Duff Goldman's New Shop Is Like A Paint-Your-Own-Pottery, But For Cakes

From Delish

If you've ever watched Ace of Cakes on Food Network and thought, I could totally recreate that Betty-White-surrounded-by-puppies cake, you're in luck: The show's star has created a place for you. Duff Goldman's latest venture, outside of Charm City Cakes, is called Duff's Cake Mix - a shop that lets you trick out your own desserts.

As soon as you walk inside either of its California shops, you'll see a massive bakery case filled with fondant-covered cakes in every color of the rainbow, as well as rows upon rows of unfrosted chocolate and confetti cupcakes. You pay $36 for a 6-inch layer cake, or $28 for a pack of six cupcakes, then grab a tray and go down the line, cafeteria-style, grabbing whatever frostings, fondant, sprinkles, candy, and decorating tools you want. (This isn't just a basic selection of rainbow or chocolate sprinkles, either. They've got rock crystals, sanding sugar in every color of the rainbow, dragees - you name it.)

There's also a wall of instruction cards, featuring step-by-step breakdowns of how to create popular cake designs, like unicorns, narwhals, Minions, and yes, He Who Lives In A Pineapple Under The Sea, Spongebob Squarepants. Or you can go rogue and design your own thing. You do you.

You can even show staffers a photo of a cake you have in mind, and get their advice on how to create it yourself.

At first glance, the place may seem like a popular spot for kids' birthday parties - and it is - but it's proving equally popular with parents who want to make their kids' birthday cakes. Without dropping a car payment on all of the baking tools (or the hassle of making fondant from scratch) to do so, one employee said.

It's easy to see the appeal: In one hour, you can create a Spongebob cake so spot-on you'd swear it's from the real Charm City Cakes, only you get the supreme satisfaction of humblebragging to everyone you know that "oh, this lopsided thing? Yeah, I just kind of threw it together one morning." Here, let us brush those sprinkles off your shoulder.

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