RICHMOND, Va. — Danya Smith never intended to devote her life to baking.
The 30-year-old Richmond native graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture. For years, she used her degree working with visual artists through residency programs.
But her love for sweets was sparked while baking a cake for her grandmother’s 75th birthday in 2015.
“The cake I made for her birthday was really good. It tasted really good. Everybody really liked it and after that, I was just like, oh, let me just keep doing this. And it just kind of spiraled from there,” Smith recalled.
Fast forward to 2023, Smith now owns Layers Cake Studio where she creates hyper realistic cakes inspired by the 90s.
Step-by-step tutorials she’s posted on YouTube reveal a convincing and realistic Bop It! toy, a Rugrats VHS tape and a Gameboy — all made out of cake.
Smith and her skills will soon appear on the second season of Netflix’s “Is It Cake?” hosted by Saturday Night Life cast member and comedian Mikey Day.
She is one of 10 chefs hoping to take home their share of a $120,000 prize pot on June 30.
“I don't like to leave my house and so it was such a big leap,” Smith noted. “But I was like I have to do this.”
The baker said she loved her experience and is now looking toward the future.
She now dreams to become a judge on a baking competition and hopes to pass on her baking skills to other budding chefs.
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