Meet Our Cake Decorators!

Posted on May 5, 2019 by Ashley Maurer

Meet Our Cake Decorators!

We have a remarkable staff of incredibly talented and passionate cake decorators… and we would love to introduce you to some of them!

Autumn

I have only professionally been cake decorating since September of 2018. I would decorate cakes for fun, inspired by my favorite cooking and baking shows. I always watched them growing up and thought, “I want to do that, too!”

Now I am doing my dream job every day! My forté is quirky and whimsical cakes, like me! Anything from a garden full of gnomes to a robot playing football. I’m excited to continue expanding my artistic abilities. One day, I’d love to own my own bakery!

Jonathan

I’m not a typical decorator who went to school or had lots of training. I’m all self-taught. I started off as a cashier, but I’ve always had a creative side so I jumped at the chance to work in a bakery. Four years later, I’m designing and decorating countless cakes for every guest that walks in! I even did a video for our YouTube channel! I love creating cakes that make your day or event even more special!

Lisa

I was born and raised in Central Minnesota. My daughter, Shawma, and I love the MN State Fair. It’s where my partner, Steve proposed to me, right in front of the Midway. I decorated a cake that has all my favorite life memories, including the MN State Fair, becoming a mother and a grandmother and even my Graphic Arts education at SCTCC which helped develop my creative ability that I used in all of the cakes I decorate. Custom designed cakes are a fantastic way to celebrate milestones and memories for yourself or for someone important in your life!

Jill

My entire life I have always loved creating art projects and craft items. It has always made me happy and kept me busy. Cake decorating allows me to do both of those for my job so I absolutely love it! My most requested and favorite cake to design is a birch tree stump with a fall theme that has colorful leaves. This cake also comes in a winter theme that has pine bows all over it that is very popular.

The best part of my job is seeing the happiness and excitement when a guest pick up their cake. Sometimes, they even cry tears of joy! It always makes me so happy to see their reaction. I once did a military cake for a women’s organization and when they came to pick up the cake they looked at it and started crying! I thought I did something wrong but they were just beyond thrilled with how it turned out! I love seeing the reaction of our guests when they pick up a cake I’ve created for them!

Martha

I like to create cakes with bright colors usually with flowers but my most requested cake ordered is the Game Station cake. I didn’t go to school for cake decorating but did take many art classes in high school. My creativity comes from the theme a guest has chosen for their party. I gather ideas and then put my own fun twist to it. I love that I’ve worked here long enough now that I get to see the local kids and families grow, often reminiscing about past cakes I’ve made for them. I’ve created wedding cakes for some and then have had the privilege of creating gender reveal cakes and 1st birthday cakes as their family expands. Reveal cakes are fun especially when the parents don’t even know. I’ve had the experience numerous times of opening the sealed envelope from the sonogram being the first person to know the gender. It’s hard to contain my excitement! I love helping make our guests celebrations even more memorable with a custom-designed cake!!

Ana

I have been decorating cakes for 12 years at Coborn’s. My love for cake decorating began when I was hired to work in cake production at the Cash Wise bakery in Waite Park. During my breaks, I would watch the cake decorators ice plain cakes and turn them into beautiful cakes that were too pretty to eat. Fortunately for me, a job opportunity opened up at Centennial a few years later, where I would meet Nellie, who would train me into the wonderful world of cake decorating. My favorite cakes to decorate are those with floral designs inspired by nature, and vibrant cakes that are full of colors. Nothing makes my day like seeing customers pick up their cakes and the smiles on their faces when they see them for the first time!

Kelly Jo

I have been decorating cakes for over 20 years. One of my first cakes I created was a Holly Hobbie design which I entered into the county fair at age 13. From there I moved on to creating roses that looked like cabbages and writing that you couldn’t even read! As I became more skilled, my love for cake decorating became my profession. I was the first cake decorator that was hired at Riverside Coborn’s in Sartell back in 1987. I took some time off to raise my family but returned to the cake decorating world to continue my passion and here I am today!

