-Words by Jane Mundy Photography by Don Denton

Walking through the door of ., you乌鸦传媒檙e immediately bathed in the sweet scents of butterscotch and buttercream and vanilla. That gives you a happy feeling and that乌鸦传媒檚 one reason baker/owner Deb Cater is so good at her job.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 satisfying to make nice things for people and be a part of their celebrations,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淚 can decorate cakes with notations like 乌鸦传媒榃ill You Marry Me乌鸦传媒� and 乌鸦传媒楬appy First Birthday,乌鸦传媒� and this past Christmas we made 90 Yule logs乌鸦传媒攊t乌鸦传媒檚 also rewarding to be a part of family traditions.乌鸦传媒�

And baking is definitely a Cater family tradition, Deb says: 乌鸦传媒淚 learned from my mom, and cake is part of my culture乌鸦传媒攅veryone in England eats more cake. Now my husband and I run the bakery, and I am so thankful to my two daughters who have helped make our family affair a success.乌鸦传媒�

She adds, 乌鸦传媒淚 grasped the basic principles of baking as a kid and it乌鸦传媒檚 now ingrained in me. I understand the science of baking soda and baking powder but I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 explain it乌鸦传媒擨 really admire teachers.乌鸦传媒�

Inspired by her teachers at art school, Deb learned how to create novelty cakes for cash; she was able to 乌鸦传媒渕ake something that looks and tastes good.乌鸦传媒� Next up, she moved to Vancouver as a nanny and made cakes for people in upscale Shaughnessy, which led to an apprenticeship with a French pastry chef.

乌鸦传媒淗e was old school,乌鸦传媒� Deb recalls. 乌鸦传媒淗e cracked the whip and threw the rolling pin, but I was determined to learn and I stayed a few years.乌鸦传媒�

Deb thought about enrolling in culinary school, but 乌鸦传媒渄idn乌鸦传媒檛 want to go by the book.乌鸦传媒� Instead, she landed a job at a German bakery. She was soon in charge and could make what she wanted乌鸦传媒攁s long as it sold.

Deb followed her other passion乌鸦传媒攚indsurfing乌鸦传媒攖o Victoria in 1989. At that time there wasn乌鸦传媒檛 a local bakery offering cakes to restaurants so she started knocking on doors.

乌鸦传媒淚 sold cakes from my home kitchen and nobody died so it was okay,乌鸦传媒� Deb says, laughing. 乌鸦传媒淚 met so many people who were supportive and encouraging乌鸦传媒攍ike Gilbert. He had a little deli where I worked at night and he charged rent based on what I sold. He made it possible for me to carry on. And it also helped that he knew all the chefs in town who bought my cakes.乌鸦传媒�

Now years later, Deb still makes what she wants because everything sells at Cakes Etc. But she spends lot of time on research and development, trial and error. For instance, creating dairy-free Black Forest cake was a challenge: it took two dozen tries until they got it right. Now it乌鸦传媒檚 popular even with dairy lovers; it乌鸦传媒檚 moist and delicious without that (somewhat vaguely vegan) chemical taste. And how do you come up with something dairy-free that resembles whipping cream? Answer: make a custard from oat milk, whip margarine to incorporate air and combine. The Black Forest cake is proof that it works.

Fifty per cent of Deb乌鸦传媒檚 business is wholesale and it results from quite a production. Pallets are packed five feet high with sacks of flour and oats. Twenty-six dozen vegan cookies (they are way beyond the proverbial baker乌鸦传媒檚 dozen) are spinning inside a floor-to-ceiling convection oven and another large (and expensive) piece of equipment is the sheeter, which looks like a giant ironing board and rolls dough to make every cookie uniform and speeds up the process. Lucille Ball wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 get a job here.

At 11 am, a steady stream of customers arrives to pick up their cake orders, and who can resist a whoopie cookie or a pumpkin scone resting on tasteful wood and pewter platters? And everyone乌鸦传媒攊ncluding Starbucks乌鸦传媒攏eeds a package of Cakes Etc.乌鸦传媒檚 signature oat bars. The Fruit Symphony cake, towering between coconut mango and Sicilian lemon cakes in the display case, looks too gorgeous to eat.

I choose the latter乌鸦传媒攖he luscious lemon curd and cream between five layers of the vanilla sponge is amazingly light, almost ethereal. With one bite, visions of sugar plums dance in my head.

Dave and Marion Freeman have been regular customers since 1993, when Cakes Etc. first opened on Esquimalt Road (it乌鸦传媒檚 now located at 2821 Quesnel Street).

乌鸦传媒淓very Friday afternoon we get two slices of cheesecake乌鸦传媒攊t乌鸦传媒檚 nice that you don乌鸦传媒檛 have to buy a whole cake and that Deb comes up with new recipes,乌鸦传媒� says Dave. 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e tried everything, and our current fave is the chocolate torte. We also love coming here because all the staff are so pleasant乌鸦传媒擟akes Etc. is a class act.乌鸦传媒�

Deb offers up some advice for home bakers, saying, 乌鸦传媒淛ump in the deep end乌鸦传媒攚hat is the worst thing that could happen? You try again.乌鸦传媒�

She adds, 乌鸦传媒淢aybe start with muffins and not puff pastry. Find a recipe that you can make with a spoon rather than a mixer so that you don乌鸦传媒檛 over-mix. And follow the recipe well. Make sure your oven is calibrated and don乌鸦传媒檛 keep opening and slamming the oven door as my daughters do. And check your ingredients for 乌鸦传媒榖est before乌鸦传媒� dates: I made a mistake baking bread with old yeast a few weeks ago. Above all, have a lot of fun and make a mess!乌鸦传媒�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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