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Sweet treats: Teen’s homemade cakes are delicious works of art

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Kennedy Bachman, 13, has been generating buzz with homemade cakes that are delicious works of art. One of her most notable creations is this Easter cake. (Submitted photos)

Kennedy has made up to five cakes in one week. The amount of time she spends in the kitchen varies depending on the recipe, but she typically bakes a cake one day and frosts it another.

This recent s'more cake was a 4-H project for the Clayton County Fair.

Kennedy started out making her mom, Rachel’s, 40th birthday cake, “and that turned out really well,” Kennedy noted. Soon, she was creating unique cakes for other family members’ birthdays. She even crafted a cake that looked like a Starbucks coffee drink for her own big day.

Kennedy said this sunflower cake, which incorporates yellow chocolate petals, took around three hours to frost.

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

She’s only been baking for a year and a half, but 13-year-old Kennedy Bachman is already generating buzz with homemade cakes that are delicious works of art.

 

“My great-grandma was a good cook and baker. Ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to cook or bake like her,” said Kennedy, who just started seventh grade at MFL MarMac. 

 

She started out making her mom, Rachel’s, 40th birthday cake, “and that turned out really well,”  Kennedy noted. Soon, she was creating unique cakes for other family members’ birthdays. Her dad, Chet, for example, got a fishing-themed masterpiece, while Kennedy crafted a cake that looked like a Starbucks coffee drink for her own big day.

 

For Easter, she made a bunny cake.

 

“It was huge,” recalled Rachel. “She actually took it to school and the teachers ate it because we barely touched it.”

 

The detailed cake, which depicted a white rabbit with pointed ears, eyes and a cute nose and whiskers holding a colorful Easter egg, sparked interest on social media.

 

“A few friends started calling and asking, ‘Will you make my husband a cake, will you make my kid a cake?’” said Rachel.

 

Now, Kennedy has made as many as five cakes in one week, and she’s looking to turn her hobby into a small business called Sweet Treats by Kennedy.

 

Where do her cake ideas come from? Kennedy said she’s Googled recipes and photos, but she’s also found a lot of inspiration on the social media platform TikTok.

 

“I would just watch a video of people making it and learn,” shared Kennedy.

 

All of Kennedy’s cakes are made from scratch. So far, she’s done chocolate, vanilla, marble and red velvet.

 

“A class reunion is coming up, so I’ll be making a bunch of different kinds, like lemon and raspberry,” she said. “I also do all kinds of different fillings.”

 

Kennedy has even experimented with ice cream cakes, which she said requires more speed.

 

“If it starts melting, like if you’re going to use chocolate ice cream, you’ll see it come through the whipped cream and it won’t look nice. That’s a lot harder,” she explained.

 

As a 4-H project for the Clayton County Fair, Kennedy made a s’more cake, complete with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallow frosting.

 

The cake required a lot of steps, but Kennedy relished the opportunity to show off her skills.

 

“I picked it because it would taste good and knew it wouldn’t be too hard to work with,” she said.

 

Taste-wise, Kennedy lists red velvet is her favorite cake. It was difficult, but not as challenging as vanilla.

 

“You have to put in eggs and sugar for 45 seconds, then add something for six minutes. It just requires more patience and takes more times,” she said. “Chocolate is quicker. It also tastes better.”

 

The amount of time required for each cake depends on the recipe. Kennedy typically bakes the cake one day, puts a crumb coating on it, then freezes it in preparation for frosting another day.

 

A recent sunflower cake, which also incorporated chocolate petals, took three hours to frost.

 

“I had to make sure it was perfect,” said Kennedy.

 

“The bunny cake she worked on for like a week because it was so huge,” Rachel recalled.

 

Kennedy has only experimented with fondant icing once, on her own birthday cake. She much prefers the taste of cream cheese frosting.

 

Luckily, the Bachmans have a stand Kitchen Aid mixer that makes reaching the right frosting consistency easier.

 

“It has to get creamy, and the more time you mix, the creamier it gets,” Kennedy said. “So I usually leave it for awhile.”

 

Cake pans are another important baking tool, but if you don’t have the correct size, don’t fear. “You can always cut the cake,” Kennedy noted.

 

She also got a smoother to frost the cakes.

 

“It can’t be a butter knife or it won’t look as nice,” she warned. “When you get the smoother, you also have to teach yourself not to add so much pressure on it.”

 

Kennedy has experimented with a variety of frosting tips, and she’s been practicing writing.

 

“I had a First Communion cake coming up and they wanted a verse, so I had to practice the writing with real frosting before I did it,” she shared.

 

Kennedy said practice is one of her biggest tips for fellow bakers. 

 

“Early on, she asked me if I would get foam and she would practice frosting, but I was like, ‘No, just get a box cake mix or something cheap and give them away,’” said Rachel. “So she’s taken cakes to friends or other people when she was practicing. Most of the cakes now are for people.”

 

“You also have to have a lot of time and patience,” Kennedy added. “If you rush it, the cake won’t look as nice.”

 

Now, Kennedy has her sights set on two-layer cakes, and also wants to create filled cupcakes and try more sugar cookies.

 

She looks forward to growing her talent by baking for friends, family members and others.

 

“It’s meant a lot to me that people ask me, then I can work on my skills,” Kennedy said. “I’ve really enjoyed frosting the cakes. I like being creative and thinking of new ideas to do.”

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