As Valentine’s Day rapidly approaches, one Glendale resident is using her baking skills to spread the love and create delicious custom cakes, cookies and more, perfect for you to give to your sweetheart.
Carla Buiuc, 26, has lived in Queens for most of her life and has been baking since her teenage years. She recently decided to begin selling her baked goods that she makes in the kitchen of her apartment off Central Avenue in Glendale, and she calls her business “Cakes by Carla.”
Buiuc says her adventure into selling her creations all began when a co-worker asked her to bake her a birthday cake a few years ago. Although she didn’t sell too many cakes right away, she has learned from her first experience and is quickly gaining followers on her Instagram page and raking in orders.
“It was more of a thing I was doing on the side because I liked it,” she said of her baking. “I was like yeah, I’m eventually going to sell cakes and I want to do this. This is something I’d like to make money off of and be able to give people something different. But I didn’t really start doing it until recently because I had 100 other things going on.”
Although people have always told her to bake with love, Buiuc uses baking as a way to de-stress and recharge her batteries when no one else is around. She even gave herself the moniker “the insomniac baker” because she enjoys baking at all hours of the night.
“I’m a person that likes meticulous activities and I have a lot of patience,” Buiuc said. “It’s something that keeps me busy, keeps me focused. And when I’m stressed out, it releases my stress.”
Buiuc currently works in a restaurant in Manhattan, but has hopes of opening her own restaurant or bakery with her mother in the future, where she can sell all the things she makes.
As a way to get her name out there, Buiuc is looking to feature her goods in the upcoming Ridgewood Food Festival, as well as other local markets and festivals. She is also evolving her craft to create gluten-free treats, allergy-specific foods, as well as some vegan products, to cater to a diverse set of clientele.
Some other things Buiuc makes and sells — besides cakes — include cake pops, cookies, doughnuts, soft cookies and more.
If you’re interested in placing an order, visit her The Insomniac Baker Instagram page or email her at cakes_by_carla[@]yahoo.com.
