From One of Our Bakers: The Magic of Baking

In 2010, Jennifer Hettenhouse missed her daughter’s first birthday due to being hospitalized with pneumonia. It came and went without much celebration. No presents, no party, and no cake. This was a huge milestone to miss, and she vowed to herself to never miss another one and to do “everything in [her] power to make each celebration magical” for her daughter. And she  truly did. 

Jennifer taught herself how to bake and decorate cakes. She watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos and tweaked and re-tweaked recipes to make them perfect. Sure, she had caketastrophies and fails, but she knew that making mistakes is the best way to learn. She said, “Each time I make a cake, I learn something new. I am far from perfect. But each time, I get closer.”

Four years after her daughter’s first birthday, in 2014, people began asking Jennifer to make them cakes. More and more people kept asking, giving rave reviews, and insisting she open a shop. After three years of consideration, she did. Jennifer opened ZubCakes in 2017, her own cottage food bakery selling amazing homemade baked goods.

Jennifer was delighted to become a Sugar Angel and deliver her first cake to a boy named Hawk. She said that “to provide a magical escape for just a few moments to him and his family was what all of this has been building up to.” Icing Smiles was just what she needed. She loves to bake, decorate, and “give smiles and make people feel like they have a magical moment.” She is beyond excited to deliver her next Icing Smiles cake, and so are we.

To visit Jennifer’s website go to ZubCakes.

With love and smiles,

Olivia Graupmann

Icing Smiles Blog Writer