She always loved to bake, so after she retired as a teacher, Katy Van Note embarked on a new career. She transformed her years of experience making birthday cakes for family into Kate’s Cakes.
The business started in Des Moines, Iowa, but she didn’t get serious until moving to Bella Vista in April.
She still gets calls from her Des Moines customers, but she has to refer them to another baker. She’s keeping busy with local customers in Bella Vista.
“I’m self taught,” she said, adding that she’s not afraid to try anything. She has a variety of tried and true recipes, but when someone has a special request, she’ll find that, too. Recently a Mississippi Mud cake was requested, so now she’s perfecting that recipe.
All her cakes are made fromscratch and she uses only fresh ingredients.
She also makes brownies, cookies and her award-winning cinnamon rolls.
“I’m surprised at the variety people ask for,” she admitted.
That variety makes decorating a challenge. On her website, www.mykatescakes.com, she has photos of cakes shaped like animals, toys, golf bags, even a movie projector.
Recently she made a birthday cake in the shape of one of the characters of the movie “Cars.” The 5-year-old birthday boy didn’t want to eat it. He wanted to put it in his toy box.
All of each cake is edible, although on some she uses a mixture that resembles a Rice Krispie treat to hold the shape.
It’s frosted just like the cake.
On some cakes the details are made out of fondant, which she buys and then colors. Fondant is harder than icing and holds the shape better, but not everyone likes the taste. Under the fondant, there’s always a tastier icing, she promised.
You can sculpt a cake in most any shape, she explained. You start with a cake that is larger and higher than the finished product. Sometimes she uses the pieces she cuts off to fill inother areas.
“I can also do the old-fashioned piping,” she said. Some people prefer piping over fondant.
Her neighbor, Becki Johnson, is also a customer. She recently ordered cupcakes for a special occasion. They were chocolate with a caramel filling and chocolate ganache frosting.
“They were an enormous hit,” she said, “They’re not like any other cupcakes.”
Johnson is happy with her new neighbor.
“I get to be her guinea pig,” she explained.
Lately Van Note has been networking. She joined the Bella Vista Business Association to meet new clients. She’s also given away a lot of free cupcakes. But she enjoys meeting people and she’s been getting plenty of business.
“I love making people happy,” she said about her new business.
Prices are based on the frosting choice, which are laid out on the website. She will deliver locally and set up for $5 in Bella Vista. Deliveries outside the Village are based on mileage.
Contact Katy at 515-490-6238 or through the website, www.mykatescakes.com.
Business, Pages 12 on 10/31/2012