www.SouthernMinn.com | Wednesday, March 30, 2022 | Page B27
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Single mom Jenna Tlusty turns passion project into side business By ANNIE GRANLUND annie.granlund@apgsomn.com
O
ne cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, two eggs, two teaspoons of vanilla, some flour, milk and baking soda, and a heaping helping of giggles – that’s the basic recipe for a Blonde Cakery cake. Over the last two years, Jenna Tlusty and her young son Tucker have been spending free time in their Owatonna kitchen making cakes, memories and sometimes a mess. The fun way to pass their time at home during the pandemic eventually morphed into its own business, but Tlusty said it continues to be about a creative outlet for the blonde duo.
Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna. “One of my biggest mottos in life is ‘mindset is everything,’ and if I don’t have a good mindset and I’m not being positive, that will rub off on Tucker.” Not wanting to fall into what has commonly been referred to as COVID fatigue, the single mom decided she needed to find an outlet to keep her mind both busy and inspired. Somehow, she landed on baking. “I just whipped up a cake one day and started decorating,” Tlusty laughed. “When you’re decorating, I realized quickly that you have to have your mind 100% focused on exactly
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“At my full time job as a nurse, I started seeing more and more mental health concerns coming in, so I was well aware that it was something to watch for,” said Tlusty, who works as a family medicine nurse at the
that, so it was a fun way to focus my energy.”
Hobby to business Tlusty quickly enlisted Tucker as her sous-chef and the pair began embarking on a journey of colorful confections in many shapes, sizes
Mistakes aren’t a big deal for these bakers. When they happen, Jenna and Tucker Tlusty simply have a good old fashioned cake fight. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Everhard Photography and Design, LLC).
and flavors. Admitting that Pinterest can be a bit of a “wormhole” when it comes to finding ideas, Tlusty said that she has had plenty of failed experiments when it comes to extravagant decorations. “When one doesn’t work out – it’s fine. We just have a cake fight instead,” Tlusty said. “We have had many cake
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fights in the beginning.”
disposal.
her genetics.
Prior to turning their hobby into a business, Tlusty said the baked goods typically ended up in the hands of her family members. Whether it was as a form of payment to her father – her go-to Mr. Fix-It – or a surprise gift to her sisters or nieces, Tlusty always had a very willing audience at her
Coming from a family of creative individuals, Tlusty said she isn’t too surprised that a creative outlet is exactly what she needed to make it through 2020. With one sister into photography, another into music and a mother who used to paint murals, Tlusty said having a unique and artistic flair is just part of
As Tlusty and Tucker continued to experiment in the kitchen, Tlusty’s photographer sister asked if she would be willing to bake a “smash cake” for a 1-year-old photoshoot
JACK ELLIS
EST.
Tlusty
Continued on page 28
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