The Queen of Cakes

By JACQUELINE PRIMO | Reporter

“It’s not-so-normal cake for not-so-normal people.”

That’s how Brie Darling of Brie Darling Cakes describes her LA-based bakery specializing in masterful works of edible art.

Over the past three years, the company has designed, baked and sold over 300 cakes to clients all over Los Angeles, including Pacific Palisades. But these aren’t any ordinary cakes. Her creations – many of which have a rock ’n’ roll vibe – resemble Les Paul guitars, a dancing Elvis, the Empire State Building, Tiffany’s trademark blue boxes and more.

Clients can be sure that when they order a cake from Darling, they will get a treat that is not only delicious and high-quality, but also visually unlike any other cake on the market.

“It’s another form of artistic expression for me. That’s what I like about it the most. I’m creating a form of art,” Darling told the Palisadian-Post.

Darling, a self-described lifelong artist and professional musician who has performed with the likes of Carole King, Jimmy Buffet and Ringo Starr, has brought her creative streak from the mic stand to the cake stand. She started Brie Darling Cakes, formerly Cakeheads Cakes, nearly three years ago, a business venture that began with a friend’s request for a baby shower cake.

“It gave him a rash,” Darling said laughing as she recounted her first foray into the craft, a cake with white icing in the shape of a baby’s head and a red velvet interior that bled through the outside design.

While Darling admits her initial attempt at cake baking and decorating didn’t quite make the cut, she credits the experience for leading her to take cake-decorating lessons and make a hobby of baking for friends. However, her astounding designs, attention to detail and use of seemingly gravity-defying decorations quickly set her apart from the pack and inspired her to turn baking into a business.

“I like doing things that are different than what you would see in a bakery,” Darling said. “We try to take it to another level.”

Brie Darling Cakes is made up of a small team that includes Darling, specializing in designing and decorating; her close friend Virginia Cooper, the primary resident baker; and an occasional grandchild of Darling’s who will pop in to learn a thing or two.

“Nobody cares about what you’re doing more than you do…It’s my vision so I like having that control,” said Darling of her passion for surpassing clients’ expectations. Most often clients will provide a loose idea or theme for their cake and let Darling take the reins.

“After having seen the pictures [of the cakes] they say, ‘You make it happen.’ And I love that because that gives me license to create their idea my way,” Darling said.

In addition to her ability to meet any challenge clients can throw her way, Darling specializes in her signature patented leopard-skin cake interior. She is preparing to sell “leopard blanks” so people can buy them sans icing and decorate the cakes themselves.

Cake-craving clients can also order cakes that cater to sugar-free, gluten-free or vegan diets. Brie Darling Cakes, whose new website will launch any day now, holds wedding cake tastings at its studio in Valley Glen.

For more information or to place an order, visit briedarlingcakes.com.