Wife and stay-at-home mom Jane Davis has somehow mastered the art of cake decorating with no formal training, and creates customized masterpieces for customers from her home kitchen. Specializing in buttercream flowers and petal work, What Jane Baked is not only Jane’s first business venture in the world of cake-making, but it is also her creative outlet.
A former paralegal in the Army, Jane continued her post-high school career in the civilian world amidst studying full-time at Liberty University while being a stay-at-home mother of two daughters. When she found herself exhausted by carrying such a heavy load, she decided to take up cake baking and decorating as a stress-relieving hobby.
By watching tutorials online, Jane taught herself the tricks of the trade and quickly discovered that she had a natural talent for the delicate art of cake decorating. After her friends and family members saw her works of art, they began asking Jane to make them customized cakes for birthday celebrations, wedding and baby showers, and anniversary parties. Shortly after requests began coming in, Jane decided to take the leap into creating What Jane Baked as her first small business.
It didn’t take long before Jane realized that she had made the right decision, and that What Jane Baked was truly her calling. The majority of her cakes are for weddings and other celebrations and events that call for feminine, artistic touches. She adorns her cakes with intricate buttercream flowers and petals, and with the help of her husband, delivers cakes to customers for their convenience. With her home kitchen located in Mt. Airy, it is much simpler for Jane and her husband to ensure that the cakes are safely delivered to customers in a customized cake refrigerator built by her husband to keep cakes safe while driving along winding mountain roads.
Jane has created cakes for weddings of all sizes, but typically finds herself making four-tiered cakes for wedding sizes of 150 guests. From baking the cake to freezing, stacking, structuring, and decorating it, the entire process for one complex cake creation takes approximately five to eight hours total – and that’s with a team of one. She is grateful for the occasional help of her mother, who is her favorite fondant assistant. After the pandemic began to wane in 2021, she provided cakes for 12 weddings total, with six taking place within the month of October. Now, she is creating and delivering cakes for an average of two weddings each week.
Customers often request Jane’s notorious white chocolate raspberry cake, along with her Biscoff white chocolate cake. Baked with everyone’s favorite Delta Airlines cookie, the Biscoff white chocolate flavor consists of a decadent Biscoff-crusted and vanilla-infused sponge cake, a layer of Biscoff buttercream filling, white chocolate buttercream frosting, and a white chocolate ganache. Recently, Jane introduced her candy bar flavors to the menu, creating cakes inspired by classic candy bar favorites such as Reese’s, Snickers, Mounds, and even Kinder Bueno. While What Jane Baked offers a wide variety of flavors, Jane is also open to creating custom flavors at the request of her customers.
Besides baking, Jane enjoys spending time with her family, playing dress-up and house with her two daughters, painting, and playing tennis. Because the focus of her bakery is producing consistent, quality cakes made with integrity and care, Jane is content with keeping What Jane Baked operating in her home kitchen for the foreseeable future. To place an order at What Jane Baked and to browse the menu, visit the What Jane Baked website at www.whatjanebaked.com. See Jane’s creations on Facebook and Instagram at @whatjanebaked.
