Niskayuna cake baker/designer writes about career, offers tips for entrepreneurs – The Daily Gazette - The Daily Gazette

Evelyn Keplinger with one of her cakes and the cover of her new book.

Evelyn Keplinger’s career path has been a winding one.

The Niskayuna resident has gone from working in her family’s dry cleaning business to being a hairdresser to opening her own cake business known as Treatie Beatie Cakes, through which she bakes and designs elaborate cakes. She’s added author to her list as well with the publication of “Hairdresser to Cake Designer” earlier this year.

“It was always on my bucket list,” Keplinger said of writing the book.

It tracks her life from her childhood, growing up in Jackson, Michigan to her move to Albany to start a family and, eventually, her business.

Keplinger had always loved baking cakes for loved ones and would take the time to decorate them as beautifully as she could. Thus, once her family dry cleaning business was sold, she decided to start Treatie Beatie Cakes in 2012. She took as many classes as she could in cake design and decoration, learning from sugar artists like Lisa Mansour and Kathleen Lange. She also started entering competitions around the country and built the business locally, designing decadent cakes for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.

One of her most memorable bakes was for a 750-guest wedding in Albany in 2017. The four-tiered cake, which included lace detailing and classic floral designs with silver, grey and blue-colored fondant was displayed on a swing, nestled within a bed of flowers and cascading beading.

She also continued working as an independent hairdresser until the pandemic hit.

“When the pandemic hit I was really terrified to go back to doing hair . . . and that’s when I gave it up and decided it’s time just to do the cakes,” Keplinger said.

Since then, she also wrote “Hairdresser to Cake Designer.”

“I had started it over two years ago and just never had the time to pick it up and continue [it]. Finally, when the pandemic hit I said ‘you know what?

I’m not doing anything else. I’ll get it done.’ So I did,” Keplinger said.

The book came out to around 60 pages and was published through Book Writing Experts this summer.

“[There’s] tips and tricks for any young entrepreneur that’s interested in getting into the business. I wanted to give a lot of tips and tricks for things that I may have done wrong that could help them along the way,” Keplinger said.

She’ll have a book signing at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza at 3 p.m. on Saturday. In the future, Keplinger hopes to do more public speaking on running a business and mental health awareness.

“I’d really like to be able to talk to young people who are interested in starting a business because I think that I really have a lot that I can offer them with what I do,” Keplinger said.

For more information visit treatiebeatiecakes.com.