I’m one of those people who when I find something I love I talk about it to everyone. It could be anything from my Dyson DC-Slim vacuum to my business card holder to my pool company. I can’t help myself. If something has made my life cleaner, easier, prettier or just more amusing–I feel compelled to share it. I don’t go around loving everything though. I’m not that easy. There’s a certain recipe that has to be cooking with ingredients like quality, price and creativity before I show the love. And when it comes to businesses there is a fourth ingredient that I’ll call the “the special sauce”.

Most businesses go about their work and meet your expectations. You get what you pay for and carry on. But some companies go that extra step and leave you with that “ahhhh” feeling.  They’ve got “the special sauce”.  With this whole recipe theme going, I thought I would share one of my favorite local businesses with you–a cake business. As I said, I can’t help myself.

Rita Marra, of Rita’s Cakes, is a really sweet lady. (I think she is made of buttercream icing;) She has been running her business here in The Woodlands since 2010 when her family moved here from Georgia. I spent a cozy morning with her drinking coffee, watching her decorate a chocolate chip “Pink Day” cake and getting the scoop about her business.

Rita is a self-taught cake maker and started out making cakes using the Wilton Books. She soon found inspiration on the internet through other cake makers and spends lots of time researching ideas for clients. Aside from theme cupcakes or cookies, she doesn’t do mass production. She makes one-of-a-kind creations specific to your party theme. 

Rita separates herself from the average cake maker in many ways, with one of them being her carving abilities. Not every cake maker will tackle carving 3 dimensional cakes. She also makes almost all of her marshmallow fondant and I can attest that it’s wonderful. She tells me that she has her family and neighbors taste test all her new flavors and combinations to perfect the moisture and taste. Too bad I don’t live next door…but, I have had the pleasure of having several of Rita’s delicious cakes at some of my parties and she knocked it out of the ball park every time. 

Rita makes sweets for clients in The Woodlands and Houston area. She finds that her busiest times are April/May when she is creating lots of First Communion and Graduation cakes and then again around the holidays when she gets busy with cakes for Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. She’s seen a trend with lots of orders from Realtors and Insurance companies who order customized client gifts of cake pops or cookies. 

My favorite cake is Rita’s chocolate chip cake but don’t ever leave out the chocolate ganache. Add it to anything you order and you won’t be sorry! 

She stressed to me that custom cakes require lead time to prepare, so call her early to get on her schedule. The more intricate the design, the more time she will need to plan. Her list of flavors and combinations is long and delicious and her creativity in bringing your party theme to life is amazing. Think of it as an edible present to yourself. Make sure to keep Rita’s Cakes in mind for your next celebration. 

Phone: 678-982-5169, Email: marrafam@aol.com