Malta resident finds recipe for success in life through baking, teaching kiddos

MALTA – How sweet it is to be raved about the way Ken’s Kakes is, said the popular baking business’ founder and owner, Kennedy Davis.

Ken’s Kakes was founded in 2017 after her then-boyfriend and now husband encouraged her to start an Instagram page to showcase her creations.

“I had a lot of friends and family reach out and ask if I would make things [and they] would pay me,” the Malta resident said. “I’ve always had the dream of opening a bakery, and I figured that was a good starting point. I kind of started advertising a little bit more that I could sell them and make them for friends and family.”

At Ken’s Kakes, all goodies – whether it’s cookies, cakes, cupcakes or brownies – are made to order from scratch, according to its website.

Davis said business has been faring well.

“I feel like I am growing faster than I anticipated, which is awesome,” Davis said. “I am definitely staying busy with orders and the different events that go on. I am growing a lot from word of mouth, I think, which is the biggest compliment, in my opinion.”

Last year, the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce helped Ken’s Kakes celebrate its membership with a ribbon-cutting.

Although baking keeps her busy, Davis said it is not a full-time job – at least not yet.

Davis, who is a first grade teacher at Founders Elementary School in DeKalb, said she envisions that someday she would like to turn to baking full time and teaching part time.

Davis said she sees many parallels between baking and teaching.

“I think [it’s] my patience level and my ability to roll with the punches if something doesn’t turn out when I’m baking,” Davis said. “I’m able to brush it off and learn from what I messed up on. I think that’s definitely how teaching goes. It’s very much like every day is a new day, and some things will go the way that you planned and some things don’t. You just have to think on your feet and change it up.

“Then, I think it’s definitely helped with my organization and my ability to manage multiple things at once because … as a teacher, it’s a lot going on all at once, and you have to be in multiple areas of your brain at the same time. I feel like that’s what baking can be like at the same time.”

Davis said people generally have positive things to say about what she has to offer.

“A lot of people have said they love my sugar cookies,” Davis said. “That’s what my biggest rave is. … They always compliment the fact that it’s soft and there’s flavor to it, which is a huge compliment to me because I feel like I’ve worked really hard on the recipe to make sure that there is a distinct flavor.”

Davis credits social media for playing a big role in her business’ success.

“A good 95% of my clientele is either referrals or returning customers,” she said. “But most of it comes from Facebook, for sure, and all the groups that are around here.”

New to Ken’s Kakes this year, clients are able to request made-to-order cookie cakes.

“There are a lot of people I know that aren’t really big cake people, but they want something to celebrate their birthday,” she said. “I offer them in chocolate chip or sugar cookie as well.”