CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Forget basic icing, sprinkles, and tired designs. Today’s cakes are pushing the limits, boasting layers upon layers, mountains of buttercream, and hand-crafted masterpieces unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Meet Cleveland native Tiara Leftwich, aka Cupcake Mama 216, a baking connoisseur who can turn your wildest cake dreams into reality, whether you’re looking for elegant sophistication or over-the-top whimsy. With nearly 210,000 followers, Leftwich’s social media is exploding with her jaw-dropping designs.
But baking wasn’t always her passion. It all started with a simple need: a birthday cake for her son’s circus-themed party.
“He was turning two, and I couldn’t find a bakery that fit my budget,” Leftwich explains. “So, I decided to tackle it myself! Now, I wasn’t exactly a kitchen whiz. I never learned from my grandma or grew up baking. Everything I knew, I had to learn from scratch. I poured my heart and soul into that cake, and let’s just say…it wasn’t pretty. It tasted okay, but looked like a disaster! But somehow, that disaster sparked something in me. I wanted to get better, to learn more, and I was completely hooked.”
Leftwich wasn’t afraid to put in the work, graduating from “YouTube University” and becoming a self-made baking boss. As her skills blossomed, so did her online presence, and now everyone wants a slice of the Cake Queen’s magic.
“I curate my page with celebration cakes that I enjoy making, but I also love pushing myself with sculpted, carved, and 3D designs,” Leftwich shares. “I don’t promote them much, but they’re a hidden passion. You might see a Stanley Cup cake, or creations from my ‘Delulu series’ – cakes I dream up that nobody’s ordered, but would totally make for Beyoncé if she called! (Hint, hint, Queen Bey!)”
And Beyoncé isn’t the only big name Leftwich has attracted. Popular brand Stanley commissioned her to create a cake that not only resembled their iconic cup perfectly, but you could actually drink out of it! Yes, you read that right. She drank out of a cake!
“It was a last-minute idea,” Leftwich laughs. “I thought, ‘What if it could function as a cup?’ I figured it out, and it was awesome! Stanley even commented and reposted it, which was super cool.”
Think that’s crazy? Just wait until you hear about the cake with real fish swimming inside! It was a four-tier gravity-defying masterpiece.
Of course, creating such spectacular cakes takes time and dedication. Leftwich whips up between 10 and 18 cakes in just three days! No matter the occasion, she pours her passion and energy into each one, aiming to make them unforgettable centerpieces.
“People trust me with their weddings and other huge events,” Leftwich says thoughtfully. “This is a big deal, one of the biggest days of someone’s life, and they trust me! That’s why I take so much pride in my work and give every cake my all. These aren’t just desserts; they’re potential forever-lasting memories. When you consider the price and the fact they’ll be in photos, it makes you want to go above and beyond.”
But Tiara Leftwich is more than just a full-time baker. She’s a mother, a fiancée, and the first entrepreneur in her family. She wears many hats and loves them all equally.
As Black businesses thrive worldwide, Leftwich emphasizes supporting them, not just for everyone, but especially within the African American community.
“It’s crucial because groups tend to support their own,” Leftwich believes. “Look at Little Italy, they support each other, and that’s vital. In a perfect world, we’d have our own everything – banks, schools, bakeries, grocery stores – with everyone supporting each other. If I have two pennies, one is going to a Black-owned business. It feels amazing to offer something my people could get elsewhere, but choose me instead. I love that.”
Tiara Leftwich, you are Black history in the making!
Find Cupcakemama216 on Instagram.
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