Bakey Bakes

Taking a little break from this space. If you follow my stories and have been here a while, you know that I’ve been taking this year to address some difficult to diagnose chronic health issues. I have had a hard time going hands off the business completely, so I’ve been doing various flash sales and cranking out cakes and cookies for subscribers like crazy in between appointments any time I have felt well enough. It brings me so much joy and fulfillment to provide for you via my food and art! It’s my purpose.

Unfortunately though, I’ve reached a medical impasse and my health is worse than ever, so I am taking a breather for the rest of July to regroup and reassess my plan going forward. Right now taking care of my mental health is top priority as this has all taken a great toll on me, so I need to step away for a min and address that.
It’s all just so hard because I have basically thrown my business into a dumpster right when it was at its peak. I fear for my relevance and I fear for all I have built… just trying to be brave and prioritize the right thing without fears of having to start from scratch if/when I recover.

Of course the financial toll of being uninsured and navigating the hell that is the healthcare system of America has been rough and makes me even more pressured to keep working through the limitations of my body. I am not well enough to fly so my original plans of getting help back home in Portugal is not an option.

Anyway, thank you all so much for your continued understanding and for still being here rooting for me. I am open with you here because I feel I owe an explanation to my clients for my disappearing act but I do ask that you please refrain from offering unsolicited advice and respect my choice to withhold the details of what is wrong with me. 💕

I purchased an incredible luna moth piece by .oddities and I just KNEW when it arrived that I HAD to cakeify it! This isn’t my first stunt with buttercream moths, but it is certainly my fave. Every single thing on this cake is made with buttercream (I have to specify that for the more newcomers that may think the flowers are real 😆).
This won’t be the last piece I get from her, and maybe I’ll turn each one into cake!
Inside was fig and almond cake with orange cream cheese frosting.

When in doubt, stencil it out! Stenciling with buttercream on buttercream takes some practice and patience (smearing and denting is a high risk!) but when you get the hang of it, it’s a great way to make a cake look extra fancy. 🧡
Inside this one was pistachio cake w/ orange pistachio buttercream.
This stencil is from

Swoopies and frillies for your Sunday evening enjoyment 💙

*Valid on Instagram only* How are there 50k of you here?? It’s honestly so wild to me that anybody would care about my cakes at all, yet somehow after 7 whole years of sharing my food/art, here you all are! There’s little I can do to show you how much I appreciate your support and kindness but free cakes seems like a good way!! I’m giving away three happy little mini cakes to three lucky local followers. Flavor will be my most popular flavor: Portuguese Birthday Cake (description in highlights and website). Each mini cake has 2-4 servings and valued at $50 each. Color may vary.
To enter:
1 - Like this post.
2 - Make sure you are following .bakes
3 - Tag someone you’ll be sharing your cake with! Tag as many people as you want in separate comments. Each comment counts as an entry!
4 - For a bonus 5 entries share this post in your stories and remember to tag me so I can see it! (If your account is private, send me a screenshot or I won’t be notified)
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Winner will be selected at random and announced Saturday June 8th at 8pm in my stories. Pick up is from Ormewood Park in Atlanta on June 9th. Address will be disclosed to the winners. Local pick up only, they cannot be shipped!! Please make sure to follow all the rules to avoid being disqualified if you get picked as the winner! If this happens an alternate winner will be drawn.
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IMPORTANT!! – Giveaways are being targeted by scammers who impersonate the promoter’s social media accounts. Do not click any links in messages, and report any fake profiles! I will NEVER contact anybody or ask for any personal info (especially financial info!!). The winner will be announced and tagged in my stories who should then contact ME to claim the prize. Let me know if you see anything fishy!!
Best of luck!
💜

May roundup of some of the flash sales that went out to my wonderful subscribers! In May I made 51 mini cakes, 5 full sized cakes, 16 cake slices, 36 Portuguese honey cakes and 144 cookies. Not all pictured here but just so you have an idea of what I’m still producing while I’m on “medical leave” and not taking orders 😆. Happy to have had some good days to still provide for you. If you want to snag some goodies in June, make sure to subscribe and keep your eyes on my stories! For more info check out my highlights labeled “Flash Sales” and “Subscriptions”.
Thank you all for your continued support and positivity!

