think it is such a fun style but still really elegant.

Inside is a marble cake with chocolate ganache filling.

Flowers & Sprinkles Cake

I loved having creative freedom with this stunner! My client ordered a cake for his wife and requested that it have her favorite flowers, roses, and tulips incorporated and the rest was up to me. This soft mint color seemed like the perfect choice! If I had my way, flowers would drip sprinkles.

Inside is a marble cake with mochaccino filling!

Half & Half Birthday Cakes

This was a fun challenge. Half of the cake was for a girl turning 11 and the other half was for her sister who was turning 26. I knew I wanted to make one side classy and one side playful! I love how my ‘candy land’ chocolate shards turned out and with the addition of sprinkles, and lollipops, it definitely played up the youthfulness on the left. And then, I added elegance with a softer color palette, chocolate dipped strawberries and glittering rock candy on the right side of the cake. Inside of the cake was layers of marble cake with salted caramel filling

Kate Spade Inspired Cake

I had the absolute pleasure of making my husband’s grandma‘s 100th birthday cake! 100 years called for something classy and beautiful, so I created this Kate Spade inspired cake with thick black and white stripes, edible gold leaf, @fancysprinkles metallic sprinkles and added some of Grandma’s favorite flowers- hot pink roses, mini gerbera daisies, and white lisianthus.

This was one tall cake- 6 layers in total. Inside was three layers of lemon cake filled with passionfruit curd and raspberry purée and three layers of chocolate cake filled with Nutella buttercream and toasted hazelnuts.

Navy & Gold Birthday Cookie Cake

This Nutella filled cookie cake was ordered by two of the sweetest girls to surprise their friend!

Red and Black Masculine Birthday Cake

Who says men can’t have fancy birthday cakes too?! This wife wanted something special for her man and just let me run with it! She requested black and red and the rest is history. Everything is 100% edible!

Inside is layers of lemon cake filled with raspberry purée.

Turquoise & Pink Birthday Cake

My client surprised his wife with this pale pink, turquoise, and gold birthday cake. Such a pretty and unique color combo. Inside is a marble cake with vanilla buttercream.

Willy Wonka Inspired Cake

When this customer brought forward her idea of incorporating suckers onto the cake, I was so excited to create something over the top and so colorful! This cake definitely had the ‘wow’ factor because not only was each layer of cake a different color, but once you cut into it, gumballs, sprinkles, and skittles poured out.

Absolutely beautiful cakes! I enjoy seeing her cakes, so definitely give her a follow on her Instagram to keep up with her amazing creations!

Check out the past cake decorators below.

February’s Cake Decorator Spotlight

January’s Cake Decorator SpotlightD