Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Holt.
Hi Kylie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
When my adorable mom turned 50 about 13 years ago, I KNEW I had to throw her a special surprise party, and I KNEW I didn’t want to give her that same ol’ same ol’ 9X13 boxed cake with store-bought frosting. I wanted to give her a piece of edible ART! My sister-in-law Heather was already in the business of making incredible edible cake creations that just made me OOOOOH and AAAAAAH for days! She definitely was the one that inspired me to start. I wanted to create ART you can experience with ALL 5 SENSES! The gorgeous SIGHT of the cake, the delicious SMELL of the cake, the smooth FEEL of the cake as you cut it and feel of it on your tongue, the delicious TASTE of the cake, and the SOUND of everyone enjoying it so much! So I set out on a mission. I watched EVERY you tube tutorial I could find on how to make your own fondant cake. The big day finally came- my mom’s 50th birthday party. I presented her with a purple fondant cake with giant purple and black fondant flowers- It read “50 and Fabulous!” In GIANT clunky fondant letters (that’s all I had!) I was SUPER proud of my creation, even though looking back it is a horrendous cake! But ever since that day, I was absolutely addicted to creating edible art!
I then continued baking just for family and friends, and that quickly turned into a business. Now I run a custom cake studio out of my Utah home where I design and create all sorts of unique celebration cakes and teach classes ranging from beginner cake frosting to advanced 3-D structuring!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has NOT been a smooth road getting to where I am at! I have gone through many struggles and challenges. One main challenge is balancing home life with work life. With 3 young children at home, finding time to bake and decorate was sometimes impossible during the day, so most of my baking career has taken place late at night when my kids go to bed. Also, my first 2 cake shows I was on, we unfortunately lost, and that was a huge blow to my self esteem, but I stuck to it and tried again and ended up winning the next 2 shows!
Also, cake is NOT an easy art medium! It took A LOT of practice, failure, learning from that failure, and then more failure after that to get where I am today!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in 3-D and gravity-defying creations that have a whimsical and magical feel to them. I am also a pro at replicating real items using a plethora of methods. I love to push the boundaries of cake decorating by using my wide knowledge of cake mediums to trick the senses and make people wonder- HOW in the WORLD can THAT be a CAKE!? My designs are new and innovative, I don’t copy what has already been done, but instead come up with fresh and unique ways to design internal structures or add movement and other special interactive elements. My cakes are eye-catching centerpieces to their events and not only look fabulous with clean work and bright colors, but they are delicious to boot! I also have a keen attention to detail which helps trick the eyes into thinking my creations are not even cake!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Right now we see a huge shift from fondant cake to buttercream cake, and just like clothing trends tend to repeat themselves, cake trends do too! So I feel like fondant might make a comeback in the next 5-10 years!
Pricing:
- Faux cakes (dummy cakes) are not always cheaper than real cake! They are just as time consuming to make, and they are sometimes expensive to buy as well.
- Custom cakes are going to be quite a bit pricier than st0re-bought cakes. (They are very time-consuming to make!)
- Wedding cakes usually start around $300 and go up from there based on size and decor.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kylieholtcake.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylieholtcake/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kylieholtcake
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylieholtcake
