Kayla Young and Her Lil Cake Club
By Haley Dockendorff
Photos by Alex Celis
Two years ago, West Palm Beach native Kayla Young shared the first photo of a decorated cake she had baked. She never imagined it would be the door to a new career.
“I was never one to be in the kitchen; didn’t think of myself as the baking type,” Kayla told us.
Kayla grew up training to join a professional ballet company and become a dancer. After an injury left her hanging up her pointe shoes, she also spent some time cheering in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins 2017-2019 seasons. However, a serendipitous Instagram post sent her toward a new medium to channel her creativity into: baking. After she posted that first cake, multiple friends reached out about placing an order.
“I thought to myself, ‘Wow, really? I can sell these cakes?’” Kayla said, “Over the next couple of months, I was baking almost every day, before and after my nine-to-five.”
Kayla continued to make and sell cakes out of her home as a side hustle for a year until she quit her full-time job and became her own boss “to make her dream a reality.” Kayla is now the proud owner of the Lil Cake Club, a cake studio and kitchen located in West Palm Beach. The self-taught baker has amassed a following of more than 50,000 on her Instagram page, @lilcakeclub.
“Social media was my pastry or culinary school,” Kayla said. “I spent hours and hours researching and playing with different recipes until I found one that truly hit the mark. Lots and lots of trial and error.”
These cakes aren’t just your run-of-the-mill bakery sweets. Lil Cake Club offers fully customizable cakes, from shape, flavor, color, toppings, piping patterns, and messages. Kayla’s designs offer a vintage-inspired style with her own unique twist. Heart-shaped cakes piled high with buttercream frosting, birthday cakes with disco balls and bows, and even three-tiered monochrome cakes flood her Instagram page.
“I am known for creating the satisfying start-to-finish process videos that have done extremely well for my social media growth, which is my main source of advertising,” she added.
Her videos attract thousands — even millions — of viewers. Her meticulous piping and frosting skills create aesthetically pleasing content for customers and admirers alike. Depending on the size and style of the cake, it can take up to four hours to create a finished product.
“I am a perfectionist; my No. 1 goal is to create a smile on a customer’s face,” Kayla said.
Different cake flavors you can choose from include vanilla, chocolate, funfetti, red velvet, and even gluten-free vanilla and chocolate options. You can add fillings like fresh strawberries, Nutella, Oreos, and peanut butter. She also gives the option of fully customizing your cake color, including base and piping colors. If you’re not the creative type yourself, she has a selection of cake designs to choose from.
Of course, Kayla makes her own birthday cakes, as well as cakes for all her close friends and family. What started out as a fun weekend activity for Kayla has now turned into a blossoming career in just two years; she says baking has become part of her lifestyle.
“I now know what they mean when they say, ‘Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life,’” Kayla added.