Meet Heather Anne Leavitt

Behind the Sugar: Blog Edition

Meet Sugar Angel Heather Anne Leavitt of Sweet Heather Anne in Ann Arbor, MI.
“It’s so fun to share our skills with people who wouldn’t normally have access to them. In most people’s lives, there are only a few occasions where they’re able to splurge on a fancy cake—but it’s usually a very festive, memorable experience,” Heather said when asked what she enjoyed the most about volunteering. She heard about Icing Smiles on social media through other cake designers. “When we heard about the program, we were eager to sign-up. Being able to donate to causes that we truly believe in can sometimes be the fuel that re-ignites our creative passion.”

Heather’s love for cake artistry and design stems from her extensive background in art, her passion for food, and her refusal to believe that there is nothing she cannot create. Before she opened her business, she took time to refine her craft which eventually lead to an amazing opportunity becoming an assistant to Courtney Clark of Cake Nouveau on a Food Network Cake Challenge! “As owner and cake designer at Sweet Heather Anne, I love what I do, and look at each new cake as a challenge to further develop my craft. I am thankful to be working with an amazingly talented team who shares my passion for cake and keeps me laughing daily,” she states.

It’s fantastic that Heather and her team love a good challenge, because we contacted her to create a dream cake for 9 year old Jase to celebrate his birthday. On September 23, 2013 Jase’s parents took him to the doctor to have a bug bite examined that would not go away and ask questions regarding some excessive bruising he had experienced. Unfortunately, 12 hours later they were given some unexpected news. Jase was diagnosed with ALL… Leukemia. With that being said, Heather wanted to make sure she gave Jase not just any ol’ cake but an experience to remember. She wanted to be able to contribute to a day where he could smile and have loads of fun!

When asked how she came up with such an exciting design for Jase Heather said, “When I heard that he loved Spongebob Squarepants, I was super excited! Spongebob is so psychedelic, and there’s a ton of cool imagery in the illustrations. It was actually really difficult to narrow it down because we wanted to make even more of Spongebob’s world out of cake! Ultimately, it came down to choosing a design that allowed us to try a new, impressive building technique.”

Surprisingly, this was the first time the team had constructed a cake like this! “We’ve made plenty of tall cakes with internal structures before, but they’re usually thick piping with PVC spacers hidden inside. For this one, we wanted Spongebob to stand on one VERRY SKINNY leg and actually get bigger towards the top with Patrick on his shoulders. To do this, it was a ton of internet research and at least two trips to Lowe’s with some very confused men helping me in the plumbing department! It required me figuring out Spongebob’s cross section at a few different spots then cut those shapes out of wood with a jigsaw (we’re pretty tough chicks). Those were then supported on one threaded rod with nuts and bolts holding them up. The whole thing was seran wrapped to be food safe and we built the cake right on there. We baked a ton of one-layer sheet cakes so we could cut the shapes out we needed. I was really worried about not having enough cake, but that was definitely not a problem! It ended up being a super big project, so our other cake designer, Katie, came to help at the last minute. She put the finishing details on Spongebob and Patrick’s face. We brought her out of maternity leave and she was super pregnant, but she was a trooper! “

Heather and Katie delivered the cake to the bowling alley where Jase’s party was being held. Jase’s mom informed us that the ladies did an incredible job and looked amazing! Heather really enjoyed meeting Jase and his family. She said she felt like she had just dropped off a cake to a dear friend.

Loving what you do is extremely important in this industry and working with a team of equally talented, artistic and enthusiastic persons is just as important. We are fortunate that the children we serve are surrounded by doctors and nurses who genuinely care about their well-being and have a sincere passion for their craft, much like our Sugar Angels. Thank you Heather, Katie, and the rest of the team for bringing a BIG smile to Jase’s face! We are so excited to have you as a Sugar Angel and look forward to seeing more “smiles” from you all in the future.

To view more of their wonderful creations visit Sweet Heather Anne.

To follow up with Jase and his story visit his CaringBridge site.