Wonderland Custom Cakes: More than the Usual Cake Story

 “I can do that.” These words, fueled by a fearless spirit and strong conviction to put wings on a childhood dream driven by an inherent streak to create “edible art”, albeit no formal culinary training, led Anthony Guerino Valerio to whip up his own cake recipes for family and friends.


Thanks to that topsy-turvy cake he ordered for a birthday celebration a few years ago that elicited from him the “I can do that” attitude, Anthony grew confidence that he, too, can express his creative genius on fondant. After all, he was good with play-dough, wasn’t he?


Unlikely Start of a Custom Cake Factory

Who would have thought that Wonderland Custom Cakes, as it caters to its growing clientele today, would have an unlikely beginning with a child’s play-dough?


Even Roro, Anthony’s grandmother, may not have thought that when she allowed her grandson to mess up with his play-dough, she was not just feeding his curiosity, but his imagination as well, to create the toy’s edible counterpart, and become a gastronomic revelation that it is today.


What started as child’s play became a young man’s slice of the success pie; and that when it comes to achieving a dream, success has no specific template. You can go the “usual way”, as most people had with their Ivy league degrees, or pursue it by unusual means, like playing dough as a child, and watching cooking shows.


Either way, the difference lies on how a person pursues his dream. Anthony pursued it with the tenacity of a bulldog – against all odds - until that elusive success surrendered.


The Odds

No formal training in cooking or baking. No culinary certificates to adorn his walls. These were just some of the odds that Anthony had to overcome when he decided that whipping up custom cakes was in his future. Good, there were cooking shows, most notably, the Food Network.


Anthony home-schooled himself via Food Network; proudly labeled himself the show’s “product.” He also watched other cooking shows and joined cake competitions that pitted his baking skills against those of seasoned bakers and cake artists. He was quick to admit though that inspiration alone was never enough to succeed in the business; he had to arm himself to the teeth with tricks, tips and hints that gave him a better fighting chance at capturing, not just the taste, but the emotional motivation of his customers each time they sent in their orders.


That sounded like a perfect recipe for success, isn’t it? But no, Anthony knew his more than the usual route to success might not have taken off the ground were it not for an invaluable asset he kept close to his heart, since the day he left New Jersey and set foot on Californian soil.


Meet Vandy


She’s known among staff and crew of Wonderland Custom Cakes, not just “Anthony’s aunt”, but the “wind beneath his wings.”


Vandy is a full-time grade school teacher, who has raised three boys and a husband, on home-cooked meals and delightful carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting - for three decades! Now, if that’s not enough credentials to deserve the title “invaluable asset”, nothing else will.


A culinary expert in her own right, Vandy delivers to Wonderland Custom Cakes her own dose of creativity and what she does best - carrot cakes; in fact, this traditional cake recipe has found its way to Wonderland Custom Cakes’ list of specialties.


With baking and cake designing skills learned by the heart and developed through the years with childlike sense of wonder in finding new ways and means to improve its business, Wonderland Custom Cakes is likely to gear up for more hours in its kitchen, baking more cupcakes and cakes for its growing number of customers.


So, the next time you see a child play with dough, don’t interrupt him. You’ll never know how far his imagination can take him.