Baked Blooms bakery transforms cupcakes into succulents and flower bouquets

ByVictoria Vallecorse Localish logo
Friday, April 2, 2021
Succulents for dessert?
Baker Sarah Thongnopneua creates succulent and flower cupcake bouquets using buttercream frosting and calls them BouCAKEs.

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. -- Sarah Thongnopneua grows succulents and flowers using 100% buttercream. Yes, you read that right.

She runs Baked Blooms, a San Anselmo-based business specializing in bespoke cupcake plant bouquets, aka BouCAKEs.

Starting her business in 2016, Thongnopneua has mastered the art of cupcake design, winning the grand prize on Food Network's "Cupcake Championship."

"I make lots of different flowers, anemones, peonies, roses, daffodils, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, succulents," said Thongnopneua. "The list is endless."

Each cupcake is designed to look like a specific flower according to customer preferences. The treats are then packaged as a bouquet or placed in a clay planter pot for creative, edible gifts and centerpieces.

Thongnopneua's arrangements closely resemble real plants, leaving customers amazed by the striking similarity.

"I thought they were real shrubbery. There are ones that look like cactuses and desert plants," said customer Matous Young. "Like Academy of Sciences cupcakes."

Some think Baked Blooms are too pretty to eat, others dive face first into the floral treat made from fluffy buttercream and melt-in-your-mouth cake.

"I get so many emails and follow-ups from orders that I've done like, 'You made my daughter's birthday' or 'Grandma was brought to tears with your bouquet' or 'Your centerpieces were the hit of the wedding,'" said Thongnopneua. "Just super humbling and really makes it all worth it. That's why I keep doing it."

How can you get your hands on a BouCAKE? Decide what flowers you'd like to devour, and Sarah will make a customized bouquet for you!

To order a BouCAKE and learn Sarah's piping techniques visit here.

Follow Baked Blooms on Instagram for the latest updates.

Video was filmed prior to COVID-19 restrictions.