Bakers Spotlight
No matter the sweet treat form, Jaina plays up color, texture and adds a signature splash of gold.
Cakes, cookies, cakecicles and more, there is no dessert medium left untouched.
Jaina
Texture Lover
Layered frosting, sprinkles, and a signature splash of gold are just some of the ways Jaina plays with texture. Her creations help inspire others to think outside the dessert decorating box. As a frequent collaborator, Jaina is a strong and uplifting force in the community.
Gold may be her signature sweet treat color, but a bright red or pink is her signature lip. One of her mantras is, "Put on some lipstick, play some gangster rap, and handle it". As a busy product manager for a software company, she surely lives by this mantra on the reg! After her corporate 9-5, you can find her in the kitchen unleashing her creativeness on a plethora of sweet treats.
Baking is Jaina's passion that started way before her product manager career. Back in Home Economics, she made profiteroles that lit her love for creating. Starting out, she baked those little pastry puffs and cakes here and there for family. In 2017, she took the full plunge and created Cocoa and Silk.
Three years later, Jaina is still inspired to learn, try new things, and puts a smile on her Insta followers faces! New sugar mediums are always popping up on her feed. Cakecicles have become a new specialty. Buttercream cakes are still a staple in her line-up, but now cookies, cupcakes, and more fill her page.
Outside of baking, Jaina has a zest for travel. She has visited 30 countries already and continues to add to that count. Exploring the world inspires her to add new flavors, colors, and designs to her treats.
Family is another important avenue of Jaina's life. She has a strong love for her nieces, nephews, and friends. Pairing her love for baking, her family gatherings must be filled with happiness, laughter and delicious food!
The Interview
1. Your work features so many different textures & decorations that come together so effortlessly! How do you figure out what looks good together?
Personally for me overthinking my designs almost seems a little too perfect for my style - I love having a colour scheme in mind and then improvising as I go along because I think it creates the most exciting bakes. I want my work to be a repertoire of all the things I love without being too repetitive or monotonous - full of a spectrum of colours and pops of gold, with sprinkles enhancing the designs rather than overshadowing them. I just adore utilizing different types of texture as it keeps the designs fresh and innovative and with a little bit of trial and error you end up with something beautiful!
2.Cake pops, cupcakes, cakes, and even ice cream are just some of the creations you have mastered. What dessert format are you having the most fun making these days?
Honestly I think cupcakes or cakesicles! I'm absolutely LOVING finding different flavour profiles and textures to bring into such small and delicious goodies, because for me the taste is equally as important as the design. So many opportunities and they're so easy to eat!
3. Traveling is one of your loves, you have even visited 30 countries! Has your travels inspired your baking/decorating in any way?
Absolutely!!! Being a foodie, one of the things I love the most is discovering and trying new flavours and desserts in different parts of the world, and being inspired to bring that into a cake when I get home. Anything from tropical fresh fruit to different types of cereals to fragrant spices! What's more, I love learning about the culture of each country and introducing that into my designs. It's a huge source of inspiration and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to travel.
4. Using the list below, rank each decoration you're most likely to pick first when creating treats. 1 being most likely and 6 being the least likely!
A colorful variety of frosting - 1
Sprinkles - 2
Fruit - 6
Gold Foil - 3
Chocolate Candy - 4
Flowers - 5
Can I just saw that was the hardest ever! I love them allllllll!!!!
5. How do you balance a full-time career as a product manager AND your side baking biz?
Something I get asked every day, and honestly sometimes I don't know! I truly think if you're passionate about a hobby or a lifestyle, you will find any way to make it work. I work US hours two days a week so I use any time I can before I start work to create content and design new styles, whereas the other three days when I work UK hours, I use the time after work to bake as a stress reliever! Sometimes it's a struggle but I wouldn't change a thing because I love both!
6. Finally, what season do you have the most fun baking for?
Oooohhhh this is a tough question!!! I think I would have to say Christmas or Valentine's. The flavours of Christmas desserts inspire me so much to get into the kitchen and experiment, and of course the gorgeous reds and golds associated with the holiday are perfect! On the flip-side, the sweet and beautiful pinks and reds of the Valentine season are just pure magic! Soooo many opportunities! Either way though, I just love baking all year round!
Texture Play
Not just any cakecicles - Jaina's cake pops are an exploration in texture play.
Sprinkles, foil, and chocolate drizzle are added meticulous to create a unique treat.
Being inspired colour, texture, and gold, Jaina translates her full-sized cakes into bite-sized treats.
Collab Queen
Jaina not only participates in community collaborations, she actively seeks out creating collabs with her fellow baking buddies.
Creating cakes based off a theme, Jaina and her friends post their creations on the same day. Such a fun way to get more involved in the baking community!
Below is a gallery of cakes Jaina created in collaboration with other cake creators. Be sure to check out the other creator's submission!
