Cake Craft Shoppe Academy

What started as a dream to teach young bakers has grown into something so much bigger. 💛

I’m incredibly honored to be featured in Bake Magazine and grateful to Kimberly Houston and the Retail Bakers of America for helping share the story behind the Cake Craft Shoppe Youth Baking Academy.

This program has never just been about baking cakes — it’s about building confidence, teaching life skills, developing discipline, and investing in the next generation of bakers and cake artists.

Thank you to every student, parent, instructor, and supporter who has helped us build this sweet journey.

Take a moment to read the article and learn more about our mission. 🧁✨

https://www.bakemag.com/articles/21685-rba-member-spotlight-cyndi-benavides

I’m honored to share that I was recently featured on The Perfect Rise Podcast with the Retail Bakers of America!

A huge thank you to RBA for the opportunity, and to Kimberly Houston for sitting down with me for such a meaningful conversation about my journey, the heart behind Cake Craft Shoppe, and the vision for our Youth Baking Academy.

We talked about baking, workforce development, mentorship, and why I believe baking can be so much more than a hobby—it can be a pathway to confidence, creativity, and career opportunities.

If you’ve ever wondered how Cake Craft Shoppe became what it is today—or what’s next for the next generation of bakers—take a listen. I’d love to hear what resonates with you! 💛

What if the future of the baking industry starts long before someone applies for their first bakery job?

In the latest episode of The Perfect Rise, Kimberly Houston sits down with Cyndi Benavides of Cake Craft Shoppe and the Youth Baking Academy to discuss how she’s building a workforce pipeline for the next generation of bakers.

From cake decorating and baking fundamentals to professionalism, confidence, and career readiness, Cyndi’s four-year program is helping students ages 10–17 develop the skills today’s industry desperately needs.

The conversation explores:
• Workforce development in baking
• Building sustainable educational programs
• Why mentorship matters
• The future of industry certifications
• How bakery owners can invest in young talent

Cyndi and her Academy were recently recognized with the IBIE Best in Baking Workforce Development Award—and after listening to this conversation, it’s easy to see why.

Listen now on The Perfect Rise podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2434175/episodes/19027502

Registration opens June 1st for 1st Year applications to our award-winning Youth Baking Academy!
We accept only 6 students each year for this one-of-a-kind program designed to help young bakers build skills, confidence, and creativity in a hands-on learning environment.
This year, we are excited to introduce new program enhancements, including:
✨ Student photo portfolios

✨ Textbooks and learning materials
✨ Google Classroom for homework and feedback
✨ Bakery visits
✨ RBA & ACF partnership support leading toward future certification opportunities
If your young baker is ready to take their passion to the next level, this is the program for them.

Spots are limited. More details coming soon!

Tune in and watch our talented young bakers, ages 10–16, proudly present the incredible cakes they’ve worked so hard to create. 🎂👏

We’re also honored to have special guest judges Willie Mike and Charles Marcus joining us to evaluate each student’s masterpiece and share professional feedback.

You won’t want to miss the creativity, talent, and excitement happening today! 💫

📍 Join us live and cheer on the next generation of bakers!

The final Showcase for the Academy is April 11th.

Stop by and check all the beautiful cakes that baker have designed.

Watch for more post

✨ Introducing the Cake Craft Shoppe Youth Baking Career Pathway ✨

What began as baking classes has grown into something much bigger.

Our Youth Baking Academy is now part of a structured, multi-year culinary education pathway designed to transform baking from a hobby into a credentialed profession for youth.

Through hands-on training, technical mastery, entrepreneurship, and life-skills development, students progress from foundational skills to advanced decorating and industry certification preparation.

We are proud to partner with the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) to align our program with nationally recognized standards and certification pathways. Our Academy has been recognized for excellence in workforce development and educational innovation.

And we’re just getting started…

👩‍🍳 Little Bakers (Ages 7–9) is now in development.
This early-entry program will introduce young learners to foundational culinary skills and begin their journey within our Career Pathway model.

A pilot program is coming soon. Stay tuned for updates and information on how your Little Baker can apply and begin an exciting, skill-building path in the culinary arts.

From Little Bakers to Certified Professionals — we are building confidence, competence, and career-ready young bakers.

The future of baking starts here. 💛

Look at what the 3rd year are up to today. Working on those end of year cakes for the showcase.

We even had Mad's come in for the last few class to help teach some of advance piping that she learned over the summer.

https://mailchi.mp/3b6d3e196311/important-update-potential-weather-related-shipping-order-delays

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Potential Weather - Related Shipping & Order Delays Due to an approaching winter storm, shipping and order fulfillment from our store—and through our shipping carriers—may be impacted over the coming days.

I am so proud of all my youth bakers, here are my 1st yrs work for this month. They worked on palette painting and drop strings.