Rising Stars: Meet Rachel Barrett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Barrett.

Hi Rachel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story begins with the banana chocolate cake I made for my daughter Lola’s 1st birthday in 2015. I wanted to make her something delicious, beautiful, high in quality and low in sugar. We were still living in Brooklyn then. Professionally I was focused on my career as a photographer, though shifting into a culinary space. I began a creative collaboration with a chef and together, we self-published a food and art zine and hosted pop-up dining experiences.

When my family and I moved to Los Angeles seven years ago, that partnership came to an end. I kept working on personal projects, including the design of our home in Los Feliz, which has the dream kitchen where I currently do all my baking. Over the years, I have continued to take my kids’ birthday cakes seriously, so for my own 40th birthday, my mother gave me an intro cake decorating set.

Cake Queen LA officially launched in early 2022 when friends began asking me to make them cakes after seeing the one I made for my younger daughter Mia’s 3rd birthday. They were soon referring to me as Cake Queen and I saw the opportunity to turn a personal passion into a small business. At first, I was offering cakes only to friends and my very close online community of local moms. Quickly orders began to come in and business has continued to grow steadily over this year. Through instagram and my website, I have started to reach a wider audience and customer base and I am excited to keep expanding.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a fairly smooth road so far. There have definitely been stressful moments, like when I take on something new – for example a 3-tiered wedding cake! It of course turned out beautiful and delicious and survived an almost 100-degree September day. I learned a lot and I absolutely want to do more weddings.

I also struggle with not feeling successful enough when I don’t have as many orders as I know I can fill and because I don’t have tens of thousands of online followers. I have an instagram, where I post pictures of my latest and I do enjoy making cake decorating reels. I am not on Twitter or TikTok where apparently I could grow a bigger audience, but I really want the majority of my time and energy to be going into the creation of these cakes.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an artist and baker. I have a micro bakery called Cake Queen LA, which features seasonal menus of organic cakes and cupcakes. I am really proud of the integrity and quality of the baked goods I create. Every order is custom, every design is unique. I only want to serve to my customers what I would eat myself and have worked hard to create recipes that I can stand behind. All of the ingredients that go into my cakes are carefully considered, from organic flours and pasture-raised eggs to a gluten-free option that is really outstanding. I was gluten-intolerant for many years and had a hard time finding alternative products that were satisfying. One thing that sets me apart is I use a fraction of the sugar you will find in any store-bought cake. Less sugar equals more flavor. Because of this, I have been able to develop an amazing buttercream, and even people who usually hate frosting (me!) truly enjoy it. I am so happy to hear customers tell me they loved their cake because “it wasn’t too sweet” or that they “aren’t usually a cake person” and then order from me again and again.

How do you define success?
This is something I have been striving to figure out for decades – to feel accomplished and satisfied with the work I create without external validation or achieving some financial goal. Currently, I ask my eight years old daughter to look at an order when I have finished it, and the look on her face means I have succeeded.

Pricing:

• Small serves 8-12 $95
• Medium serves 20-25 $145
• Large serves 40-50 $265
• 1 Dozen Cupcakes $65

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cakequeenla.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/cakequeenla
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085183117465 

Image Credits
Rachel Barrett