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We specialize in fondant decorated cakes. I just love to work with fondant. It is so fun to come up with neat designs with fondant. There is so much you can do with fondant that you can’t do with buttercream.

what is your most requested cake?

We make over 20 flavors of cake so that is a hard question. Two flavors that we developed this year were pink champagne and chai tea. I am surprised how much we sell of them. do you offer catering services? Yes.

are you considered a full service bakery?

At the present time, all of our products are to order.

how have you seen the bakery profession change over the years?

When I started decorating over 30 years ago, everything was done in buttercream. We hardly did any cakes in fondant. We did a lot of hand

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piping on white, chocolate, or marble cake. Now we work with fondant on practically every cake we make and flavors are becoming more sophisticated. Just look at all the baking and cake decorating shows on TV.

what is the biggest misconception about our industry?

The time it takes to create our works of art. It might take a few days to create a cake and all of that labor costs money.

what is the best kept secret?

Our location. We are located just a block off of Main Avenue in Moorhead but we are off the beaten path. is there a ‘most memorable order/ event’ you have baked for?

I have been fortunate that this profession has been very fulfilling for me. I have won numerous contests, one being in the Mall of America and winning an industrial mixer worth $5,000. I took an eight hour practical test in 2006 and passed to become a “Certified Decorator”. At that time, there were less than 50 certified decorators in the United States. I also competed in a regional competition and won to compete in a national competition in Charlotte, NC where I got to meet “Buddy” from the TV show “Cake Boss” and even had my picture taken with him. I remember a lot of our orders, but I would say most memorable one would be the cake that I made for my son Cody and daughter-in-law Lindsay when they got married. Lindsay pretty much gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted for decorations. She cried when she saw it! describe your support system. My husband is the best! He will do anything to help me out with the business. He did a lot of the fit up work at the shop before we started and knows how passionate I am about my business and how much this profession means to me. He “gets” it. He is my best “taste tester!” My boys assist when needed. Our youngest son Noah, helps with deliveries in the summer and my assistant helps so much, she makes my job easier.

what keeps you motivated and inspired?

Our customers for one, they keep challenging us to do new techniques and broaden our skills. Secondly, I love watching the cake shows on TV and reading all the magazines that cater to bakeries.

best business mistake you’ve made?

Hands down quitting my full-time job with benefits and summers off to start my business full time.

what is something you would like to experience someday?

Personally, I would like to learn how to play the piano and have the time for Terry and I to do some traveling. Probably win the lottery too so I can pay off the business loans!

what advice do you have for other women considering starting a business?

Make sure your family is behind you 100%. You will work more hours than you thought existed. Do your homework. Hire an accountant. Do what you do best and leave the rest to someone else. Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but without it, you will never be successful. Just follow your dreams.

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Stacy Erickson of Fargo never expected to begin her journal like this:

June 10, 2011

So here I am at 26-½ weeks pregnant, writing the story of the second love of my life, Bennett Matthew. And every day my heart breaks a little because I know that what’s to come won’t be easy.

She and her husband Matt, her first love, had just learned their long-awaited baby would be born with serious heart disease.

Complex But Treatable

“I was a blubbering wreck, but Dr. Trefz was so kind. He took the time to help us understand,” says Stacy, recalling their first appointment with Sanford Children’s pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Matthew Trefz.

A fetal echocardiogram showed that Baby Bennett has Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart disease characterized by four defects that affect blood flow to the lungs.

Years ago babies with this condition died in childhood.

“We’ve seen great progress in 60 years,” says Dr. Trefz. “Now, depending on severity, this condition is treatable and kids can grow up to lead normal lives.”

Keys to successful treatment of Tetralogy of Fallot include early diagnosis, close tracking during pregnancy, heart surgery in the months after birth and diligent follow-up. Dr. Trefz also says that better outcomes are often a result of educating parents and developing a plan based on best-case and worst-case scenarios.

“When Dr. Trefz told us that Olympic snowboarder Shaun White had this heart defect, we hung on to that,” says Stacy.

Change Of Heart

Emotions ran wild the day the Ericksons learned the diagnosis. Stacy went home and threw a lamp across the room, breaking it into several pieces.

But by the next morning, anger had subsided. In its place was a sense of gratefulness for baby Bennett—no matter what would happen.

“We went from ‘Why us?’ to ‘Why not us?’” Stacy says. “We thought, we have a great relationship, we’ve wanted a baby so badly, and now there’s this special little guy coming into our lives,” she says.

She laughs when she describes Matt’s take: “Well, we know from the ultrasound that Benny has two arms. No matter what, he can fish.”

best-case scenario

For the next three months, Stacy continued taking good care of herself, including check-ups with Dr. Trefz, a consultation with maternal fetal medicine and a tour of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, all at Sanford Children’s in Fargo.

Benny was born September 7, 2011, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. His condition was best-case scenario, and two days later he was able to go home.

With open-heart surgery in Rochester, MN, and then follow-up care in Fargo, Benny will likely live life with no restrictions.

“Big Ben is thriving,” says Stacy. “And crushing every milestone.”

Go Red

February is American Heart Association’s Go Red month, and it’s the perfect time to love your heart by making great health choices.

“We’ve really changed things since we’ve had Benny,” says Stacy. “Now we have structured meals, we’re eating more fruits and veggies, and we work at turning off the TV and staying active.”

Like the Ericksons, you can Go Red in many different ways. For more information and tips about heart health for your whole family, visit heart.sanfordhealth.org.