Wendy's Cake Art: When Fondant Meets Footwear

When it comes to amazing cooking skills, the cook is often complimented with the statement, "she put her foot in it".

Consider Wendy of Wendy's Cake Art as stomping, because her cake designs are some of the most realistic and sought after in the shoe cake business. Below is my interview with the talented cake designer:


TWHS: What was the first cake you ever made?

Wendy: It was a two-tier cake for my friend's birthday.

TWHS: What was the turning point that turned your passion to a career?

Wendy: I made my first carved cake for my Uncle's 50th birthday party, and everybody in the family was there. My sister Vanessa convinced me to think about it as a business and got me my first client.

TWHS: In the two years you have been creating edible art, what order was the most memorable?

Wendy: I made two cakes for Don Omar, he is a very famous Spanish rapper. The cakes were presented to him at his concert in Madison Square Garden for his birthday; it was an incredible challenge because they gave me only three day to finish them!

TWHS: With your desired reservation time ranging from 3 weeks (for birthdays & events) to 6 months (for weddings), what is the standard time it takes you to create a cake, from conception to finished product?

Wendy: Everything depends on the design and what type of decorations it is going to have. For some cakes I have to start the sugar decorations 5 days in advance for them to dry, if the cake has no sugar work it would take two days, one day to bake it and the next day to decorate it.

TWHS: What is the top requested style for stiletto cakes and/or cupcakes?

Wendy: Any Christian Louboutin shoe is always a request, but I don't like to make closed shoes because they don't come out as nice as sandals do.

TWHS: Seeing that it is unrealistic to ship your finished cakes, only the lucky residents of NJ can experience your masterpieces. But how far of a distance do you provide delivery?

Wendy: We deliver to NJ, Most places in NY and some areas in PA.

TWHS: Since most women classify their shoes as art, are there customers who have never cut into their cakes?

Wendy: I had a couple of customers calling me to ask if they could freeze the cake because they didn't want to cut it. Another customer called me almost crying because she tried to take the shoe off the cake and she broke it, she wanted to know if she could use crazy glue to put it back together...

TWHS: What advice do you give women who are looking for a memorable centerpiece for their fêtes?

Wendy: Everything depends on what they like and what are their interests, but I as a cake designer sometimes I have to advise them on making changes on their designs to make sure everything ties in perfectly and nothing looks out of place.

I almost never give them the same advice; I really don't like making the same cake twice, but that's impossible because when they see the pictures they want something I have already made before. I have made the Christian Louboutin shoe box and shoe several times already.