She’s 11 years old and already Claire Brake is turning around an old proverb as she’s having her cake and eating it too.
Not only that she’s the one making the cakes.
“Ever since I’ve been able to stand on a chair in a kitchen,” said the Meadows resident and daughter of Sara and Chad Brake when asked how long she’s been baking.
She started baking with her Nan, Teena Garnier, and said she used to mix the ingredients in the bowl.
“I used to lick the spoon a lot,” she added with a laugh.
She’s advanced a lot since then and about a year ago launched her own cake business, ClaireBears Cakes.
“I love coming up with new creations and I love seeing how they turn out in the end,” she said.
She also loves the memories that baking brings of her Nan and how they baked together. “She’s in heaven now,” she said.
It’s been eight years, but she still misses the look of pride her Nan would have when she accomplished something.
By the time she started ClaireBears Cakes, Claire had already been making cakes for her family’s birthdays and other events. Her mom would post pictures of her cakes on Facebook and then other family members and then friends started ordering them.
She hasn’t kept track of how many cakes she’s made, but says it’s a lot.
Each cake takes about two days to complete and she only does one a week.
The cakes are all baked from scratch and she makes her own buttercream icing — a top-secret recipe. She makes some decorations out of fondant, but doesn’t like covering cakes in it. “Because that’s a risky business.”
Her favourite things to bake are French macaroons and cream puffs. Both are a lot of hard work. When it comes to cake she likes chocolate the best.
She has a few favourite YouTubers — including Yolanda Gamp of “How to Cake It,” and Rosanna Pansino from “Nerdy Nummies” — who she draws inspiration from.
“And I make it up in my mind, too.”
She learns the techniques for decorating from the videos and perfects it through lots of practice.
She’s done a beer mug cake with a beer can suspended above it, pouring out buttercream beer for her grandfather’s birthday and a steak for her uncle’s birthday.
A cake she made for a cousin’s bridal shower was one of the tougher ones.
“That was all piped rosettes and that was the first time I ever piped a rosette, and I was like super stressed about it.”
But it turned out well in the end.
Recently her love of a baking was shared in a Getjoyfull video that was completed by her cousin Emily Mardell. Claire and Mardell’s daughter, Cela, made a batch of creampuffs.
Sara Brake said she and her husband are very proud of Claire.
“I can’t believe it really, that it turned out to be what it is,” she said.
“I have totes now in my dining room with cake decorating supplies. It’s just getting out of hand,” she said with a laugh.
She said they support Claire in whatever she wants and has even told her she doesn’t have to do so much. She also makes it a rule that there’s no cake business in the summer.
“She’s a kid and I still want her to be a kid.”
She may be a kid, but Claire has a plan for the future.
Her short-term goal is to be on the Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship.
“I would really, really, really love to be on there,” she said.
She watches every episode and said the more skills she learns and the better her cakes become will help with that. To showcase her work, she shares pictures on Facebook, ClairBears Cakes, and @clairebearscakes on Instagram.
“My long-term goal is to get a business degree, and go to pastry school and open a big, fancy bakery in a big city.”
