This Is Carolina: Self taught cake artist whips up successful business

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Whipping up a cake comes easy to many but Kayla Tencza whips up masterpieces.

Tencza grew up learning and loving how to bake fresh bread, cakes and pies, thanks to the women in her family.

“Everything was just always made from scratch. I don’t really remember, a handful of times maybe, we used a box mix for anything,” said Tencza.

However, she only shared her craft with her family and made her daughter’s birthday cakes. That is until 2020 when COVID-19 hit and she was laid off from her office job.

“I didn’t have a plan. I just knew that I wanted to fill my time and I wanted to do something that I thought I was really good at,” she said.

Tencza decided to turn her passion for baking into a business; however, the first-time business owner quickly burned out from making too many delicious treats.

“When I decided to come back, I said I need to do it differently because I don’t want to burn out again. And, I want to do what I truly love.”

She then focused her attention solely on cakes and the elaborate techniques of the trade by watching Instagram and YouTube videos.

“I had discovered that the decorating and the hand-painted cakes was where my passion was,” said Tencza.

The 32-year-old mother of two then created LOVECHILD Cake Company and bakes right out of her kitchen.

“It’s my love child. This is something that I’m going to nurture and grow. Just like you do with a child.”

And, it’s working. Tencza has been non-stop cracking, scooping, blending and crumb coating, before she can get to the fun part of palette knife painting.

She has carefully crafted hundreds of custom cakes, from an impressive three-tier wedding cake with cascading flowers to an over-the-top cake for the soccer enthusiast. Most of her customers rave over her chocolate cake.

“That makes me really proud because my chocolate cake is my Mamaw’s chocolate cake recipe, “she beamed.

Tencza also creates smaller delectable treats, like a snowy floral cake and her delicious buttercream icing that she’s made for the holidays. Her skills are so good, she won third place in The Greatest Baker Competition, a national contest affiliated with The Great British Baking Show.

The cake artist said that won’t be her only competition, as her goal is to expand her business and teach online classes. But, the mother of two young girls said she’s already found her recipe for success.

“I basically have been able to show them that with hard work, amazing things can happen. Also, if there’s not a path that feels right that’s already made for you, that you can make your own and that’s what I did, and I’m really excited that they get to watch that and be a part of that.”

Click here to browse Tencza’s cakes on Instagram, or click here to check them out on Facebook. You can also email lovechildcakes@gmail.com to place your order. Tencza said she’ll also be releasing her holiday cakes, so watch out for those.

If you have good news to share, email goodnews@wmbfnews.com or message Loren on Facebook.

Copyright 2022 WMBF. All rights reserved.