Baker's Dozen - Edna De La Cruz

Hello Cakers!

I know I just posted a cleb interview, but this one has been a while in the making!  I talk continuously of having cake crushes, and I have been fortunate enough to interview yet another - the wickedly talented Edna de la Cruz!  Edna is probably best known for her gumpaste tutorials on Youtube and her amazing DVD tutorials (I have them all!).  This is being posted just as her latest DVD is being launched!  Visit her online store to see what I am talking about! 

Edna's latest DVD, now available!



I first learned of Edna through the Cake Central forums where she regularly would offer advice and chat with her fellow cake artists.  See what Edna has to say:

Morsels By Mark: How did you get into the world of cake?

Edna: I always wanted to learn cake decorating. My best friend was going to take a Wilton Class and I jumped at the chance.


MBM: Your flowers are beautiful! How do you go about developing the techniques you teach?

Edna: I try to make flowers easy to do. I try to reach beginners. I do the flowers many times to see what can I do to make it better and easier. Trying to find cutters and veiners that are easily accessible. I teach them so people can make pretty flowers for their cakes that look realistic. But I always tell them that for competitions they can make the flowers even more realistic. It's a matter of taking what I taught a step farther.

MBM: What made you decide to start the DVD series?

Edna: People started asking me for the DVD's. It was never something I thought of doing, but people wanted more information and details on how to make beautiful flowers and actually even how do I make my cakes. I did it for those who asked.

MBM: Your DVDs are great! What can we look forward to in the future?

Edna: I have a list of things people ask me to do. I usually need to find the best and easiest materials and ways to do the flowers. So the DVD usually comes after I gather all the info I need for my DVD. My DVD's are not about selling one way to do a flower, it shows options so people can achieve the flowers in different ways. Not everyone has the same materials or they have some things that they can use already. I dont do DVD's to try to sell materials. I do DVD's so people can learn to do flowers. And my goal is to give them options so they can choose what is easier for them to do.


MBM: Which is your favourite flower to create?

Edna: Roses are my favorite flowers..

MBM: Who would you love to design a cake for?

Edna: Oh..Good question..no idea!


MBM: What is your favourite cake flavour?

Edna: I love cake! I love Key lime, Amaretto, and Rum Cakes.

MBM: What is the one cake decorating tool you absolutely can't live without?

Edna: My Celboard and Ball Tools are a must!

MBM: How much lead time is there in producing a DVD before it is available for sale?

Edna: It takes me a few months to film a DVD. I have so many things to deal with and filming does take more time than people realize. I have a family, a house and a son to take care of too. My days are crazy. And my emails too. Sometimes the only time I have to answer emails is at 1 am to 2 am. I keep trying but it's getting harder to answer all of them. I came back from ICES really sick and my inbox is packed. It can be overwhelming. But I do try my best to keep in touch with my cake friends. [Edna does reply to her cake pals often and timely - I know that for a fact ;) ]

MBM: How do you decide which flowers you will teach in the DVD?

Edna: People want for me to have the cutters available. Making sure I can get them for them is important for me so I make sure I can get them for them or at least they are easy so find.

The beautiful Edna!

MBM: It is no secret, you are one of my cake crushes! Do you have any cake crushes?

Edna: Thanks for the compliment! You are a sweetheart! I love Kerry Vincent for her passion and her drive to put the sugar world on the map. I love Colette Petters, Mike McCarey, but there are so many of them out there it would take me pages to mention them all.

MBM: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Edna: My inspiration can come from everything. I love fabrics because I started as Fashion Designer. But I see art in anything..

MBM: What piece of advice can you offer up and coming cake artists?

Edna: Some people have art already in their veins and things can be learned really easy. Others have the desire to learn but they feel they don't have the art. I always say, if you have the passion, it can be learned. Practice is very important. I still practice to this day, and never think you know it all.. The day people think they know it all is the day they stop learning, and there is so much out there to be learned..

Stay tuned for more to come in the next month or so....I have ALOT going on, including a review of Edna's latest DVD!

Until Next Time,
Happy Caking!