Greeley’s Made with Love Bake Sale offers chance to buy tasty goodies and donate to Boulder’s Marshall Fire victims
Heart shaped cookies for Valentine’s Day are just a few of the tasty treats offered for sale at this weekend's Made with Love Bake Sale benefitting the Boulder County Wildfire Fund. Photo courtesy of Pastry by Everett.
By Emily Kemme
Bake sales make people feel good. They’re often held to support a cause and provide opportunities to donate to people in need, while at the same time offering you a treat to enjoy. In that, bake sales bring sweetness to everyone involved.
But when a bake sale fosters a community of people who are interested in the art of baking, it’s even better.
This Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., The Great Greeley Bake-Off and Cakeable present the Made with Love Bake Sale at Realty One in Greeley, 5601 West 19th Street, Unit B. The event features baked goods by local bakers with cottage bakery businesses; most are past competitors in the Great Greeley Bake-Off series. The event will benefit the Boulder County Wildfire Fund through the Boulder County Community Foundation. The fund disperses financial assistance to individuals and families who were impacted by the December 30, 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County.
A red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting made by Pastry by Everett, the baking company owned by Everett Gonzales, founder of The Great Greeley Bake-Off. Photo courtesy of Pastry by Everett.
Although some of the Great Greeley Bake-Off editions have focused on age groups and interests — the Children’s Bake-Off, Halloween Bake-Off and Love is Love events are a few — the Valentine’s Day weekend event is marketed to the whole community, said co-organizer and Northern Colorado realtor Everett Gonzales.
“It’s not only for couples or singles. It’s a bake sale made with love for everyone,” Gonzales said.
He’s giving participants the option to donate all proceeds from the event to the Wildfire Fund, but has also offered bakers a 40% commission option for goods they’re selling. Gonzales’ baking business, Pastry by Everett, is underwriting the event.
Items for sale include cupcakes, cookies, and cake. You can also find mason jar cakes that serve two, a perfect treat to share with someone you love. A pretzel artist will bring chocolate-dipped pretzels, as well as big sweet pretzels with cinnamon sugar. There will also be savory bread selections.
Co-organizer Amber Myers of Cakeable will feature two chocolate heartbreaker boxes — they’re hollow geodesic chocolate hearts filled with treats. Words scrawled in icing across the heart’s exterior read, “Break me.” A wooden mallet is included to do the deed, but in case you’ve lost that loving feeling this Valentine’s Day, an element of caution is advised. Inside the chocolate heart you’ll find marshmallows, festive sprinkles, heart-shaped homemade Oreos and geo-shaped cake pop hearts.
If you’ve always wondered how to make a cake pop, The NoCo Optimist asked Myers to share her secrets. They are cake crumbles mixed with buttercream frosting blended to creaminess, coated in hard chocolate and served on a lollipop stick.
Myers valued the chocolate heart boxes at $25 a piece; she is bringing two to the bake sale.
Made with Love Bake Sale co-organizer, Amber Myers, is featuring two chocolate heartbreaker boxes — hollow geodesic chocolate boxes filled with treats. A wooden mallet is included to break into the goodie boxes. Photo courtesy of Amber Myers/Cakeable.
A stay-at-home mom since 2013, Myers had always been interested in cooking and baking for her family, but got into making what she calls “extreme” cakes for kids’ birthdays after she and her husband moved from Illinois to Colorado in 2017. Their kids (now ages 5 and 9) didn’t have many friends after the move. When the kids began making friends, Myers shifted from cakes for her family to baking over-the-top cakes for her kids’ friends’ birthday presents.
In January 2020, Myers completed the cottage food certification and food handling course, and launched her new business, Cakeable.
Along with previous experience in the wedding industry, Myers’ marketing and graphic design background helped her focus on weddings, which blossomed in 2021 after the pandemic put nuptials on hold for many couples in 2020.
“It’s been a really cool evolution. At first, I didn’t know what to expect,” Myers said.
Cakeable offers wedding cakes, cupcakes, and gourmet, homemade cookies. But the main idea behind the company is providing baked options for folks with dietary restrictions, including gluten free, sugar free, lo-carb, vegan and keto diet alternatives.
“That’s where the name, ‘Cakeable,’ came from. It’s a play on the word ‘capable.’ The tagline is, ‘everyone deserves good cake,’” she said. “Whatever your restrictions, you should be able to enjoy a beautiful and delicious cake.”
Gonzales founded the Great Greeley Bake-Off in early 2021, modeling it after the Great British Baking Show. As a professional baker who plans to attend culinary school in Paris or Switzerland to hone his skills, Gonzales thought an event showcasing baked goods made by amateur, semi-professional and home bakers would be a fun way to take people’s minds off the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since its founding, it’s been received enthusiastically and there have been several editions of the event. The series has created a community of bakers who share encouragement and tutorials on all things baking, from how to make the smoothest fondant to creating a Yule Log.
In addition to this weekend’s Valentine’s Day sale, mark your calendars for the Second Annual Great Greeley Bake-Off March 26. Follow the Bake-Off on Facebook for more details.