Icing on the Cake

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SHANE O’DONNELL

Katie Auerbach was motivated to bake at an early age; it was fun but even then it was a means to an end. “I used to make cakes for my brother when he had friends over after school. It was the only way he’d let me hang out with them,” she laughs.

The bubbly 25-year-old continued her hobby through high school and USC—all the while honing her impressive icing-making skills by viewing YouTube tutorials. “I learned to work with fondant completely on YouTube. I’ve always been pretty artistic in terms of recreating things I see, so it really wasn’t that hard.”

Then a few years ago, while working at a talent agency, she was asked to make some cupcakes for a baby shower. Just for fun, she posted a few pictures on Instagram and Facebook. “Four people called me and wanted to order them. I didn’t have any idea what to charge even. Right then I thought, ‘Gee maybe I could do this.’”

Katie quit her talent job and kicked off her business under the banner KT Cakes. She bakes out of her dad’s kitchen in Woodland Hills (former Warner Bros. TV executive, David Auerbach) and when she gets bogged down with a big order, her mom pitches in. “She still has a job and works—but she is there when I need extra help. My mom is where I get my work ethic and drive from,” explains Katie.

While she readily admits that the market is flooded with cupcakes, Katie says her approach is what makes KT Cakes different. “With a company like Sprinkles, they have a list of what they do and you look at the pictures and pick. With me, you describe your vision and I create. It is all completely custom.”

She shares that “Some orders are even a little strange. Once I made cupcakes with chickens wearing lingerie. It was for a bachelorette party and apparently the groom’s nickname for the bride was ‘hens’. It never surprises me what people come up with!”

For more on KT Cakes, check out ktcakesbakeshop.com