Melanie

I grew up watching my mom decorate cakes at home for family and friends. I started working for Coborn’s in 1994 at the central bakery and learned from many great bakers and decorators. I became Bakery/Deli manager at Coborn’s 5th Avenue store and continued decorating cakes. When the Coborn’s Cooper store opened I became a full-time cake decorator. After having a baby, I transferred to Coborn’s in Clearwater as part-time cake decorator. I have taught many cake decorating classes for local grade schools, 4-H programs, U of M extension service and even seniors in nursing homes. I enjoy sharing all that I’ve learned about cake decorating and continue to learn new things from my students. I am passionate about bakery and hope to encourage and inspire new decorators!

Erica

I’ve been a Coborn’s cake decorator for eight and a half years. I have always been an artsy person, taking a lot of art classes in high school, and particularly love arts that involved working with my hands. When I first started decorating cakes, I found an immediate passion. Since working here, my work has been featured in Minnesota Brides magazine, I’ve won Gold Awards in the Upper Midwest Bakers Convention and have built a loyal guest following. While I am skilled in fondant cakes, I have a passion for creating beautiful cakes out of buttercream icing. One of my specialties is caricature cakes. I just love taking a photo of the guest of honor of a celebration and turning it into a caricature of them on their cake. I am always building my skills and would love helping make your celebration even more memorable!

Amanda

I have been a cake decorator for over 7 years and four of those years have been with Coborn’s. Some of my favorite designs to create are tiered cakes with rosettes on the side. I find rosettes add a very beautiful and elegant touch to cakes. The rosette design is a request I get quite often especially during wedding season because it seems to go great with any theme. The basket weave is another design that I love creating on cakes. It really is a great spring time element and when spring comes around it seems like I go crazy with this design. I can do so much with the basket weave technique and its gorgeous for any event – especially a wedding.

Happy Easter!

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Ashley Maurer

Happy Easter!

Jayne

Only one wish… let the snow be gone! It’s been a long winter and I’m really looking forward to those beautiful spring days, the smell of fresh grass in the air and those beautiful tulips. Easter is fast approaching and I’m trying some new recipes this year for my Easter meal. I want to share those with you and let you know how easy they are to prepare.

Let’s start with the appetizer. We all know once Easter is here we have so many of those hard-boiled eggs and we are looking for ways to use them up and not waste them. One of my favorite appetizers is Deviled Eggs and I decided to spice things up and make them a little more exciting. You gotta try this recipe… you’ll never go back to regular, boring Deviled Eggs again!

Now let’s move on to the main entrée, the ham!! If you haven’t already make sure to check out our Four Brothers Ham because the flavor is unbelievable. When I’m getting it ready I just can’t help but slice a piece off before I place it in the oven because I can’t resist sampling. Now what’s a ham without a sweet and savory glaze drizzled over it? Every year I try a different recipe and each year I say it’s my favorite. This year I found this Apricot Glazed Ham recipe and again I have to say it’s my favorite.

When my family has ham it’s a must that we have some kind of potatoes so here is a recipe that’s so cheesy you can’t stop eating it. I have made this Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes recipe several times and I’ve used the cheese sauce over fresh broccoli or cauliflower too, so the sauce is very versatile!

Don’t forget to use Crystal Farms Shredded Cheese in this recipe! And while you’re at it, they’re also giving away a $100 gift card so you can buy everything you need to make these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes for Easter this year and more! For your chance to win, enter here!

Last but not least I always need a vegetable because no only is it so healthy for you but it brings color into your meal. This year I found a new recipe for Candied Carrots and it really is like eating candy. It’s amazing!!!

Now the best part, the goodies!!! Make sure to stop into any one of our Bakery Departments because I am so excited to introduce new items for your Easter Dessert. We have several flavors of cream cakes and I think the best are the Pistachio Bars. For the kid’s we now have Unicorn Cookies which they will just love. Don’t forget to check out our new Upside-Down Pineapple Cake and our Easter Cupcakes too!

Have an AWESOME Easter and enjoy your holiday together with family and friends!