Felt like making a cute lambeth cake with celestial vibes. ✨ Not gonna lie, I feared that when I stopped accepting orders this year that my inspiration, motivation and creativity would die. So far though all the cakes I’ve made recently have been my favorites! Not necessarily this one but just in general, I feel like my designs have had a different voice lately, and it is my voice alone, no client input. I’m just so grateful to have an audience that is willing to buy my art as it comes and when I’m able.
Inside this one is pistachio cake with orange pistachio buttercream.

I’ve been so inspired by embroidery lately! I looked into it as a hobby but have just ended up making cakes instead. Super proud of this one though, hope you love it too!
Inside was strawberry cake with lemon cream cheese frosting, because yay spring!

Is there any hobby out there that can’t just be turned into a cake?? Because I have a problem. Last hobby was candles, but I just ended up making cake shaped candles 😂

The embroidery I was looking at for inspo is the beautiful work of

New Portuguese flavor number two: “Bolo de Cenoura” aka carrot cake! Extremely popular in Brazil as well. Now, if you’re American (or British) forget everything you know about carrot cake when it comes to this one. Don’t get me wrong, I love American carrot cake, it’s my favorite actually, but this doesn’t taste, look or feel the same in any way. In general, American carrot cakes don’t taste of carrot, they taste of whatever spices are added to it (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or cloves...or all of the above). The Portuguese version has no spices, therefore tastes of what it actually is: carrot. Although I do sneak in a bit of cinnamon because I think it very much compliments it in the subtlest way 🤫. The American version you’re familiar with is also filled with textures and additional components like nuts or raisins or pineapple and large shreds of carrots. The Portuguese version does not, it’s homogenous and does not contain any texture other than that of a tender, moist and gentle cake.
Lastly, the American version is almost always paired with cream cheese frosting, but the Portuguese version is always paired with chocolate frosting. My version is a bit of a hybrid in that it is actually chocolate cream cheese frosting! Best of both worlds in that department.
Of course when I open up my books again you’ll be able to order this flavor and all my other fun flavors alike, but for now, I’ll keep whipping all of them up for subscribers via my many flash sales. Many of which got a chance to try this one already! 🥕

Just a little terracotta cutey that contains another new Portuguese flavor inside. More on that later 🧡

The moment you’ve all been waiting for! Just kidding I know many of you couldn’t care less but hey, it’s the moment I’VE been waiting for because I have really wanted to add more Portuguese flavors to my cake flavor lineup for a long time. After the enormous success of my last two Portugal inspired flavors (Portuguese Birthday Cake and Pastel de Nata), I have created another nod to my region of the Algarve: Fig and Roasted Almond Cake w/ Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. If you’ve been to southern Portugal then you know that figs, almonds and oranges are all the rage, so I wanted to make a layer cake that embodied that. I hope everyone who has tried it so far and who gets to try it in the future loves it as much as I do. Available via flash sales only at this time which are posted to subscribers, as I am not currently accepting orders. More info about flash sales, subscriptions and Portuguese cake flavors in my many highlights!
I did create another flavor in addition to this one but I’ll announce that later!

