Interviewing my Second Guest Anita Gupta of Maliha Creations

For those of you tuning in just now, this is my interview segment for my Guest Event, which I hope to make a permanent feature of this blog. Anita Gupta is a master cake designer and crafter and she is a fellow Charlottesville-n. Anita started Maliha Creations, which a cake company specializing in wedding cakes, but which also offers cakes for a multitude of other occasions. Each one of her cakes is a feast for the eyes and her creative energy seems boundless when we look at her collection of cakes. Without further ado, Let’s get to know Anita better now, shall we?

Me: First, introduce us to Anita

Anita: Like many of you I am a mom, a wife, a daughter and a friend.  Also, like many of you, I try to find time to fulfill the many demands of family life, personal life and my business life.  I am fortunate to have a wonderful husband and amazing family who support my creative endeavors and encourage me all the while.  Without the support behind the scenes, none of this would possible.

Me: How and why did you choose cake-making as a career?

Anita: I always enjoyed creating in the kitchen, so after finishing graduate school (I have a Masters in Public Health) and got married, I took some time off from working.  At that time I began a Pastry Arts program at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD.  It was here that I started to learn about using exceptional ingredients and the techniques of proper pastry.  I continued to dabble in it, until we moved to Charlottesville for my husband to attend graduate school.  I could not find a job which utilized my background in public health and soon after we started our family.  I became a stay-at-home mom and made cakes for my children’s birthdays and other events.  More and more people began to ask me to make cakes and at that point I decided that I had a business.  I had my kitchen licensed and inspected and the rest is history!  I initially started out by selling cakes at the Charlottesville Holiday City Market and things blossomed from there.

Me: Tell us about Maliha Creations and how it came to be –

Anita: The name “Maliha” is my eldest daughters middle name and it derives from Sanskrit to mean beautiful…hence “beautiful creations”

Me: Who do you draw your inspiration from?

Anita: There is a whole slew of amazing decorators out there who are so inspirational…from Ron Ben-Israel for his meticulous work, to Colette Peters for her creativity in cake, to Maggie Austin for her completely sublime and ethereal designs.  I also draw inspiration from the world around me…it is amazing what nature offers in the way of color and ideas

Me: What are the dream cakes that you have not yet made but have been inspired to?
Anita: Fortunately, I get the opportunity to add my “flavor” to many cakes.  I feel so grateful that many of my clients trust me and often give me carte blanche in designing their cakes.  I do like one large bold element on a cake and would love to design something that requires me to put a large bloom that would take up almost the entire height of a cake.

Me: Share with us one bizarre baking experience…

Anita: When I first began creating sculpted cakes, I was making a large animal standing up.  The cake was fun and I developed a little love affair with my cake and the next morning I took it out of refrigeration to get it ready for delivery later in the day.  When we delivered the cake, it turned out that some of the dowels (supports) in the bottom tier began to lean over and the cake started to bulge out of the bottom.  I was able to keep it standing and fortunately had plenty of additional cake on hand to ensure enough cake for the guests.  But I learned that a proper support system along with delivering cakes cold was crucial to the success of it standing the whole evening!

Me:  Your most challenging creation?

Anita:  Each creation is challenging in its own way, since I rarely make the same cake twice…this is especially true with sculpted cakes.  This summer I will be making UVA’s Scott Stadium.  There is so much that goes into a sculpted cake that I think most lay people don’t realize.  From obtaining blueprints of buildings to build the cake to scale, to building proper support structures to ensure that the entire cake stands the entire event…all while ensuring my most important goal is achieved…a delicious tasting cake!

Me: Your favorite kind of cake to make

Anita: I still love to make sparkly, pink, girly cakes.  Not sure I will ever tire of making those.  It is all the things cake should be!  Having a son now, I do get the chance to make fun boy themed cakes, that I never thought I would enjoy…but having my son at two years old yell “AIRPLANE” when he saw his airplane cake, was just a moment I will never forget.

Me: Your best critics

Anita: My kids! …my eldest daughter has a very keen eye and can tell me when something is off.  She can stand back and look as I am placing flowers and give me her thoughts on placement.  My younger daughter is a pro at cake flavors and lets me know when a combination is a flop!

Me: How much do you personally like eating cakes and which is your favJ

Anita: I do like cake, but I rarely eat it…whenever doing a sculpted cake there are a lot of cake scraps that I just toss into the trash now.  However tempting it may be, I need to save my waistline!  I love chocolate…double chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate butter cream is lovely.  I have really enjoyed experimenting with fun and unique flavors…think French toast cupcakes with maple butter cream and bacon.  I love it when brides have some sort of family recipe or ethnic flavor that they want me to incorporate.  I had a bride from Argentina and the filling in her cake included dulce de leche alternating with whipped cream, strawberries and crushed meringue cookies!!!  Another bride from the Philippines requested fresh mango curd in her cake…now mango curd is such a popular option for many brides.

Thank you Anita :)
We will be back with 2 more segments with Anita Gupta. Stay tuned!
For a visual treat of of Anita's cake creations, Maliha Creations
And don't forget to link your wonderful cakes to this event at http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2011/02/announcing-second-guest-event.html