Meet Mayra Estrada | Owner of Cake Creations by ME & Creator of Zeoto Pen A Heat Decorating Pen

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

Hi Mayra, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My business started as a hobby in 2011 after taking the Wilton Courses. The courses only taught you the basic steps, so I continued to teach myself by researching tutorials on the internet and taking online courses. At the time, I was working a full-time job which left me evenings and weekends.

I spent hours studying and researching to learn new techniques and how to work with all kinds of edible mediums. There’s no denying that, at this point, I was consumed with a passion and love for edible art! The freedom to be artistically creative was addictive, not to mention that I loved the challenges. There was so much to learn.

With lots of practice, I eventually found the mediums I loved working with, and that was all I needed! There was no stopping me now. Fondant was my love and buttercream was my nightmare! I had more than enough family members to practice making cakes for, to helped me gain experience and build my confidence. And boy, did I make lots of free cakes for different occasions!

I was so consumed in perfecting my techniques, I failed to realize there was more to cakes than just a pretty face. I was told once that my vanilla cake tasted like corn bread!! That was quite disappointing as the outside of my cake was beautiful. Talk about deflating your confidence in the process of building it! It was at that moment I knew I had to perfect my baking skills with pairing flavors and texture. After failing with so many recipes, I was left with no choice but to turn to the “no” rule in baking, Duncan Hines became my best friend until I could teach myself the science of baking.

I was determined to rise and shine, although some felt it would never go any further. In my heart, I knew this was something I could see myself doing!

With lots of practice and failures, I finally mastered the science in baking and flavor pairing. Yes, it’s true that there is a science involved in baking. Every ingredient and how you process your batter plays a roll. I couldn’t have done it without my hubby, who’s my most honest critic! In time, I learned how to tweak recipes to make them my own for that perfect batter. I can even tell when my cakes are perfectly baked coming out of the oven by the weight of the pan. The key is baking with love.

It was at that point that I felt confident enough to market myself, so I made dummy cakes to create a portfolio for social medial. Soon, my business started to bloom through word of mouth and referrals from friends and family.

Never in my wildest dreams, did I think this would turn into more than just a hobby full of passion. I mean come on; how could I give up a good paying job to chase my dreams of becoming a cake artist! So, through my job, I was able to save money to invest in the tools and materials I needed for my business.

What should our readers know about your business?
Cake Creations by ME in located in Granada Hills and became a home licensed bakery in 2018, serving San Fernando Valley & Los Angeles. I specialize in wedding cakes, special event cakes, sculpted cakes & figures and much more. If you are looking for something customized and truly special for an event, I’m your girl! I take pride in my work and dedicate 100% of my effort to ensure my customers are happy.

The success of my business was not overnight. There were lots of ups and downs in my journey. Regardless of those hurdles, I refused to give up and learned from my failures.

I would set goals for myself further than I could reach in hopes that I would obtain them one day. I can honestly say that when you love what you do there is nothing that can stop you! I achieved much more than I could have ever dreamed of.

Today, I can proudly say that I am a multi-award winner for my Wedding cakes. I have been featured & published in worldwide magazines & blogs.

I am a Food Network Competitor / Winner.

I have also organized cake collaborations featuring worldwide cake artists where we create edible art inspired by themes. Cake Con International – inspired by San Diego Comic Convention, Comics, Super Heros and More, Inked Sugar Art – Inspired by Tattoo Artists & we collaborated with Ink Magazine, Wedding Cakes Inspired by Fashion – inspired by Barbie fashion and we collaborated with Barbie Fashion Designers.

I have also freelanced for Chef Duff Goldman, Charm City Cakes in LA.

And it does not stop there!! In 2019, I launched my own cake decorating tool, Zeoto Pen™ a Heat Decorating Pen, food safe and lead free certified.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Hmmm there is so much to see and do in CA. : )

I would start by taking them to see the tourist attractions, The Hollywood Walk of Fame then a tour guide to see where the stars live and maybe catch a movie at the Mann’s Chinese Theater followed by dinner at Katsuya.

Rodeo Drive is definitely a must, to get that … awww, I love it but can’t afford it experience “maybe one day”. Then head to Santa Monica 3rd Street to walk and eat.

One day at Redondo Beach Pier, rent a bike or walk on the path toward Manhattan Beach. I love the vibe there! We would probably grab lunch on the walk somewhere. Then drive up to Palos Verdes for an entire coastal view.

I would also plan a day in Santa Barbara to see the coast and enjoy some seafood by the beach and walk by shops.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was greatly influenced and inspired by many people on social media, but there are a few I truly need to thank for their inspiration. There was so much I wanted to learn and master.

