Piece of cake

In her third year baking tasty treats, Brenda Stoddard is becoming adept at her culinary craftsmanship

By Stover E. Harger III

The South County Spotlight, Feb 17, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

Stover E. Harger III / The South County Spotlight

A BAKER’S TOUCH — Brenda Stoddard frosts an Oreo cake on Feb. 14, a day packed morning to night with special Valentine orders.

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It’s Valentine’s Day and Brenda Stoddard is whipping herself – and a bowl of red velvet cake batter – into a frenzy.

V-day may as well be D-day for dessert bakers, like Stoddard. As love-struck couples look to indulge their sweet tooth, Stoddard, no matter how busy it makes her days, is happy to oblige. All in all, Stoddard baked 450 mini cupcakes, 36 jumbo cupcakes, five regular cakes and one cheesecake that weekend.

She doesn’t let the stress get to her as she furiously whips, and then spreads a layer of creamy frosting on an Oreo wedding cake. She works with haste, but still with a touch of delicacy as she nears the final hours of Valentines Day.

“Then I’ll take a nap,” she laughs.

After starting up her Sweet Cakes to Go business three years ago (with the help of her mother) Stoddard began experimenting with recipes when she wasn’t working her day job as a referral coordinator for Legacy Health Systems. She had one simple, but often neglected, goal in her recipes: flavor.

Her three kids may have gotten sick of being fed experiment after experiment – “guinea pigs,” she calls them – but she learned invaluable tricks to packing a wallop of taste in each dessert.

Sometimes it fails horribly like her attempt at beer cupcakes, but generally it is a rousing success, helping to spread word of mouth.

As she looks at ways to grow her business, even thinking about buying a mobile shop, Stoddard plans to continue with her packed schedule – bake in the morning, work at Legacy in the day, frost at night. The many sticky notes on her fridge with special orders are a testament to local’s love of her flavors.