A Little About Me

Hi I'm Brenda, the baker, gardener and photographer behind Cakepuff.  I trained as a pastry chef at Le Cordon Bleu  just like my favorite chef, 

 Julia Child. 

In this picture, I'm standing in Julia's kitchen,  which is  located at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

Cakepuff is my little creation born out of my love for French pastry and my desire to bake delicious pastries for my boys. Cakepuff were born in 2014 out of the itty bitty kitchen of my then rental apartment on Lawton Street in Riverside IL, and they got their name as my 2 boys indulged on mom's pastries while watching an episode of the Powerpuff Girls 

My adventures with baking began when I was 8 years old, when Santa Claus brought me an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas.  Baking gave me so much joy then and it continues to bring me joy today. I bake from scratch with all natural ingredients and minimal sugar, always ensuring a balance of flavors for maximum enjoyment.

I love gardening as much as I love baking.  Growing flowers, berries and herbs, alongside Mother Nature, is in my opinion one of the best ways to connect with our creator and our planet.  And harvesting from my garden to decorate my cakes and pastries gives new meaning to the phrase, "from scratch".