THE CARROLL NEWS: Beautifully sweet cake sensations

Beautifully sweet cake sensations
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Maura Jochum on 23 April, 2008 05:18:00
 
A sweet aroma greets customers as they peek inside and gaze longingly at the
cakes displayed along the walls of The White Flower Cake Shoppe.
There is a bright-colored cake with at least four different tiers, each with a
different pattern, resembling carefully packaged gifts. Another cake alternates
between pink and white tiers with a black lace pattern covering the white
layers.  Classic wedding cakes, covered in hand sculpted flowers or tiny bows,
add a flair of elegance to the bakery.
The White Flower Cake Shoppe at La Place in Beachwood, Ohio, is the product of
Marianne Carroll and Lauren Bozich’s dedication to bringing a different
type of bakery to the Cleveland area. Their emphasis is on creating a work of
edible art in each cake they design.
They use classic American recipes for all of their cakes and frostings, and
offer a variety of fillings from chocolate ganache to fresh fruits.
Carroll and Bozich opened the shop in March 2007 and have been tremendously
successful ever since.  Best friends since the age of 12, Carroll and Bozich
grew up together in Mentor. They were born just two days apart and Carroll
describes Bozich as “being just like a sister” to her. The best
friends went their separate ways during college, but still kept in touch. As
Carroll studied the fine arts at Columbus College of Art and Design, Bozich
studied sculpture and movie making techniques and effects at the Art Institute
of Pittsburgh.   “After college we were wondering what we were going to do
with our degrees,” said Carroll.
They both loved to bake growing up and Carroll said she has fond memories of
baking with her mom for her dad and brothers. Then, somewhere along the way,
they decided to take their interests and bring their artistic experience into
the culinary world.
The women never took any formal culinary classes. Instead, the pair spent
endless hours in the kitchen going through a trial and error process. They took
classic recipes for various cake flavors, butter cream frostings and fillings
and, with the assistance of family and friends who sampled their many creations,
eventually discovered the perfect recipes that would become the staples in their
business.
The transition from the original production kitchen, where Carroll and Bozich
started out, to the retail outlet and bake shop at La Place, was not the an easy
task. Dealing with the retail aspect of their business was completely new and
certainly presented a challenge. There was a difference between focusing
strictly on designing the cakes and balancing that task with quality customer
service in the bake shop, according to Caroll.
Carroll said about the struggles of the first year, “We were here seven
days a week, from March until January, sometimes up to 18 hours a day. We would
go home, sleep for four or six hours and come right back to do it all
again.”
People told them they were not going to be able to survive, but comments such
as that only served to reinforce their dedication.
“We knew this is what we had to do if we were going to make it
work,” said Carroll.
Carroll attributes the success of The White Flower Cake Shoppe to the strong
partnership she and Bozich have. The process is the result of their
collaboration and recognition of the fact that their strengths lie in different
aspects of the business. Bozich completes more of the cake work and is the
stronger artist while Carroll is out with the public more, carrying out the
marketing aspect of the business.
Over the last year, Carroll and Bozich have definitely made a name for
themselves through The White Flower Cake Shoppe.  They have built a positive
reputation and have appeared on local television stations about 15 times.  The
constant media attention has made people curious and the typical down time of
January to March that most bake shops experience never happened to The White
Flower Cake Shoppe.
Media attention hit a high point for the designers when the Food Network called
just days before the one-year anniversary of The White Flower Cake
Shoppe’s opening to invite the pair to participate in the Food
Network’s Cake Challenge show.  Carroll remembers being in the grocery
store when Bozich called with the news.
They were thrilled that not only had the Food Network found them after just a
year in business, but also that they would be the first Cleveland bake shop
featured on the Food Network’s show.  The show is slated to air sometime
in July or August.
Now, a little over a year since the opening of The White Flower Cake Shoppe,
Carroll and Bozich have settled into a routine and are confidently heading into
this wedding season. With a dependable staff and a wonderful reputation, the
women are incredibly grateful for their successes.