Hi! Thanks for stopping by and welcome to Liv for Cake! I’m Olivia (Liv), a video gamer/ project manager /instructor turned pastry chef/ recipe developer/ photographer from Vancouver, BC.

Here you’ll find a variety of from-scratch cake recipes and more. My goal is to create classic cake recipes with a modern twist and I love transforming classic desserts into layer cakes.

New to baking and don’t know where to start?

We’ve all been there. Don’t believe me? Check out this gem which was the very first cake I ever made. It wasn’t pretty and it tasted horrible. I had no idea what I was doing and in case you don’t either, here’s some good places to start!

• How to Bake Flat Cake Layers
• How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• How to Make Simple Syrup
• Basic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe
• Classic Vanilla Cake
• Classic Chocolate Cake

Almost all of the recipes you find here are baked from-scratch, but I do have a very popular doctored box mix recipe that is insanely delicious.

You can find my must-have baking tools here or visit my Amazon shop to see a list of all my favourites.

If you’re looking for a little extra baking support, head on over and join my Baking Community on Facebook. We’d love to have you!

What are your favourite recipes?

Picking a favourite is hard, but I get asked this question all the time. Here are some of my faves in no particular order:

• Black Forest Cake
• Mocha Cake
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (It’s not all cakes around here! And these are ridiculously good)
• Lemon Elderflower Cake (Copycat Royal Wedding Cake)
• S’mores Cake

You can find all of my cake recipes on my Cakes page. 

And if you’re into Bundt cakes, you should check out my Bundt Cakes page! I went through a phase where I had a mild obsession with all things Bundt, collected a whole bunch of pans, and baked a bunch of Bundt cakes. If you’re looking for an easy and delicious cake recipe without all the fuss (the pan does all the work!) these are for you.

What makes Liv for Cake unique?

I’m a professionally trained pastry chef and I experiment a lot with my recipes. As a result, there are many failures along the way. I always try to detail what went wrong and why so that you guys can learn along with me. I include a Tips section in the bottom of all of my posts so you can see what worked and what didn’t.

Let’s be honest, 99% of the time something goes wrong. Whether it’s an error in the recipe, or me doing something stupid, there’s never a dull moment around here. I hope you appreciate the candor and can relate to the fact that sometimes (often) things don’t go according to plan. And just know that there is a almost always a “back” (aka not-so-pretty) side to all my cakes.

A bit more about me

I started Liv for Cake what seems like forever ago, in 2010, when I was taking Wilton cake decorating classes at Michaels. I thought it would be fun to chronicle my journey. If you dig (really dig) through the archives here you’ll find some very old and unpolished (but always candid) posts about that.

In 2014, I left the corporate world to pursue my baking passion and completed the pastry program at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver. I graduated at the top of my class with an Honours diploma in their Professional Pastry & Bread Making program. If you’re interested in learning about my time there, you can check out The Pastry Diaries, a weekly series I did chronicling my journey through school. It’s raw and unfiltered, so be prepared for some major ups and downs with the occasional curse word thrown in.

Aside from baking, I love to travel.

And I love Disneyland.

Really I love almost anything Disney.

I live in a suburb of Vancouver, BC with my incredibly supportive husband, Ryan, who is often the brain child behind the ideas for my baking creations. We’re recent puprents to a mini schnauzer named Zelda.

And because I like to read these kinda things and figure you might too , here’s 25 random facts about me:

1. I was born in Poland, grew up in Edmonton, AB, and have lived in Vancouver, BC since the late 90’s.
2. I still speak Polish fluently, but reading/writing is a challenge.
3. Fall is my favourite season of the year. Summer is my least.
4. I spent 6 weeks travelling around SE Asia on my own a few years ago. It was an amazing experience.
5. I don’t want to have kids, but love my nieces and nephew. I wish they didn’t live so far away.
6. I used to play video games, a lot. Especially MMO’s like Everquest. One of my first jobs was as a game tester at Electronic Arts.
7. My husband and I lived in Paris for 3 months. It was amazing!! I can’t wait to go back there one day.
8. I never liked school and swore I’d never go back, and then I went to Pastry school anyhow. I can officially say that I will never go back to school again!
9. I’m a germophobe and carry baby wipes with me wherever I go. Not quite as bad as Monk, but you get the idea.
10. I’ve never had a cavity which is really shocking considering all the sugar I ingest.
11. I used to weigh over 200 lbs (back in the video game days). My weight is still a constant battle and will likely forever be. The cakes sure don’t help!
12. I’m an introvert and don’t like to be the center of attention. I often shut down in large groups.
13. I am a closet Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fan. I’m totally hooked.
14. I love animals and can’t stand to see them neglected or abused. I sometimes watch animal rescue videos and cry my eyes out. I went through 10 tissues watching the Fiona dog rescue video. Google it… or better yet, don’t!
15. I’m a crier and I hate it. I cry at the drop of a hat. If someone’s crying, I probably am too.
16. I rarely ever wear heels of any kind.
17. I hate working out, but force myself to do it (sometimes). See #11.
18. I snooze for at least 30mins in the mornings. Who are these people that can get up right as their alarm goes off?!
19. I love the rain and cloudy days.
20. I also love hot weather, but only if there’s a (clean) source of water nearby.
21. I have a lot of mugs (according to my husband) and like to collect them from the various places we visit.
22. I love Harry Potter.
23. I’m almost always cold.
24. I love going out to eat.
25. I am obsessed with the 80’s. The music, the movies, the TV shows, the style. Sometimes I wish I was born 10 years earlier so I could have been a teenager in that decade.

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading! If you’d like to get in touch, you can contact me via email or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest!