Sage Cakery

Sage Cakery owner Nikkie Byrd hopes her customers react to her baked creations with delight, that they leave the shop happier than when they came in. “That is my life goal,” she says. “I want people not only to love the product they are eating, (but also) the interaction they have with our team, our customer service. I just want it to be an overall joyful experience for people to have this bakery in the community.”

After two decades of baking and decorating cakes as a hobbyist, Byrd opened the Urbana-based artisan bake shop and cafe in May 2019. On staff are a two-time ‘Chopped’ winner as well a ‘Cake Hunters’ winner along with award-winning cake decorators and culinary school graduates.

Every dessert is baked entirely from scratch. Specializing in custom cakes for a variety of events, especially weddings, staff members may find inspiration for their sweet confections from the event’s theme or color palette. Collaborations between customer and staff offer a delicious way to match an event’s aesthetic, and bring the spirit of an event to life.

The business requests at least two weeks’ notice for its pre-designed options; four to six weeks for custom orders, and nine to 18 months for weddings. For those who need a cake faster, cakes are on hand in the shop daily – in addition to other sinfully delicious treats like cookies, cake pops, macarons, and cupcakes. Best-sellers include s’more bars, snickerdoodle apple pie cookie sandwiches, lemon bars and cookies, and ice cream sandwiches. Both vegan and gluten-free options are available.

Sage Cakery’s array of traditional flavor favorites includes vanilla, carrot cake, red velvet, cinnamon bun swirl, and almond. Unique flavors such as blackberry sage, orange ginger, peach coriander, apple cinnamon, and rosemary fig are on the menu as well. To accompany the sweets, locallyroasted artisan espresso is available as well.

Their environmentally-friendly practices include composting and recycling, and they use organic and non-GMO ingredients whenever possible. Strawberries, apples, honey, and pumpkins are among the products they buy from local farms. “We try really hard to be sustainable, and have a positive impact on our environment and our community,” Byrd says. They donate more than 100 cakes a year to the Urbana Food Bank to help children supported by the nonprofit.

In late summer, Sage Cakery will start holding workshops and classes onsite, for bakers of all skill levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Byrd has always wanted to offer educational opportunities for customers as a way to have fun with family and friends as well as learn something new. Workshop topics may include frosting cupcakes; the basics of buttercream frosting; creating buttercream flowers; and making unicorn cupcakes.

Folks may purchase Sage Cakery’s products at the Urbana store as well as at the Frederick-based Dublin Roasters, North Market Street Pop Shop, and Fetch Thrift Shop.