“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell them, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
For Jaimie Roberts and her custom pastry and confection business, The VOice of Cake, that’s the golden standard.
Experimenting with confectionery creations wasn’t always Jaimie’s passion. For 33 years, she was a full-time performer at Disney in Orlando, supplementing her main career by teaching workshops and voice lessons as well as booking performances at conventions and private gigs.
As it did for so many others, COVID put an abrupt halt to it all. “Everything stopped,” said Roberts. “We were about three months in, and all my bookings started canceling.” Eventually, she received the most painful message. “I was at Disney since 1987, and my 33 years as a performer ended with an email addressed ‘Dear Cast Member.’”
For Roberts, her initial foray into baking was a way to cope with the crushing news. “There was no last show, there was no farewell, there was no cast party. I was really depressed, and I wanted to bake something.” She began posting her creations on Facebook, sparking requests from friends for custom treats. She recalled one particular craze, however, that took her business over the top.
“There was a Facebook page called Ear For Each Other for displaced cast members trying to survive and start new endeavors,” said Roberts. “Around Christmas time, a craze for hot chocolate bombs took off, and someone posted, ‘Hey, does anyone make these?’ I had literally just ordered the molds the day before, and I hadn’t even tried one yet, but I said, ‘I do!’”
Before she knew it, she had crafted 15 different flavors and sold an estimated 9,000 hot chocolate bombs. “There was a point where I would be up all night just to make the next morning’s pickups. I even had my girlfriend come over and stay the night with me helping with bagging and labeling all the orders.”
Once the hot chocolate bomb craze died down after the holidays, Roberts still had plenty to challenge herself with. In her eyes, inexperience with a particular creation or technique wasn’t an acceptable reason to say no. “Someone would send me a picture and say, ‘Hey, can you do this?’ So I would go on YouTube and practice until I could deliver them what they wanted.”
Even after relocating from central Florida to the Keys with her fiance Scott, Roberts continued to promote her business via Facebook and take on new ventures. Her current offerings include custom cakes, cupcakes, chocolate and caramel pretzel rods, chocolate covered oreos, hot chocolate bombs, caramel apples, rice krispy treats, and more, but as she confirmed, she’s always excited to learn more. “Honestly, I wait until somebody says, ‘Who can make these?’ and I say, ‘I can!’”
Roberts admitted that she does miss her time as an entertainer. “I was the longest standing female entertainer at Disney, and I would still love to find opportunities for jazz vocals here in the Keys.” The name (and spelling) of her business even pay tribute to years of earning income with her voice and voice-over (VO, get it?) work. However, she has still found meaning in her new venture. “I bake, and it’s an awesome thing, because it makes people happy. For me, that’s my applause.”
For more examples of Jaimie’s creations or to connect with her for ideas and orders, visit thevoiceofcake.wixsite.com/cake, her Facebook page “The VOice of Cake,” or her Instagram @thevoiceofcake.
