Sweet dreams: Golden Gate 11-year-old makes masterful cakes - Naples Daily News

Alissa Telusca is redefining the sweet dream.

If she has her way, it might look like a cow with a pink, dimpled grin. Or it might look like mermaids diving into a crumby sandbar, fins and flippers waving skyward. Or it might look like Bullseye, the Target mascot, eyeing you from a swirl of buttercream.

These are all cakes sixth-grader has baked, decorated and delivered for hungry tummies to devour.

“It’s not really that hard, but sometimes my cakes don’t end up the best,” the 11-year-old Golden Gate resident said. “When a cake messes up, you can’t just give up.”

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Indeed: Alissa has clients counting on her. The young entrepreneur sells her cakes through Facebook and Instagram pages called Issa’s Cake Dreams. They start at about $30 for a 6-inch cake. The biggest Alissa sold was a 12-inch funfetti cake for a baby shower with blue and pink sprinkles and two fondant teddy bears plopped artfully atop buttercream frosting for $85.

Alissa began her foray into baking as a gift for her dad, Chertilus, for Father’s Day last year. The vanilla cake featured black cherries on top, though it didn’t meet the same level of presentation she achieves today.

But taste is king.

“Her dad normally doesn’t eat sweets,” said her mom, Emmanuela Telusca. But he ate one slice. Then another. And another. “Now he eats a lot of cake.”

The joy of making something that tastes so darn good was enough to entice Alissa to pursue this more seriously. Soon after the Father's Day cake, her mom began the Instagram account, a church friend asked about more cakes, and a home baking business took shape. Issa's clients are an assortment of friends and fans garnered from social media.

Her red velvet cake is the best. At least if you ask her cousin Ketly Tanelus, 37. Tanelus has got the inside scoop — er, slice? — because she sees a picture of each cake before it’s sent to the clients and provides feedback.

Alissa listens.

“She doesn’t just sit there (and say), ‘Ugh, I’m gonna do whatever I want to do.’ She actually takes the advice,” Tanelus said.

And she puts in the work. Alissa might prep decorations a few days in advance, but she saves the bulk of her duties, such as baking the cakes themselves, until as close to the delivery time as possible so the cakes and buttercreams are fresh.

“I really just love doing it and making people happy,” she said.

Alissa must, if she’s putting in the eight, nine, even 11 hours straight it sometimes takes to pull together orders. One time, she was up until 5 a.m. finishing a cake.

That time commitment is something her mom keeps in mind every time Alissa gets a request. Everything goes through mom, and she lets Alissa use her discretion on which requests she accepts. And while mom does help with the occasional fondant pieces, most of what clients see is Alissa’s handiwork.

“I’m the dishwasher, most of the time,” Emmanuela said. “That sucks, because there’s a lot of dishes.”

Front of mind for Emmanuela is the need for her daughter to still be a child. Most weeks, confectionery commitments are conducted on Fridays, once Alissa has finished her school work (which always comes first, her mom said). She learns through eCollier Academy, one of Collier County School District’s virtual options.

When Alissa isn’t in the kitchen, she’s spending time with her three siblings, playing volleyball or swimming at the pool. While she could see herself continuing this sweet dream as a grown up, she’s also looking at other career paths — such as becoming a cardiologist.

Should Alissa stick with baking, her cousin thinks her future could be bright.

“She hasn’t been baking that long for her to be this good,” Tanelus said. “If she puts her mind to it, I guarantee she’ll do it.”

Find Issa's Cake Dreams on Facebook at facebook.com/issascakedreams and Instagram at instagram.com/issas_cake_dreams.

Andrew Atkins writes about food and features for the Naples Daily News. Contact him via email at andrew.atkins@naplesnews.com. To support work like Andrew's, please consider subscribing: https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

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