Hi, I’m Kara and I am so glad you’re here!
I am a born and raised Texan and I have a straight-up heavy Texas accent to go right along with that. I blame my wonderful Dad for that accent. He was a rancher and what you would call a real cowboy.
I live in East Texas with my partner Scott and our miniature dachshund, Coco. She thinks we’re HER pets. I also have one adult son, who is married and lives on his own. He’s really smart and funny if I do say so myself. #proudmom
My obsession with cake:
Growing up, my mother was a wedding planner and decorator. She could make a floral bow like nobody’s business. I never have been able to master it as well as she did. Her business partner was the cake decorator and that’s what truly interested me. I helped out at countless weddings (your kids are free labor, right?) and I literally grew up eating wedding cake on a regular basis.
If I could have cake with every meal, I would. I am obsessed with cake…all kinds of flavor combinations as well as new and out-of-the-ordinary ways to decorate them. I’ve read cookbooks (mainly the baking sections) like novels generally my whole life. I’m super obsessed with the science behind cake baking.
I’ve spent countless hours experimenting with recipes, flavor combinations, cake decorating techniques, taking cake baking and decorating courses and just generally immersing myself in all things cake-related. I told ya…I really am obsessed with cake.
I owned my own cake business for a while, which included baking cakes from scratch and creating custom cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and more. I ultimately decided I just wanted to have fun with cake, not be on deadlines and I wanted to lower my stress level, so I decided to start this blog.
Put simply, cake just makes us happy!
I feel like cake shows up at our most important and happiest moments in life, like birthdays, weddings, baby showers and holidays. It’s also for those everyday moments…it makes them even better. Put simply, cake just makes us happy!
I love trying out new cake flavor combinations and decorating ideas. Have a look around and I bet you can find a cake recipe or tutorial for any of life’s big moments and those everyday moments too.
Some of my cakes, recipes or baking tips have even been shared by:
If you’d like to get in touch with me, you can contact me by sending an email to kara @ iscreamforbuttercream dot com (I’ve added the spaces, so spammers don’t get me). You can also follow me on YouTube, Instagram or Facebook!
Who is this site for?
Well, first, if you’re as obsessed with cake as I am, then it’s definitely for you. Even if you’re not as obsessed, and you’d just like to learn some cake decorating skills, get some cool ideas and be creative with me, then it’s for you too.
My goal is to help you along the way with ideas, tips, techniques and recipes, so you’ll be able to create unique cakes for your family, friends and even clients if you’d like to start a home baking business.
I really think caking should be fun…not stressful.
Cakes aren’t meant to be stressful…Cakes are for parties!
Seeing someone’s face light up when they receive a cake or take that first bite is the ultimate ‘feel good’ medicine.
I want everyone to know that yes, YOU can create unique and memorable cakes and cupcakes.
Where to start?
- First, you’ll want to subscribe to the blog, so you don’t miss any new tutorials that come out. It’s free to do so and you’ll get a cool printable: 7 Tips to Make Your Cakes Look Professional. You can sign up by clicking the graphic below.
- Next, you can find all my cake decorating tutorials here and my cake recipes here.
- And if you need a tried and true, step-by-step method on how to decorate layer cakes (getting smooth straight sides with no icing bubbles, bulges or ridge lines), then I’ve got you covered in The Cake Blueprint.
Now if you’re still just thirsty for more fun stuff…you can check out 30 random things about me below.
30 Random Things About Me:
- I’ll answer to Kara or Kara Jane. Just don’t call me K.J.
- I was called Possum by my family until I was about sixteen.
- My favorite candy is sour patch kids. I’ll eat them until my tongue is raw.
- I can’t wear fingernail polish because it feels like my nails are sweating.
- Nothing makes me angrier than people who treat others badly. Be kind and considerate, even if you have to fake it sometimes.
- I was painfully shy as a child. People thought I was being snobby or rude, but I was just scared.
- I’m also not related to anyone in my family. I was adopted as a baby…I just like to say it that way because it throws people off a little and it’s fun. 🤣
- My parents worked at a children’s home and we lived there until I was seventeen. (By the way, there is no shortage of kids to play with when you live at a children’s home.)
- I cannot stand clutter. It makes my mind feel cluttered and anxious. I am horrified by the hoarders show.
- Both my parents have passed and I really miss them.
- I was a twirler in junior high and high school. I actually twirled fire as well. (That was even more dangerous since this was in the early ’90s and we used a ton of hairspray.)
- I played the alto saxophone for about five years…wouldn’t know what to do with it if I picked one up now.
- I’m not super interested in cooking. I know, scandalous. I love baking, but cooking is something totally different to me.
- I have a grown son. He’s funny and turned out great, in spite of me naming him after a character from the Ninja Turtles movie. (But that Casey was so cool, right?)
- The food I hate the most is beets. Oysters are awful too.
- When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to watch any show or movie that had magic in it. Now I watch the Harry Potter movies on replay.
- My Dad fixed us up old go-karts and other ATVs. I was a very reckless driver…it’s a wonder I survived to adulthood.
- I almost died choking on a jelly bean. No joke. I had to give myself the Heimlich maneuver. Now I refuse to eat the raspberry ones. By the way, want to know what goes through your mind when you’re about to die choking on a jelly bean? It’s this, “Really? This is the way I’m gonna go?”
- I love eating marshmallow fluff and peanut butter mixed together. I do this way too often.
- My favorite TV shows are The Office, Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother. I don’t care how old these are…I still love watching them.
- I have an associate’s of applied science degree (paralegal studies) and a half started public administration one. Previously, I was the law librarian for our county, but in late 2022, I left that job to do this full-time.
- My favorite song is Purple Rain. I can’t explain what this song does to me, but it is ALL the feels. (Prince, I miss you being in this world.) If you’ve never watched the original live video of this song, you should. Wendy Melvoin was a big part of this song and she’s a genius too.
- I get mad at movies when I think they are purposely trying to make me cry.
- After cake, my second favorite food is cheesecake (I guess technically that’s still cake although it’s more like a pie to me).
- My favorite color is green. It reminds me of life. A close second is blue…it’s calming to me.
- I won’t get into an elevator unless I’m forced.
- I actually don’t like steak. If you say that too loudly here in Texas, you might get hurt. 😲
- I really don’t like that I have such a strong Texas accent. I’ve tried correcting it, but it doesn’t do any good. Not that there’s anything wrong with a southern accent, but mine’s just really strong.
- My favorite movies are any of the Harry Potter movies, Office Space and the movie Speed (Keanu Reeves 🥰). Yeah, I know that’s a weird combination of movies though.
- Sometimes I am so sarcastic and dry that others don’t know I’m joking. People have told me it might help if I smile after I make a joke, but I think that ruins the delivery. 🙂 See?
If you have any questions about the website, what equipment I use, or if it’s okay to use one of my pics in a post or on social media, you’ll want to check out my FAQ section here.