Jayne

Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Ashley Maurer

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s the perfect day to show your loved ones how much you care by sending a card or flowers or just making a nice romantic meal at home. I usually try to make something easy because I don’t want to spend the entire night cooking. I’d much rather spend it enjoying each other’s company! So, I found a recipe that I thought would be perfect for the evening because I love seafood. Each year I usually have some kind of either seafood or steak and this year I wanted to try something different so I decided to make scallops instead of the usual lobster or crab legs. This Buttery Garlic Scallops recipe I found is perfect because not only is it very easy to make but it tastes so delicious!

I always like to have a side salad with my pasta dishes, and I also wanted this to be a quick and easy recipe. I knew I hit the jackpot when I came across this Beet Salad recipe! It is so quick to put together and I just love beets! The honey and orange juice dressing adds the perfect touch of sweetness to it too.

Now all you have to do is serve a great bottle of wine with the meal to top it off. There is a newer wine called “Federalist” and it is a Zinfandel and it goes great with this meal. This is one of my all time favorite wines!

Last but not least you just have to stop into anyone of our Bakery Departments for your Valentine’s Day treats! They have so many Valentine’s Day themed goodies including sugar cookies, heart shaped cakes, giant cookies, dream bars, and more! And you can even get them personalized with custom messages or designs, just ask any of our bakery staff and they’ll help you out!

What a perfect meal for a perfect evening! Happy Valentine’s Day and enjoy!

Jayne,
Coborn’s, Inc. Merchandising Specialist Team Manager – Bakery & Deli

New Bakery Items

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Ashley Maurer

Happy Spring Everyone!
I am so excited for some actual Spring weather to come, but I’m even more excited that we have some amazing NEW items in our bakery that I want to introduce! Drum roll please…

Cinnamon Buttercream Pull-A-Parts – Our famous cinnamon roll recipe, shaped into a pull-a-part sequence of 8 parts. They are lightly sprayed with apricot glaze to give it a shiny look, topped with our buttercream icing then delicately placed with pecan pieces.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pull-A-Parts – Our famous cinnamon roll recipe, shaped into a pull-a-part sequence of 8 parts. They are lightly sprayed with apricot glaze to give it a shiny look, topped with our cream cheese icing then delicately placed with pecan pieces.

Carmel Rolls – A rich caramel smear loaded with pecan pieces is a perfect way to top off our caramel rolls. They’ll be a new favorite at your Sunday brunch.

Cran-Oatmeal Cookies – An alternative to the traditional oatmeal cookie, try our cran-oatmeal cookie. These cookies add a bit of color and have a slight tang from the cranberries.

Banana with White Chocolate Cookies – Not only for banana lovers. This has a whole grain taste with the delicious flavor of banana and each bite is loaded with decadent white chocolate chunks.

Sea Salt Caramel Cookies – A rich pecan shortbread cookie topped with the perfect blend of chocolate, buttery caramel and a hint of sea salt. This is a bake shoppe office favorite.

Brownie Crisp Cookies – Chocolate lovers are sure to love these brownie crispy cookies. They’re a great addition to any dessert table when entertaining.

Kitchen Sink Cookies – Perfectly thin kitchen sink crisp cookies have the perfect crunch for people who prefer a crispy cookie. These cookies have rolled oats, chocolate chips, raisins, butterscotch chips and much more. Yum!!

Almond Crisp Cookies – These almond crispy cookies are for all the almond lovers out there! The perfect cookie to have with your morning coffee.

Chocolate Cherry Bread – Made with dark cocoa powder, loaded with dark chocolate chunks and dark tart cherries. Add a layer of cream cheese & top with fresh cut strawberries for a sweet treat.

Sunny Sunflower Bread – Made with sunflower flour and mixed with sunflowers. Then topped with sunflower seeds for a satisfying crunch. Tastes great for any kind of sandwich or lightly buttered and toasted in the morning.

Whole Wheat Short French Bread – A healthier, whole wheat version of our fan favorite short french bread. Goes great with Italian dishes as well as your favorite dips.

Semolina Fennel Raisin Bread – Created with 3 different flours including the semolina specific flour. This bread adds a unique flavor that will enhance any Panini.

When you’re in our stores make sure to stop by the Bakery Department and sample some of these awesome new products. Enjoy!!

