Lakeville Bakery Wins 'Cake Wars' On Food Network
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The owner of a Twin Cities bakery is getting national attention. She just won the latest season of "Cake Wars" on Food Network.
Ann Alaboud runs Sweet Treasures in Lakeville. Last week, Food Network viewers saw her take on the challenge of creating a cake with a magical theme. She says it took a leap of faith to open a bakery.
"I just wanted to prove to the world that I could bake," Alaboud said. "That's probably why I agreed to go."
Alaboud's loyal customers at Sweet Treasures already knew her cupcakes and cakes were extraordinary, but now many more people know it.
Two weeks after applying to be a contestant on "Cake Wars," she found herself in Los Angeles, battling out with other bakers, and with the clock ticking.
"There was a moment in there where I hyperventilated," she said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I am not going to get it done! Not going to get it done, but I am not going home a loser."
Alaboud had four hours to design, bake and decorate a large cake with a magic theme. She decided to create a cake with a magician and a box of magic.
"We immediately came up with the idea of putting all of the trade secrets, the treasure chest, someone locks themselves inside and disappears," she said. "Within the four hour window, there is a lot of panic, and it is crazy in there."
The judges described her decor as sophisticated, and more importantly, they thought her chocolate cake with a raspberry meringue buttercream frosting tasted fantastic.
"Your ganache is perfect," one of the judges told her on the show. "It's thick but creamy. Your cake design, I have to say, I am really surprised."
Alaboud has a college degree in art as well as an MBA. A year ago, she left her job as a business analyst to pursue her dream of opening a bakery.
"It was a good paying job, absolutely, but this is what I love doing," she said. "When you do something all these hours, from 5:30 in the morning til 9:00 at night, you don't really feel it's work because you're enjoying it."
She enjoys it so much, she has a new cupcake menu every day. Ann found out she won back in July shortly after the competition, but had to keep it secret until the episode aired last week.
She hasn't decided how she'll use the $10,000 she won, but is considering opening a second location.
The recipe for the winning chocolate cake with raspberry meringue buttercream can be found on Food Network online.
