Amanda Schramm creates a weave pattern on one of her cakes. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

A mud-covered piglet isn’t something that usually gets people’s mouths watering, but Amanda Schramm didn’t let that stop her from making a delicious-looking cake with that form.

Schramm, 27, works in Albert Lea at Green Mill, but she spends much of her spare time at home in Austin baking for Crazy Cake Cupcakes, a hobby she hopes to one day turn into a business.

“My hobby is pretty time consuming,” Schramm said. “Most people don’t understand what it actually takes to make a cake.”

Schramm said it can take a day to make an average cake, but it can take several days to prepare the ingredients and make sure everything is going to work out. An average cake involves making the batter, lining the pans so nothing sticks — which means she goes through a lot of cooking spray — the cooking and heating process, filling a cake if it has filling, working with layers, working with the frosting and more. Schramm said many people need dairy or gluten free cakes, and working with fondant is involved in many of her cakes, which can be time consuming.

With pastries and baked goods laid out before her, Amanda Schramm goes about decorating them all. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

She recalled one of her creations was a Curious George monkey on a cake which took her a full day to make.

Schramm has been artistic all her life, taking every art class available to her during high school and some while she was in college at Riverland Community College.

“I took everything from photography to drawing,” Schramm said. “When I was in college I did ceramics for both years, and it actually hit me when I was in ceramics classes that I was molding things, and it’s exactly like playing with fondant.”

Schramm is about eight credits away from graduating with her associate of arts degree, and she hopes to finish this fall. She put her college career on hold after her grandfather passed away. Yet with work and being a single mother of her 6-year-old daughter, Aiyana Davis, Schramm doesn’t have much time to pursue her baking as a career. That hasn’t stopped her from trying, though.

“I’ve contacted a couple of people about getting my license, but in order to do that I have to find a place to work out of,” she said.

Schramm’s dream is to own her own bakery business one day, making cakes, cupcakes, cake balls and other desserts. She is currently just a hobby baker working under the Minnesota Statute 28 A 15 subdivision 9, which allows her to sell her desserts at community events or farmer’s and flea markets. She has been to a few different events and markets, but usually only makes cakes or desserts for friends and family. Since it’s still a hobby, Schramm said the experience and the love for baking and creating is the main reason she continues to do it. To be able to have a business and take orders for desserts, Schramm would need the use of a commercial kitchen which she hasn’t found yet. But with many restaurants and stores that have kitchens in Austin, she hopes to find a place in the near future.

“I really hope to eventually have my own business if God allows it,” Schramm said.

Schramm started baking when she was very young, making Christmas cookies and other desserts. She remembered her grandmother baked a lot which helped Schramm learn the craft. After that, she started getting artistic with her creations. Schramm said much of what she’s learned has been on her own and she gets many ideas from Pintrest.

“Pretty much everything has just been my creation, just wanting to be creative,” she said.

Amanda Schramm drizzles chocolate sauce over her s’mores cupcakes. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

She has learned a few tricks over the years, such as not having long fingernails while working with fondant. Schramm said her daughter also shares her passion for baking and art, and often wants to help make cakes and desserts.

“Every once in a while I’ll let her sift the flour and I’ll give her her own little fondant so that she can go over there and start making figurines,” Schramm said. “She loves art, she loves painting and drawing, so I’m hoping eventually that gets into her too.”

Schramm has been thankful for her family who have helped her get to where she is and encourages her in her dreams of eventually owning a business. She said one thing has kept her going all this time — the love and passion for baking and creating.

“It’s cliche to say it but you have to have the love in order to be able to do this,” Schramm said.