We had the good fortune of connecting with Erika Belalcazar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erika, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a lover of desserts and with an interest in cake decorating, I initially started my business as a side hobby. I loved baking small desserts such as brownies and cookies on my spare time for myself and my family. I later decided to take a couple of private classes and started watching YouTube tutorials. This turned into making cakes and desserts on spacial occasions for family and close friends. I continued researching, experimenting and practicing the craft and started to feel more confidant and more inspired. One of the most rewarding aspects would be the feeling I would get seeing the excitement and joy on peoples faces when they would see my creations.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Sweet Crumb Cakery started 8 years ago as a hobby/creative outlet making cakes for family and friends. I started my cake decorating journey by taking Wilton cake decorating classes at Michaels and also got certified as a Wilton Instructor to teach cake decorating. I dedicated countless hours and sleepless nights, practicing and watching YouTube soaking up as much knowledge as possible!

I am now able to implement my knowledge and experience to create cake decorating workshops for those who share a passion for cakes like I do. It’s very exciting to meet others from the “cake” community, to share ideas and talk everything cakes. I have had the privilege to work alongside many vendors to create magical events and styled shoots.

Lastly, being able to see my work published online and in magazines has validated all my hard work, making me want to push even harder to make my dreams come true. I think with everything in life, when starting or creating something new there will be challenges that present themselves forcing you to learn and adjust. There were many struggles, failures, and mistakes along the way that taught me many things and lots of patience!
Some of those struggles were due to lack of experience in certain aspects, finding my own creative style, dealing with a small workspace (lack of storage) and standing out in a world full of many talented bakers.
Now that I have explored many different aspects in the cake industry, I’m currently working on my brand niche and what I want to be known for, this is my constant battle as we all evolve and change constantly as we go through our life experiences.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to our closets beach that is Newport and Huntington! Visit all the local coffee shops such as Stereoscope, WIP, Lion & Lamb and white sparrow. Then I would take them Oliboli for the best donuts in Tustin. The things to visit and explorer in OC are endless!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family, friends and customers that keep encouraging and supporting me along my journey to build a successful business.

Website: sweetcrumbcakery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetcrumbcakery/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-belalcazar-462221179/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetCrumbCakeryLLC

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-crumb-cakery-santa-ana-4

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.