Bean Counter Creators of Cakes

With all of the reality cake decorating shows on television today, it’s an honor to meet two young, talented women who get giddy at the thought of coming to work.

Amanda Russell and Mara Mahoney are the cake decorators at the Bean Counter Bakery and do all of the design work and baking for cakes at the Shrewsbury location as well as the Worcester location.

Mahoney has worked at the bakery for the past seven years and is a graduate of Johnson and Wales. After graduating college, she worked at the Beechwood Hotel and worked at the bakery on her days off to do more of the cakes and pastries.  She started with cupcakes and cookies and after becoming the manager of the bakery at the Worcester store, she started baking and decorating wedding cakes full time.

“We do, on average about eight wedding cakes per weekend.  They range in style and décor with everything from a traditional tiered cake to three dimensional cakes,” Mahoney said.

Russell recently joined the Bean Counter Bakery in June 2010. She has always enjoyed baking with her family and has an art background. She took art classes in Beverly, but was still itching to do something creative. While bartending, Russell saw an advertisement for a “cake artist” and immediately became intrigued. While she is self-taught, she accepted this position and hasn’t looked back. She continues to learn new things daily. Together, Russell and Mahoney make one dynamic team and compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“We were really excited when Amanda came in to interview. That’s exactly what we were looking for. We needed more of the art end for the bakery. So, not only did we need someone with the skills to produce quickly, but also someone who had that extra edge. She definitely has that which has helped us get bigger and better cakes going…it’s pretty incredible,” Mahoney said.

Some of the cake requests can be unusual. There have been fall wedding cakes decorated with the bride and groom’s three cats as well as a wedding cake resembling giant pumpkins.

“Because of baking shows like, 'The Cake Boss' and 'The Ace of Cakes,' people are requesting more challenging projects for us to create. People see these types of cakes and want us to do something similar,” Russell said.

Recently, Russell and Mahoney finished a three-dimensional cake resembling a golf bag as well as a three-dimensional shopping bag.

While there is no typical day, each morning begins with the cake decorator’s looking at their orders and prioritizing them from birthday cakes, wedding cakes, anniversary cakes, etc., to when they need to be delivered to the client. Since everything is fresh, the fondant and gum paste elements can be done a few days prior to needing the finished product, but the actual cake part is done a day or so ahead to insure freshness. The pair works together from start to finish like a well-oiled machine.

“Some things are not in our control like the hot weather. The temperature can affect the cake structure,” Mara said. “Alice Lombardi, the bakery’s owner did recently purchase a refrigerator truck which will be used for deliveries,” she added.

It’s quite obvious that both Russell and Mahoney love what they do. They are hard working and extremely talented.

“This job is so rewarding. I love when the customer actually gets teary when they see their cake or wants to hug me. Just to see the look on their face and a warm smile beaming at the cake and then at me. What could be better?” Russell said.