Jayne,
Coborn’s, Inc. Merchandising Specialist Team Manager – Bakery & Deli

Tulips and other Frosting Flowers

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Brandon Quesnel

Amanda

Summer, a great time to grow your frosting flower garden. And with so many colors and varieties you’ll never have to make the same cake design twice. I thought we could focus in on a specific flower family, the daisies, and explore with inspirations from nature. Let’s try 5 different ways of piping daisies, from a cute and quick style to a detailed eye catcher. I’ll be piping my flowers on large cookies but naturally you can pipe these on any dessert that needs decorating. Continue reading →

NEW Four Brothers Cookies

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Brandon Quesnel

Jayne

Have you tried our NEW Four Brothers Cookies yet? They pair perfectly with Kemps milk, and speaking of milk — We are right in the middle of June and I want to acknowledge not only our local Dairy Farmers, but all Farmers in by celebrating National Dairy Month.
Continue reading →

Jayne’s Easy Game Day Recipes

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Brandon Quesnel

Jayne

There is the winter season, holiday season, hunting season and fishing season but let’s not forget about football season! It’s time to start planning for the championship football game party and I’m here to help. I have some quick and easy recipes that I would love to share with you, just in time for kickoff!

Now if you know me I like to change things up and not always do the same old, same old when it comes to party food. So I found this recipe for cocktail smokies that doesn’t call for BBQ sauce and instead uses pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and mustard. This gives those smokies a sweet and sour flavor and they are truly awesome.

Pineapple Smokies

Ingredients

1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
3 T. Flour
2 tsp. Ground Mustard
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
½ Cup White Vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce
2 Packages Cocktail Smokies

Instructions

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and mustard.
Gradually stir in the pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Add sausages; stir to coat.
Cook, uncovered until heated through.

Next I didn’t want to just do cocktail shrimp with cocktail sauce. I wanted to change up the flavor and wow did I find some great flavor in these luscious little guys. The secret is adding horseradish to cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stuffing them in the shrimp. They are so good and they make a beautiful presentation at any kind of party you may have.

Stuffed Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients

4 Oz. Cream Cheese, softened
4-1/2 tsp. Prepared Horseradish
1 T. Grated Parmesan cheese
1 Lb. Cooked Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Dried Parsley
Seafood Cocktail Sauce

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, horseradish and parmesan cheese until blended.
Cut a small hole in the corner of a re-sealable plastic bag; add cream cheese mixture to bag.
Butterfly the shrimp along the outside curves as shown in the video.
Pipe about 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture into each shrimp. Arrange on a serving platter.
Sprinkle with parsley.
Serve with seafood sauce if desired.

My third recipe is really good if you are a pizza fan, and truthfully, who doesn’t like pizza? Just melt cream cheese and add pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni and you have the best pizza dip in town! Now just cut up some French bread in cubes and serve them as a dipper for this pizza dip. Yummy!!!

Cheesy Pizza Dip

Ingredients

8 Oz. Cream Cheese, softened
8Ooz. Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 Can Pizza Sauce
½ Cup Ripe Olives, choppped
1 Cup Sliced Pepperoni, chopped

Instructions

In a large pot, melt the cream cheese and mozzarella together.
Next add the pizza sauce, ripe olives and chopped pepperoni then mix all together.
To keep warm place in slow cooker.
Serve with cubed French bread or crackers.

I don’t think I could ever have a party without Guacamole Dip, it’s just not in me. I absolutely love the stuff and I am so excited to tell everyone that we now have a “new” Guacamole Dip called “Crazy Fresh” and that is exactly what it is, so FRESH! It’s just like homemade. This is probably the best Guacamole Dip I have ever had and the best part is I don’t have to make it. It’s ready to serve.

Now if you are like me you don’t always have time to fit homemade baking into your busy schedule. So just stop by any Coborn’s Bakery and pick up some party snack mix. The mix comes in a football size tray that will look great on your party table.

Pick up a package of football cupcakes from the Coborn’s Bakery and be assured that all of your guests with a sweet tooth will be taken care of throughout the entire game.

Good luck to your team and enjoy these delicious appetizers!!