Winner: Bake My Day
Unlike the wedding cakes that are created mostly for show, a cake from Bake My Day is meant to be eaten and enjoyed. Founder and cake designer Tamara Rutschmann believes that simplicity is the key to excellence, and she applies that philosophy to creating desserts from scratch, using local ingredients that are free from preservatives. She doesn’t freeze her cakes either, but will happily deliver them fresh for your event. A graduate of the baking and pastry arts program at SAIT, Rutschmann has been baking her entire life, and unofficially began making custom cakes for her family and friends’ special events from her home in 2012, before renting out a commercial kitchen space in 2016. “It just got to the point where my day was getting so busy,” Rutschmann says. “It’s really where my passion lies — in decorating cakes and working with my customers.” Bake My Day also offers a range of mini desserts, including cookies, shortbread, mini-pies and French macarons. Flavours range from classics like chocolate and vanilla, to cinnamon swirl, banana browned butter and lavender vanilla bean. Her most popular wedding-cake flavours are London Fog (made with a tea blend from local company Tearrific) and chocolate-caramel with house-made salted-caramel sauce. Bake My Day continues to expand and recently moved into a new studio space in Ramsay. —T.A.
Bake My Day, 587-998-5177, bakemydaycalgary.com, @bakemydayyyc
Runners-up
Modern Bake
403-682-9941, modernbakeyyc.com, @modernbake
SWIRL Custom Cakes & Desserts
11511 35 St. S.E. (by appointment only), 403-200-0649, swirlcakes.ca, @swirl_cakes
Whippt Kitchen
4, 5329 72 Ave. S.E. (by appointment only), 587-471-1032, whippt.ca, @whipptkitchen
Pretty Sweet Bakeshop
536 42 Ave. S.E., 587-356-1225, prettysweetco.com, @prettysweetyyc
CAKE Bake Shoppe
33 High St. S.E., 403-266-7003, cakebakeshoppe.ca, @cakebakeshoppe
Afsheed Cakes and Sweets
403-467-7995, afsheed.com, @afsheedpastry
Crave Cupcakes
Multiple locations, cravecupcakes.ca, @cravecupcakes