Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Christensen.
Hi Erin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always really enjoyed baking and cake decorating. It’s fun to come up with something creative for dessert that is both pretty to look at and delicious. I started really spending time developing my skills when my husband and I began having our children. I wanted to make our kids exciting, detailed, and one-of-a-kind cakes for their birthdays to show them how special they are to us. I taught myself the basic techniques of baking, assembling, and frosting layer cakes, then over time, developed my skills in more detailed decorating: piping, sculpting, and working with other edible decorating mediums. Friends and family began inquiring about purchasing cakes and cupcakes, and then word of mouth exploded my little operation into a business known as Custom Cakes and Cupcakes by Erin. I received my Minnesota cottage food registration and created a website and social media profiles to showcase pictures of my work. I develop all my cake recipes completely on my own and create every aspect of my cakes in my home kitchen. I love coming up with my own designs for my cakes, so each one is completely unique, and the recipient receives a cake just as they have imagined, or that they have never seen before. I’ve created cakes and cupcakes for many different types of celebrations: birthdays, showers, weddings, religious celebrations, holidays, and more. In addition to taking on physical cake and cupcake orders, my brand has also grown in the exciting direction of sharing my developed techniques and skills through video tutorials and content creation. My YouTube channel as well as my Instagram and TikTok videos are platforms I use to show behind-the-scenes tips and instruct viewers how I have learned to create all different sorts of cake and cupcake decor. I enjoy creating and editing both long and short form videos, so that viewers who prefer one or the other can all watch them. I absolutely love hearing from followers that they created a cake in the style of one of my videos, or that a particular technique or tip I shared was helpful to them.
While working on videos and developing cake decorating techniques, my husband and I realized the need among bakers and decorators for specialty cookie cutters, cutters and embossers for fondant (an edible sugar dough frequently used by cake decorators), as well as other dessert decorating products to provide more options and tools for bakers. We began 3D printing these products and began Custom Cutters and Embossers by Erin together. We have grown our business into a website with an online store in addition to creating custom products. Much of my cake and cupcake content includes tutorials on how to use these items to make decorating more efficient and customized, as well as to provide other bakers inspiration.
I was also so honored to have been approached by Global Belly, a website with collective bakers from all over the world who create desserts and other baked goods, where together, we sell DIY kits of my cake and cupcake designs. These kits include my video tutorials and step-by-step instructions as well as all materials and supplies needed to create each design. I thoroughly enjoy creating these kits, as this is another means of sharing all the joy I love to create in the kitchen, and I enjoy putting lots of energy into creating content for my DIY kits.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been relatively smooth, I really can’t complain, as it has been such a fun and exciting endeavor. Of course, many of us have experienced ingredient/material shortages and price fluctuations, particularly over the past couple of years, so those can become obstacles. Each new challenge has definitely been a learning experience, and problem-solving efficient and creative use of time and materials has really helped my growth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a cake and cupcake baker and decorator, I currently describe what I do in three different areas. As a registered Minnesota cottage food producer, I take on custom cake and cupcake orders from local customers for birthdays, weddings, showers, holidays, and many other celebrations. I have developed all my recipes on my own, and love creating original designs, so my customers each receive a truly custom cake or cupcakes. The second piece to my brand is digital content creation. I create video tutorials for my YouTube channel, TikTok account, and Instagram account, as well as for my DIY cake and cupcake kits with Global Belly. As a self-taught baker and decorator, I really enjoy using my content to teach others my baking and decorating techniques and ideas to inspire others to create fun and beautiful desserts. I have many new goals for my website to add tutorials, instructions, and more in the near future as well. Custom Cakes and Cupcakes by Erin is both a home bakery and a source for digital content and tutorials. Thirdly, my husband and I run our business, Custom Cutters and Embossers by Erin to create specialty baking and decorating tools to help others create beautiful desserts more efficiently and to their specific vision for them.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Custom Cakes and Cupcakes could not run without the support and constant encouragement of my husband, Travis. When I decided to stay home with our children, and was thinking of making cakes, but really didn’t know where to start, he had a website, business account, and other logistical elements all set up for me, and said “happy birthday”. He helps me set goals and organize my thoughts and ideas, so I can focus on the actual baking and frosting. He believes in me and what I do, and helps to challenge my creative mind to try new things. I can’t tell you how many of my dishes he has washed, too. It’s definitely a lot! He is my source of confidence and perseverance, and I’m so fortunate to have him. Our three beautiful daughters love baking too, and always choose unique and exciting cake themes for their birthday cakes. They are the reason I started – to make amazing, one-of-a-kind cakes for their birthdays and milestone celebrations.
I also greatly appreciate the support of my parents, siblings, in-laws, cousins, and close friends, who have asked me to make their special occasion cakes and shared my posts and achievements. Every conversation I have with them always includes asking how my business is going and some very kind words of praise or encouragement, which is a source of perpetual motivation that I am very grateful for.
I really appreciate all my friends, customers, and followers – anyone who has even just seen one of my videos has helped me more than they realize.
Contact Info:
- Email: erin.cakesandcupcakes@gmail.com
- Website: customcakesandcupcakes.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/erin.cakesandcupcakes
- Facebook: facebook.com/erin.cakesandcupcakes
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CustomCakesandCupcakesbyErin
- Other: https://linktr.ee/erin.cakesandcupcakes
Image Credits
Erin Christensen
