-Words by Jane Mundy Photography by Don Denton

Walking through the door of ., you91裸聊视频檙e immediately bathed in the sweet scents of butterscotch and buttercream and vanilla. That gives you a happy feeling and that91裸聊视频檚 one reason baker/owner Deb Cater is so good at her job.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 satisfying to make nice things for people and be a part of their celebrations,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚 can decorate cakes with notations like 91裸聊视频榃ill You Marry Me91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频楬appy First Birthday,91裸聊视频� and this past Christmas we made 90 Yule logs91裸聊视频攊t91裸聊视频檚 also rewarding to be a part of family traditions.91裸聊视频�

And baking is definitely a Cater family tradition, Deb says: 91裸聊视频淚 learned from my mom, and cake is part of my culture91裸聊视频攅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.91裸聊视频�

She adds, 91裸聊视频淚 grasped the basic principles of baking as a kid and it91裸聊视频檚 now ingrained in me. I understand the science of baking soda and baking powder but I couldn91裸聊视频檛 explain it91裸聊视频擨 really admire teachers.91裸聊视频�

Inspired by her teachers at art school, Deb learned how to create novelty cakes for cash; she was able to 91裸聊视频渕ake something that looks and tastes good.91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淗e was old school,91裸聊视频� Deb recalls. 91裸聊视频淗e cracked the whip and threw the rolling pin, but I was determined to learn and I stayed a few years.91裸聊视频�

Deb thought about enrolling in culinary school, but 91裸聊视频渄idn91裸聊视频檛 want to go by the book.91裸聊视频� Instead, she landed a job at a German bakery. She was soon in charge and could make what she wanted91裸聊视频攁s long as it sold.

Deb followed her other passion91裸聊视频攚indsurfing91裸聊视频攖o Victoria in 1989. At that time there wasn91裸聊视频檛 a local bakery offering cakes to restaurants so she started knocking on doors.

91裸聊视频淚 sold cakes from my home kitchen and nobody died so it was okay,91裸聊视频� Deb says, laughing. 91裸聊视频淚 met so many people who were supportive and encouraging91裸聊视频攍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.91裸聊视频�

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 it91裸聊视频檚 popular even with dairy lovers; it91裸聊视频檚 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 Deb91裸聊视频檚 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 baker91裸聊视频檚 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 wouldn91裸聊视频檛 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 everyone91裸聊视频攊ncluding Starbucks91裸聊视频攏eeds a package of Cakes Etc.91裸聊视频檚 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 latter91裸聊视频攖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 (it91裸聊视频檚 now located at 2821 Quesnel Street).

91裸聊视频淓very Friday afternoon we get two slices of cheesecake91裸聊视频攊t91裸聊视频檚 nice that you don91裸聊视频檛 have to buy a whole cake and that Deb comes up with new recipes,91裸聊视频� says Dave. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e tried everything, and our current fave is the chocolate torte. We also love coming here because all the staff are so pleasant91裸聊视频擟akes Etc. is a class act.91裸聊视频�

Deb offers up some advice for home bakers, saying, 91裸聊视频淛ump in the deep end91裸聊视频攚hat is the worst thing that could happen? You try again.91裸聊视频�

She adds, 91裸聊视频淢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 don91裸聊视频檛 over-mix. And follow the recipe well. Make sure your oven is calibrated and don91裸聊视频檛 keep opening and slamming the oven door as my daughters do. And check your ingredients for 91裸聊视频榖est before91裸聊视频� 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!91裸聊视频�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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