I know what you're thinking. Oh, that's just a honey butter chicken biscuit from Whataburger. (See photo above.) Well, prepare to get your mind blown: It's cake.
Update on Feb. 5, 2018: Another Whataburger-themed cake has people in Dallas talking today, so we're bringing this story back.
From classic tiered cakes to custom ones shaped like sushi, bottles of tequila, dogs and more, Dallas home baker Samantha Cade takes the cake for the most unique, unexpected cakes in the D-FW area.
Seriously, just look at these cakes from Cade, who operates her company under the name Cade's Cakes. We've got a pair of Converse shoes.
Yup, that's a jar of mayo. Cake version.
Hungry? Viewer discretion advised. Cade's personal favorite cakes to bake and decorate are her food cakes, such as pancakes, burgers and ice cream.
Not to mention, her cakes are beautiful. Can it be my birthday yet?
In high school, then-Highland Park High School student Cade worked at Tart Bakery on Lovers Lane in Dallas before heading off to the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her time at UT, she baked two to three cakes a week in the freshman dorm's kitchen. By the end of her sophomore year, her baking talent led her to New York City's International Culinary Center.
With an Instagram (@cadescakes) following of more than 12,000, Cade has seen her business grow within the past year, in part because of social media surfers.
She now bakes approximately 30 cakes each week, which are most commonly birthday cakes but also include wedding cakes, groom's cakes and graduation cakes."I actually have customers who will drive down all the way from Austin or Houston sometimes, but I only bake for the Dallas area as of right now," she says.
Someday, Cade hopes to open up a storefront and possibly expand into Austin.
The cakes may be pretty, but Cade has also mastered the taste. To make her cakes, she uses more expensive ingredients including dark cocoa powder for chocolate cake and vanilla bean for the classic vanilla cake. Cade also invents flavors such as cotton candy cake, which is a white cake dyed blue and pink, with frosting that has bits of cotton candy in it.
Funfetti (vanilla with sprinkles) is the most popular flavor among her clients, but Cade's personal go-to is her carrot cake with cinnamon cream cheese and salted caramel sauce.
For her elaborate decorations, Cade adds edible glitter, gold leaf, fondant, wafer paper, mini balloons and real flowers. She also discovered hand painting in 2016 and tries to use sprinkles as much as possible. Amen, sister.
The demand for a Cade's Cakes is high, so if you want to get your hands on one, order at least six to eight weeks ahead of time. Signature cakes that come with glitter letters of a birthday banner start at $45, and the price of custom cakes is determined by each design. Visit the Cade's Cakes website to learn more about pricing and cake details.
