I love cake, but my personal cake making abilities go about as far as “add 2 eggs.” That’s why making the elaborate cakes I see on TV or at the grocery store isn’t in the cards for me.
More importantly, that’s why when I saw what Debbie Goard did with her “cakes” I was more than jealous. I was shocked…and hungry!
Once an exotic cake maker, 46-year-old Debbie now specializes in creating the most realistic (re: creepy) cakes ever made. (Yes, THAT IT IS AN EDIBLE CAKE!)
“There have been stories about my cakes being on full display for hours before anyone realized it was edible. That’s pretty gratifying,” she said.
Despite her amazing and obvious talent, there was a time she found making cakes to be incredibly tedious.
“I never really viewed it as a career choice,” she said. “It was simply a job, a very hard job.” While working at a bakery and “plotting [her] escape from cake,” a co-worker suggested she “find a way to come to terms” with her talents.
But now, she loves her work. And so does everyone else, judging by her sales!
“Since I rarely make the same cake twice, every day can feel like reinventing the wheel,” she explained. “If I had to make the same cake over and over again I think I’d go crazy with boredom.”
“Left to my own devices I’d have a much less diverse portfolio so I am grateful to be forced to step outside my comfort zones. I’ve heard ‘That’s a cake?’ thousands of times.”
She also explained that even the easier cakes take 8 hours to make, with the complex ones taking weeks of prep.
But after years of being a baker, Goard said she only has one rule for herself: “Always try to be better than last time.”
If you would like to see more of her work, check out her delicious Instagram account, or even better, order one for yourself at her website! We know we sure will.
