Cakes Reanimated opens brick-and-mortar store in downtown Cape

On a Tuesday afternoon, Becky Brown is smoothing vanilla bean buttercream icing onto a two-layer cake — not vanilla, not chocolate, but apple spice rum cake, to eventually be topped with a caramel drizzle. Her hand is steady as she applies the icing from a 6-liter container, removes excess with a scraper as she rotates the turntable. The sun slants through the window, illuminating equipment and ingredients in a room painted in candy-coated tones reminiscent of an ice-cream parlor.

She’s the baker behind Cakes Reanimated, and she’s in final stages of preparing for her brick-and-mortar location’s soft opening at 720 Themis St. in Cape Girardeau.

Brown specializes in from-scratch, custom cakes with buttercream icing. She’s gained a following from her years associated with Cape Comic Con, she said, and has been baking professionally for seven years.

After a job early on decorating cakes at Dairy Queen, Brown said, she went to art school, where she studied oil painting. She started baking cakes for friends’ weddings, always experimenting and learning new techniques.

For about the last two years, Brown said, she’s been able to bake full time, and now, ahead of the holiday season, it’s time to finally open the doors at 720 Themis.

The bakery will offer cupcakes and cake pops, Brown said, and she’ll still do custom orders.

Cakes Reanimated owner Becky Brown, left, and sous pastry chef Kristin Lane of Jackson pose for a portrait Wednesday at Cakes Reanimated in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

In a shift from recent years, this December, they’re pretty well booked on orders, Brown said.

“That’s a big reason why I’m opening up (the store) now,” Brown said. “I’m excited to see how many orders we have.”

She’ll now have regular hours, Brown said. Those hours are posted at www.facebook.com/CakesReanimated.

Brown and her assistant, Kristin Lane, have been friends since they were teenagers.

Lane’s background is in teaching cosmetology — styling hair, mixing dyes, the works.

Turns out there’s a lot of crossover between styling hair and baking cakes. Both require structural planning, Lane said.

“And her color mixing is on point,” Brown said, laughing.

Brown’s been working on opening the shop since 2018, she said.

“I had a false start with a food truck,” she said, purchasing but never using it. She sold the truck and bought the property at 720 Themis, which had to be rezoned.

Her sign is on order, and should be installed early next year, Brown said.

Brown is planning a grand opening later this winter, she said, but in the meantime, she’ll keep her shelves stocked and custom orders rolling.

“We could talk forever about cake,” Brown said. “I love cake.”