At age seven, Annamarie Phillips began her baking career when she sat down at her kitchen table and picked up cake mix and a wooden spoon. Now a junior, Annamarie’s talent for making cakes has become well-known around Kirkwood.
“I think I first started making my cakes because I loved sprinkles, and I loved icing,” Annamarie said. “I never thought a cake had enough icing or sprinkles, so I kind of started there.”
Making cakes and cake balls, Annamarie uses baking as a way to relieve stress. Baking is how she makes time to do what she enjoys and escape to where she can just focus on herself.
“It’s really nice to just be able to sit down and do what you want to,” Annamarie said. “Whether it turns out good or bad, you still get to eat it, so it’s a win-win situation.”
Annamarie said she has involved her friends and family with her baking, but since they have little experience, they do the less complicated things such as icing the cake.
Annamarie bakes for various people and events, but when it comes to baking for good friends, Annamarie likes to design her cakes in a personal way.
One year, for her friend Melody Staicoff’s birthday, Annamarie baked a cake in the shape of a violin, which represented the importance of music in Staicoff’s life.
“It was really amazing and creative to see that she can make a cake and have it be meaningful to a person,” Staicoff, junior, said.
When it comes to her designs, Annamarie just goes with what she feels like making that day. She says she enjoys being surprised by her own cake designs and creations.
“It’s most rewarding when I can look at the finished product,” Annamarie said. “Seeing the smile on people’s faces when they see their cake is rewarding, too.”
At home, Annamarie’s family loves her cakes, but she is trying to branch out from just making cakes for her relatives. Annamarie now gets her name out to the people around Kirkwood through Facebook to make cakes for various events.
“It’s such a creative way to express herself,” Maria Phillips, Annamarie’s mom, said. “We all enjoy the cakes, and it’s wonderful to see all her hard work pay off.”
Annamarie’s friends and family can see her pursuing cake-making in the future. Annamarie said she has gone back and forth over the idea of taking her cakes and opening up her own bakery when she grows up. She loves the idea of being able to bake everyday and continue learning new things about baking.
“I can most definitely see her opening up her own bakery and going through with this in the future,” Maria said. “She has such a strong passion for it.”
With much support from friends and family, Annamarie is able to achieve her goals more often, Maria said. The passion and getting recognized is what makes it worth it.
“I get her name out there as much as I can,” Maria said. “She posts pictures on her Facebook profile, and people see them and ask her to make cakes for them whenever they’re interested.”
Annamarie has raised a couple hundred dollars from her cake making. Maria feels she has improved at cake-baking and her talent has escalated.
“She really is amazing at what she does,” Staicoff said. “She is so driven at becoming better each time she makes something new. She truly has a talent.”
