Oct 1

Oct 1 Cakes by Gaby

Interview with Gaby Triana, a CAKE ARTIST

Gaby Triana, based in Miami, started baking cakes because Santa never brought her the Easy-Bake Oven she had asked for. It left a burning thirst that needed quenching, lol. Baking and cake decorating were two of three hobbies she developed at an early age, the other hobby being writing. She is also the author of 4 novels for young adults published by HarperCollins: BACKSTAGE PASS, CUBANITA, THE TEMPTRESS FOUR, and RIDING THE UNIVERSE.

Greatest Inspirations/Influences?

My mother made cupcakes for my classroom and while she thinks this was common and uninspiring, it's what set me off with cake decorating.
My grandmother was a woman of many talents, a woman who couldn't stop for two seconds. She was always moving, doing something, multi-tasking, creating, and inspiring til the day she died at age of 91.

Top 3 Favorite Cake Designs so far?

Well, maybe because I just made it, but the LEBO cake I just did for a charity event came out great, but that doesn't count because it's LEBO's art.
Some of my favorites are the most simple: a guayabera cake I made, which I've seen copied several times. The best part about it is the details--the brand of cigar the customer likes, the tag on the shirt...
There's a black electric guitar cake that came out awesome, and I guess my favorite girly cake would be a pink and chocolate brown bridal shower cake that's quilted with butterflies that's really sexy.

Greatest Challenge?

Keeping my cakes looking crisp, because I make a soft, moist cake filled with simple syrup, so it's not like these cake designers you see on TV that get their cakes perfectly square. Then in another scene, you see why. They throw their layers on like they're made of bricks. My cakes are soft, have a tendency to leak, and that can be a challenge when making a stacked cake.

Dream Project?

Having my own show on TLC or Food Network. I'd love to do a show, different from Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes (where there, you see the inner workings of a bakery). I'd like to have a how-to cooking show where I show you step by step how to make a cake while juggling a bunch of other domestic duties, and my kids running around in the background and shit. lol

Favorite Sites/Blogs?

Yours! :) I wish I had the time to visit websites and blogs, so if I ever do, I mostly just check out what other cake artists and authors are doing, so I can't say I have a favorite right now.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I'm a pretty simple person. All I ask is that my bills get paid and that I have enough left over for vacation with my family. My kids and husband mean everything to me. My favorite dessert, ironically is key lime pie, not cake, and my very simple goal in life is to make sure every man, woman, and child on the planet know who Gaby from

Cakes by Gaby