Variety key ingredient at local bakery

Mothers and grandmothers make baked goods out of the love in their hearts. Some people have turned their passion for baking into a career.

Enter Morgan Yates, manager and head cake decorator for Bake N’ Cakes, 3003 E. Kalamazoo St., in Lansing.

“I enjoy satisfying people; that’s what I enjoy the most,” Yates said. “I love making people smile or be happy or enjoying food.”

Bake N’ Cakes has been in business for 26 years. From cakes and cupcakes to brownies and cookies, the bakers make it all, including specialty orders.

“It’s rewarding to see people’s faces, especially the kids’ faces, when we make cakes for them,” assistant manager Emily Kelly said.

In order to keep their product line fresh, some new items are being produced. Fruit dipped in chocolate is one of the ways the bakery is changing things up. How well customers perceive the items determines which items are made.

“Our gourmet cupcakes started out with three flavors, now we are up to 12,” Yates said. “In our brochure, we have almost 30 different kinds of gourmet cupcakes. Our cakes also sell fast and our sugar cookies are most popular here.”

One of the ways Bake N’ Cakes tests items is by getting involved with community functions. For the past two years, they have made an appearance at the East Lansing Art Festival. That was where Lansing resident Blaine Cressman had his first taste of the treats from Bake N’ Cakes.

“We got hooked on the Mexican Kahlua cupcakes,” Cressman said. “We started off with a sampler box and about an hour later, we bought a box of half a dozen more.”

In addition to indulging his sweet tooth, Cressman enjoys supporting local businesses like the bakery.

“The cupcakes are fantastic,” Cressman said. “They’re not like the ones at Meijer or Kroger. You can tell the workers like what they do.”

Although there is only so much one bakery can produce, finding different ways to market their products is how they plan to continue their strong business.

“We’ll hopefully be more on TV, doing things like that program ‘Ace of Cakes,’” Yates said. “Hopefully, we will be doing more outside products and more retail in restaurants, hotels or other different functions.”

Even though there are many different items, Cressman said that he has tried just about everything.

“There’s nothing that I would push away,” Cressman said. “You don’t find many places that has everything good.”