An Arizona baker is making Lysol and toilet paper cakes for quarantined celebrations - Insider - INSIDER

Elizabeth Armijo, a baker in Arizona, is making coronavirus-themed cakes.
So far, she's made Lysol cakes and toilet paper cakes — two highly sought-after items as Americans spend their days staying inside.
Liz is based outside of Phoenix and instead of shipping to customers outside her drop-off range, she'll help them find a local baker who can replicate her designs.
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Restaurants and bakeries all over the world are finding ways to spread cheer through their food during the coronavirus pandemic.

There's a pizza place in Vietnam selling Coronaburgers, a bakery in Germany selling toilet paper-shaped cakes, and a pastry chef in France making chocolate versions of what the virus looks like under a microscope.

Elizabeth Armijo, baker extraordinaire behind Lizzy's Sweets N' Treats near Phoenix, Arizona, has started to incorporate the same humor into her own business with cakes shaped like some of the most in-demand household products.

Baker Elizabeth Armijo made her first coronavirus-themed cake for actress Vanessa Morgan, who plays Toni Topaz on 'Riverdale'

Armijo told Insider that she was contacted with a request for a cake with some quarantine humor. Since toilet paper rolls were already being done in the dessert world, Armijo suggested something a little more outside the box: a Lysol cake.

A post shared by Vanessa Morgan (@vanessamorgan)Mar 23, 2020 at 6:50pm PDT

A photo Morgan shared to Instagram shows that the treat looks like the epitome of birthday cake on the inside, while the outside is molded and made to look like a container of Lysol wipes. Armijo told Insider that she printed the label in edible ink onto a sugar sheet — which acts like edible paper.

After the Lysol cake, Armijo said she's been churning out some toilet roll cakes and cupcakes, and she has something even more creative up her sleeve for her daughter's 14th birthday in April.

She told Insider that business has been good during this time, and she's only had to make a few adjustments to the way she works

For example, rather than accepting payment in cash, Armijo now collects money through online services like Venmo and Zelle or via credit card.

She also said that instead of going into the customer's home to set up her cakes in a display, she has customers send her photos of their party setup, and she will instruct them on how to best show off the cake over the phone.

Armijo minimizes risk to herself and her family by having her husband make trips to the store for supplies since he is already out of the house working during the day. She also used to take her children with her to drop off cakes, but now she goes herself.

A post shared by Elizabeth Armijo (@lizzytreats)Mar 24, 2020 at 7:36am PDT

She typically charges $55 for a toilet paper cake and $85 for the smallest Lysol cake. And though Armijo's business model usually requires customers to spend $100 minimum, at this time, she's making exceptions and breaking protocol.

"Since I posted that cake, I've had people from West Hollywood all the way to New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia, asking me to ship them cakes, so I thought that was pretty amazing," Armijo told Insider of the Lysol cake.

Shipping wasn't a large part of Armijo's business to begin with, but now she prefers to help long-distance customers find a local baker who can replicate her designs

"These shipping services are so bombarded right now, even if I try to overnight [a cake] it would be really costly," she said. "I told customers, 'I can really guarantee I can find a really good baker in your area that can replicate this cake. That would not offend me or make me sad in any way.'"

"In my industry, a lot of them are really hurting right now with all the cancellations for weddings, so I do ask that [hopeful customers] support local small businesses and order from them," Armijo said.

You can find out more about Armijo's business on the Lizzy's Sweets N' Treats website.

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