Last week I developed two new Portuguese inspired cake flavors! So for the promo shots and “innies” photos I have for you coming up, figured I would give this one a cute Portugal treatment on the outside too. Took some inspo from the types of azulejos (tiles) that have beautiful relief work, they are my favorites. Even if it did get cut up for parts and nobody got to enjoy it in its full form, pictures always immortalize my work which essentially all get cut up for parts in the end anyway.
More on those flavors soon! (Subscribers are all fully aware of them already since they got to eat the “parts” and hear about my process all week)

You all know what day it is! ✨
📸
Topper by

Have been thinking of getting into embroidery lately, so last week I made a cake that’s heavily inspired by , whose work is just so outstanding! Inside was carrot cake w/ lemon cream cheese frosting. 💛

Can’t underestimate the power of a stencil on a cake! It’s such an effective and striking look when you’re not feeling very inspired to create something of your own. Inside was ube cake w/ coconut cream cheese frosting.
Stencil from

Geode cake but with flowers instead of crystals, covered in geometric patterns? Sure! With cake, anything is possible!
Each tiny flower meticulously piped with buttercream. Swipe for a closeup 🌸
Inside was strawberry cake with lemon cream cheese frosting.

In honor of the trillions of cicadas emerging in Georgia in the coming weeks, I was inspired to make one of my stained glass cakes with them as the star! Rest assured though I won’t be leaving the house when these guys show up, I like their imagery only 😂 Last time these two broods hatched at the same time was in the 1803 and Jefferson wrote about how the ground was crunchy. NOPE.
Anyway, hope you think the cake is cute! I was inspired by art noveau colors as always. Inside is chocolate cake with salted caramel.
This cake will be flash sold to subscribers later today along with some mini cakes that I’m currently working on. If you want to get a hold of my cakes you must be a subscriber, I have flash sales regularly in my stories. Check out my highlights for more info!

Does a dreamier set of cakes even exist??? It’s been a year and I never shared photos from the party these belonged to but here they are! I love when I get to see photos from where my cakes end up. It’s so rare for bakers to get this experience so thank you to the clients and photographers out there who give us an inside peek! Also happy birthday Cece!
Photos by
Event planner

So are geode cakes over? I’ve made soooo many of them but here are 5 of my faves! I can at least say that I have successfully avoided making any of them accidentally resemble genitalia ( ), which is apparently a very rare accomplishment 😂
Which is your favorite of the five?

This one fell through the cracks and never got posted. Was trying to showcase less lambeth cakes but alas, here’s another one because it’s cute. 💕

I was challenged by my friend and fellow art college alumni .labieniec to make a chicken cake! What more fitting way than to do so inspired by her beautiful illustrations?? I just love her color palettes and whimsical designs so so much. Hope I did her vibes justice!
Couldn’t decide what photo background I wanted so here are two versions, maybe you can tell me which you like more??
Inside was my signature pastel de nata cake, which let’s face it, is a perfect flavor for a chicken design (info about my flavors in my highlights or website).
🐓

As you may know, I make a LOT of mini cakes for local flash sales but they don’t often make it to the grid so here’s a swipe sesh of some of my most recent mini cakes! Many more to come this month so if you’re interested in snagging one, check out my highlights labeled “Flash Sales”. Flash sales are currently available to subscribers only because they became way too competitive and completely unmanageable before. The demand is pretty high, especially since I’m not currently accepting orders, so this is the only way to get something from me for now. Not just mini cakes but all sorts of other things like full sized cakes, cookies, seasonal treats etc.
Which are your favorite ones from this post??

Homesick, so here’s an azulejo cake which to me is Portugal in a nutshell. On the nose sure, but I made it a little distressed and crusty because I think the rawness and realness of Portugal is what makes it so beautiful and unique. I hope it can stay that way even with all the gentrification and tourism related rehabilitation…
Inside the cake is of course “Portuguese Birthday Cake”, my signature flavor you can read about on my website or highlights.

The glow up carrot cakes deserves, and she had babies! I took my eggs and bacon cake design and made it Easter. You can scroll a ways back in the feed to see what the heck I’m talking about, but if not it stands on its own just fine.

It’s sakura season which seems like a very good time to encore this Cardcaptor Sakura themed wedding cake! 🌸
Flowers are hand piped and the stars/feathers are gumpaste.

