Conversations with Kassandra Vizcaino

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kassandra Vizcaino.

Hi Kassandra, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a kid, I was obsessed with easy-bake ovens and I loved going outside and making mud pies with my siblings. When I became a teenager, I would bake anything I could, but only with box mixes from the store. At all of our family parties, I would make cupcakes, cakes, cookies, anything I was able to get my hands on! Once I became an adult, I would bake here and there but it was mostly just a hobby at first. I eventually started a family and my daughter came into the world. I dedicated all of my time and attention to her, but once she was old enough I began going back and forth with the idea of turning my hobby of baking into something more. I decided to go for it and just started baking and decorating cakes as much as I could to get some practice. I eventually started a separate social media page to share my progress and share all of my creations, and although at the time I was only making cakes for family and close friends, I did get a good amount of support.

Finally one day I received my very first order, a 3 tier Hispanic embroidery-style cake. That was the beginning of everything for me! I started taking as many orders as I could, decorating all the styles of cakes that I could and it was all going great until I was thrown a curveball in my personal life and had to stop baking. I made the decision to completely stop baking and focused on going back to school. I became a medical assistant and started working in an occupation clinic full-time. I loved working in the medical field but I missed baking and creating art through cakes, and to be completely honest, all of my old customers were missing me too and demanded me to come back to the baking world. Since I needed a steady income, I decided to bake part-time while also working full-time in the clinic. I started gaining more of a following on Social media and started getting many orders from people I’ve never met before. My work was shared by many people and I started feeling so accomplished! A few years passed and I welcomed my second child, a beautiful little boy. I worked in the clinic and baked until I was no longer able to. Once he came into the world, I took another small break, but I knew I would be baking as soon as I was ready.

When it became time to return to work, I took the biggest decision I could make and decided to put my medical career on hold and focused full time on baked tier! To this present day, I bake full-time and could not be happier! I expanded my menu from not just cakes but to decorated sugar cookies (which is what I’m mostly known for now) Banana pudding, specialty cookies and more. I joined my very first pop-up market in 2022 and wow was that the best choice I could ever make. Participating in markets has really helped my business grow and become known to many other people aside from locals. This is when my business really blew up! So many people loved my cookies and other pastries, I’ve gained so many customers and have made so many friendships with other small businesses as a result. I now take custom orders but also focus on markets at least once a month, it has been going amazing. Although there has been some struggles along the way, I wouldn’t change my journey for anything! I love that I have grown as a baker and businesswoman and can’t wait to see what the future holds

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve had many challenges along the way when I started my business, at first it was just not having enough experience, I didn’t know how to price my work, I spent more on supplies than I was charging for my work. I sat down and thought long and hard on how I would be able to turn this hobby into a stone thing profitable, I knew that I deserved more so I started taking my baking more seriously and really dove into the business aspect of it as well. It was really hard to get past wanting to create these amazing cakes but also charging what I was worth

I’ve also had some personal struggles along the way, there was a time my mental health couldn’t handle the stresses of baking and I took a long break and went a different direction as far as my career. I needed to be able to provide for my daughter in a more set way so I became a medical assistant and worked full-time in an occupational clinic where I knew I would get a steady income.

Once I became more comfortable with my job and was able to manage my time working and taking care of my daughter, I decided to go back to baking,

I was baking, working full time, and was a full-time parent and I started feeling overwhelmed trying to do it all at once, so once I had my son in 2021, I made a huge decision and decided to take baked tier full-time, and not return to my clinic job. As much as I loved working in the medical field, I absolutely love baking more! It has been An amazing journey

Another struggle I’ve had has been the increase in prices, eggs, butter, milk, everything you can think of has increased in price so much and us bakers have got hit hard! I know I’m not the only baker who has struggled in this way recently. For a while eggs and butter were so hard to find, and it felt like we would be taking a huge hit but luckily, everything has settled down and things are now going great

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Although I am a baker, I do consider cake decorating and cookie making a type of art. I specialize in custom cakes and decorated sugar cookies but I also make many other pastries as well! I love baking and trying out new desserts, everything is made from scratch and I take a lot of pride in knowing that I spent so much time in finding that perfect recipe for everything I make.

Although I started my business making cakes, throughout the years I’ve expanded the menu as much as could. I am now most known for my decorated sugar cookies, banana pudding and specialty cookies. My specialty cookies range from flavors like cookies n cream, white chocolate raspberry, circus animal, red velvet and more.

Decorated sugar cookies have become my most favorite dessert to make and my most popular menu option. They are not like regular cookies, they are very soft and of course made from scratch, I also offer 8 flavors, I am able to recreate almost anything and make it into a cookie. I feel that what sets me apart from others is that even if I don’t get a specific picture or example of a dessert I need to make, all I need is a theme, color, a few favorite things and I’m able to create something that is one of a kind. My mind goes into overdrive because I have so much passion in what I do and I get excited in creating new desserts, I am proud of all the desserts I’ve created along the way both big and small, I’ve gone through a lot of trial and error finding the perfect recipes, perfecting my skills, expanding my creativity, trying new ways, products and more to create the best desserts I could, and although I know I have a lot more to learn I feel very proud and blessed to have made it to where I am now

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Being able to create beautiful cakes, cookies and other desserts is amazing, but the most rewarding part of it all is when a customer sees their order for the first time and are so excited for the final product and of course the fact that they enjoy the flavors as well. A lot of time and effort goes into this type of work but it’s very rewarding. Us small businesses pour our hearts and souls into our work. Most of the time we are a one-person show running our businesses with little to no help but we love what we do!

I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it is a tremendous amount of work that goes into what I do, and I am so grateful to everyone who has shown me support, whether it’s ordering desserts, to sharing my work and I hope that there continues to be more recognition to small businesses, we deserve it!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baked_tier/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/100078097742327/

Image Credits
Krystal jara photography Daniel Estrada photography Nathan g socal photographer