Pastry by Design

Jody-Anne Lawrence, Gleaner Writer

Making that perfect cake come to life is made possible with Pastry by Design. Nicayne Gray started Pastry by Design after she got married because of the difficulties she had finding a place to design her wedding cake. "It was difficult to find someone to do my wedding cake when I was getting married, so I saw the need," Gray told Food.

She started the business from home and then, as business flourished, she decided that she needed a store where customers could come in and help develop the concept of their cake.

"Sometimes our customers needed somewhere where they could come in and sit down and talk. The person-to-person contact makes it easier so that you can both search for an idea of what they want to create," said Gray

Although this was an important factor, it wasn't the sole reason for the store. Gray wanted patrons to see what she could do. Therefore, she created replicas of cakes for display in her store. Though the cakes are not real, the icing is, which allows customers to see exactly what the cake would look like.

Baking was always in Gray's blood, as she was exposed to baking by her aunt and grandaunt. Her aunt, Beryl Brooks, was the one who assisted her in fine-tuning her skills when she decided to get into the cake industry since she (the aunt) had already been in this industry for years in the United States.

Pastry by Design prepares custom cakes for every occasion, though they are most recognised for their wedding cakes and birthday cakes for children. "Some of the cakes we prepare are the conventional wedding cake, fruitcake, red velvet and chocolate mocha. Chocolate mocha is a popular choice," Gray shared.

She went on to mention that though the cakes might sound standard, there are a few differences with the ingredients, as some are family recipes, thus making them unique to Pastry by Design.

Pastry by Designs does not only have a wide variety of cakes, which includes lemon and strawberry sponge cakes and plain cakes, but they have custom cupcakes, cake pops and cookies. All products are done to order.

Gray revealed to Food that Pastry by Design has a Taste Tuesdays where customers can come and try out their appetising flavours. Brides-to-be are also being offered a 10 per cent discount if they make their orders until the end of March.

Pastry by Design is located at Shop #34, Pulse Complex, 38A Trafalgar Road, Kingston.

Their facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/pastrydesigns.

jody-anne.lawrence@gleanerjm.com