I fell in love with the art of sugar flowers when I stumbled upon Chef Nicholas Lodge! I was so inspired that I purchased a couple of his DVDs and purchased a course on Craftsy, where he teaches his techniques to learn. Years later, I had the pleasure of meeting him was honored to work alongside him at Simi Sugar Splash Retreat in Florida, where I demoed my Zeoto Pen. He was incredibly kind and always there to help when needed. It was heartbreaking when he passed away a couple of years ago. In his honor, social media was flooded with his favorite color, green. He will forever be missed in the sugar world. His memory lives on through the Nicholas Lodge Legacy Foundation. I also want to thank Edna De La Cruz, who shared so much of her knowledge through tutorials on her perfectly beautiful wedding cakes. One day, I found the courage to reach out to her with a question about one of her recipes, and she was kind enough to respond and help me. I will forever be grateful. I was thrilled to finally meet Edna in person at the SoFlo Convention in Miami.

One day, I came across a post with a beautiful plaque that led me to do some research. This is where I discovered Eddie Spence, the master of royal icing. His artistry in royal icing truly took my breath away, and I was determined to learn. So, I purchased his book, The Art of Royal Icing, to teach myself. I was able to finally meet him in person years ago when I attended Cake International in Bermingham. He was the sweetest!

As I continued to grow and learn, I became fascinated with sculpting figures. Here I go again! I hadn’t perfected any of the skills above, but I felt the need to learn more. I know, I tend to be all over the place at times, but that’s just me!

I soon developed friendships on Facebook with people who shared my passion for edible art. I was in heaven! My first cakey friend was Cassandra Rice, whom I have to thank for believing in me and inviting me, in 2015, to my first cake collaboration. These collaborations are by invitation only, so I could hardly believe it. Cassandra and I became the best of friends and even created several collaborations together. Our first collaboration was “Cake Con International” in 2015, the first collaboration to showcase edible art in the form of comics, superheroes, and everything showcased at SDCC! We invited amazing sugar artists from around the world. I had now truly put myself in a position where I had to perfect my sculpting skills! Through Cake Con, I formed wonderful friendships with worldwide cake artists, but only a few became close friends, Adelina Baicu, Jennifer Holst, and Nathasja Flapper, who are amazing sugar sculptures. I am thankful to them for taking the time to teach and critique me so I could perfect my sculpting skills when creating my piece. Their encouragement and guidance when I felt discouraged uplifted me. To this day, Adelina Baicu continues to mentor me and has become a dear friend! Thank you so much for always being there for me no matter what!

In 2017 Cake Con International made its first public appearance displaying some of the amazing pieces by the talented cake / sugar artists. I thank, Jennifer Holst, our Foreign Regional Manager for organizing this wonderful Exhibit at Cake & Bake Germany in Dortmund. That year, we were also nominated as finalist for a Collaboration Award to be held at Cake International in Bermingham which I was lucky to attend. I want to thank Emilia Calvo and her family who picked me up in Bermingham and invited me to stay with them when there. It was then, that I was finally able to meet most of the sugar artists abroad. I was beyond thrilled! I have so many wonderful memories of the trip that will last a lifetime. I want to thank all the sugar artists who have participated in Cake Con throughout the years, without them it would not have been possible.

In 2018, I decided to get a booth at Wonder Con Comic Convention to display our sugar art. We were the first sugar art collaboration to have ever displayed at a comic convention. Our booth was a big hit and surprised everyone with superheroes and comics in the form of sugar art. In 2019, we also decided to display our sugar art at LA Comic Con, which was also a big hit!! I want to thank Danielle Lechuga and Erandeny Cuevas sugar artists of Cake Con for driving out of State with their families to help me with the booth and displays. I also want to thank the sugar artists who shipped their pieces to display at our booth.

We blew social media away with our Collaboration and have inspired so many sugar artists who have followed our footsteps.

I want to thank Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes and her family for supporting me with my heat decorating pen, Zeoto Pen™ with distribution worldwide and also live Facebook demos and attending their retreat to demo my heat pen. I also want to thank Deborah Coughlin of Icing Images for also believing in me and supporting my heat pen by inviting me to do live demos on Facebook and demoing at her booth during cake conventions. It’s not easy when you launch a new cake decorating tool. I couldn’t be more grateful for their support and wonderful friendship.

And last but not least, I have to thank my husband, Alex Estrada, for not only putting up with my journey, my disappointments, and my determination. I was missing in action for so many hours, just practicing and teaching myself, that he often felt wifeless! Thank you for believing in me and for your amazing support. You will always be my most honest critic! I also want to thank the man above for his blessings, as well as my son, mom, dad, my siblings, and their families for believing in me and cheering me through my ups and downs and I continued to grow.

Without all of you, this success would not have been possible.

Website: www.cakecreationsbyme.com & www.zeotopen.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cakecreationsbyme/ & https://www.instagram.com/zeoto_pen/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayra-estrada-4b139711a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CakeCreationsByME/ & https://www.facebook.com/zeotopen/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cake-creations-by-mayra-estrada-los-angeles-3

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mayraestrada2354 & https://www.youtube.com/@zeotopentm7680