JULY-Cake Artist of the Month-The Baked Equation

"Cake Artist of the month" is finally here and I am so excited to bring you The Baked Equation.

Behind The Baked Equation is Melissa, a woman with and extraordinary talent but also with a big and open heart to help those in need.

I stumbled upon her creations on her Facebook Page and since then I have been following her work and learning from her tutorials. 

I love the fact that she uses organic and natural products in all her yummy sweets.Every single one of them  look and I am sure taste amazing!

Now, look at this beautiful cake. 

In Melissa's words...



Let me introduce myself, my name is Melissa Barbakoff and I have a passion for baking, nutrition and creating beautiful, edible gifts. I have loved to bake since I was a little girl but it wasn't until recently that it became a full time pursuit. My company, The Baked Equation, was born as a way to raise funds for our charity, Micah 6:8 Sudan. Our dream is to help train pastors and to build a sustainable farming community in Southern Sudan. It all started with a "Bake Sale" and the sale has never quite ended.


The first year I loved to bake brownies and cupcakes. It’s just my thing. Then someone approached me about making their wedding cake. I looked a little stunned because a wedding cake and being able to make cupcakes are two different skill sets. I looked into going to pastry school but it was not really an option at this point in my life. I searched out different classes to take on the art of using fondant and making sugar flowers. There are so many amazing classes available from Cal-Java, Jacqueline Butler at Petal Sweet, online classes at Craftsy, sugar art books and baking blogs.

You might be wondering how I have a passion for nutrition and baking as I mentioned above. I believe all things in moderation are good but I more firmly believe that you are better off to have a slice of cake with real butter, eggs and sugar than chemically created ones. Isn’t sad that we have to put the word “real” before certain foods. I do not mean to offend anyone who uses a box mix but I would definitely encourage you to do some research on what some of these chemicals are in the box mix. I was definitely floored when I researched what these mysterious ingredients were. The rule at our house is, if you can’t pronounce it you probably should not eat it. If you are interested in reading more about the artificial things in our food, from antifreeze to beaver parts, you might find this article interesting by the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/food-republic/6-ingredients-food_b_1400970.html#s852456&title=Propylene_Glycol_AKA

On a personal note, I am a wife and a mother. My boys are all about vanilla. My husband is my best friend and is known to make people laugh at just the right time. But we have a rule, he must check to see if I am drinking liquid first. It can be quite hazardous drinking hot liquids and laughing at the same time. He has been so amazingly supportive of my baking pursuits. My son on the other hand, is a 14 year old foodie who definitely will tell me when I need to pack up my spatulas and go. On the other hand when I create a winner he lets me know. I appreciate his honest opinions.

Thank you so much Melissa for sharing your talent with us.

Follow The Baked Equation on her blog,Twitter and Facebook.

If you want to know more about Micah 6:8 Sudan go here