Went a little more rococo with this one over the weekend! Growing up in Europe, ornate plaster walls and ceilings were always something that spoke to me so I wanted this one to give off those vibes. Not gonna lie, it’s not quite what I had in my head. Sometimes translating your vision into reality doesn’t go as planned! It is still a pretty cake don’t get me wrong, but I struggled with it for some reason and ended up falling back on my trusty vintage piping techniques to correct my wrongs and it veered away from my original intent. I’m just a tad off my game for reasons you are all aware and my confident is a bit shot, but I’m just happy to have been well enough to make this cutey nonetheless and hopefully it made the flash sale recepient happy as well.
Inside was Portuguese Birthday Cake (description of my signature flavors in my highlights and website).

New recipe release!! This time for my popular Mocha Chocolate Chunk Cookies 🍪 The chewiest, chocolatiest, coffee-est cookies in the land. I know you know that releasing recipes is not something I do routinely and certainly not something I take lightly as a business that still actively sells these items, BUT as you also know I have been on medical leave and unable to take orders and work regularly for an indefinite period of time. So to be candid, the primary reason for this release is to cover my hugely growing medical costs paired with my lack of income. Just know that each and every purchase is so very appreciated and is going towards the hope that I will be able to resume doing what I love and continue to be a part of your celebrations. You are welcome to purchase multiples of the recipe to send to your friends as extra contributions as well 🥹
Additionally, I have also temporarily re-released my previously published recipes (Oreo Stuffed Cookies and Ginger Cookies) which you can also purchase individually or as a discounted bundle! All in the Order section of my website BakeyBakes.com (Link in bio)
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I hope you enjoy 💕
*This is my livelihood so I just ask that you please not share my recipes freely with others once you impress them with your bakes, instead please direct them to my website.
** The recipes are in PDF format and include a Cookie Advice page! The download will not go to your camera roll or album because it is not a photo. Your downloads will go to your Downloads folder of your phone, tablet or desktop (unless you have set your downloads to go elsewhere).

Made a special little weaving inspired cake for a joined celebration of 5 of my friends and family whose birthdays all land this month. Seeing the people I love get together and feeding them treats reminded me of what drove me into this field in the first place, it makes me SO HAPPY. Inside was pistachio cake w/ orange pistachio buttercream. Since I was there, I’m able to share my own “innie” photo! You know, for the folks who think my cakes aren’t real 😂
Happy birthday , , , and little Willow 💕💕

I suppose it’s time for my bi-yearly introduction! Thousands of new faces here since the last one so hey!!
My name is Larissa and I am the one and only entity behind the allll the cakes on this account. Also the one who runs the business, answers all your DMs/emails and so delightfully writes out all these captions and witty opinionated stories that you somehow stick around for. I appreciate every single one of you who have hung around through this 7 year journey into cake-ing! Here are a couple of facts about me for those who don’t know (sorry to those who are sick of hearing them):
- I’m from Portugal! Moved to the US to go to art college, where I got my degree in illustration.
- I’ve been baking for my friends since college and somehow that just merged with my art career and turned into what it is today! If you’re curious about my art, I have some in my highlights!
- I am obsessed with sweets and baked goods and have made it my life’s purpose to keep improving my food through experience, experimentation and travel. I don’t believe in cakes that are only style and no substance.
- Started my baking business doing popups around Atlanta, primarily selling uniquely flavored cookies! (Which I still sell to this day)
- My “wisdom streak” is real, I do not dye my hair white, I earned it!
I suppose that’s enough. If you have any questions about me or what I do, I’ll be happy to answer in the comments! Don’t be shy 💕

She was the first of her kind and after a year of making other lacey cakes, none live up to the bar she set. So back in the spotlight she goes!
💚🖤
Btw I hope you know that it’s not my preference to be reposting older cakes as I have been lately, but I am on medical leave. I am not producing new cakes at the moment as I am too unwell. I also feel that because there are so many new faces here, it’s worth sharing some again for those who never saw them!