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SWEET MEMORIES BAKERY
sweetmemoriesbakery.com Like many bakers, Donna Ford of Sweet Memories Bakery fell in love with cake at an early age. As a child she discovered her mother’s cake decorating tools and began experimenting with them. Her passion for cake grew, and when she later moved to North Carolina as an adult, Donna decided to take the plunge and open her own bakery. From her location in Apex, Donna whips up delicious treats and show-stopping cakes with
“My favorite thing to make is something new.” Photos by: Scott Faber Photography scottfaber.com
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the help of her dedicated team. Danielle Matroni, Marina Norris and Caitlin Nugent are as passionate about cake as Donna. Danielle has been working with Donna since she was 15, and Donna says she “thrives on interacting with our clients and is a driving force at the bakery.” The detailed figures of sugar artist Marina demonstrate her dedication and leave us with no doubts about her skill. When it comes to Caitlin, Donna says her love for her work is easy to see. “Caitlin has literally devoted her left arm to the art of pastry with her tattoo sleeve, which includes a mixer, rolling pins, cupcakes, cookies, cakes and more!” Sweet Memories Bakery has a massive menu, and many of the pastries and cakes on their menu draw on local produce and flavors. “One of our most popular cake flavors is our ‘Southern Aristocrat’ – North Carolina sweet potato cake layered with caramel and white chocolate mousse, topped with dulce [de] leche buttercream,” says Donna. Her favorite thing to make, however, is “something new... After test[ing] and tasting, we decide if we want to add the new creation to the menu.” Given the support and skill of Donna’s amazing staff, it’s easy to see how the bakery has ended up with such an impressively diverse and varied menu. In addition to their extensive menu, Sweet Memories Bakery also has a long list of famous clients, but Donna modestly doesn’t consider that to be her biggest achievement. “We have
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chat | cakes across america Sweet Memories Bakery Raleigh, NC Photos by: waltersandwalters.com
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“Making cakes should be a happy and rewarding experience.”
been very fortunate to work with amazing high profile clients and event planners... and we competed on Food Network Challenge, but I feel our biggest accomplishment so far has been our involvement in Catersource,” she said. At the Catersource conference and tradeshow, the bakery was honored to be able to showcase its talent and skill at an event where their work was “on the largest catering stage in front of the toughest critics of all – our peers and colleagues.“ For a woman who describes the conversations she has with fellow bakers as one of her biggest sources of inspiration, it’s no wonder the bakery ’s work at Catersource is a source of great pride. Sweet Memories Bakery ’s specialty and wedding cakes are impressive works of art that would stand out at any event, but the real secrets to the bakery ’s beautiful cakes is the passion that goes into making them. When we asked Donna what she would tell aspiring cake-makers, she simply said, “Making cakes should be a happy and rewarding experience.” We can’t help but agree.
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