Rachel DeBuse, owner, baker and decorator at RELOS Cakes & Treats.

“I taught myself, basically,” Rachel DeBuse said. “Although I did get help when I was first starting, because I had no idea how to decorate cakes.”

She stands in her well-organized kitchen, having baked earlier in the day, the lingering scent of vanilla and sugar wafting. 

“The first cakes I made were horrible,” she said. “They looked BAD. My family made fun of them, but they did say they tasted good.” She was determined to make her cakes look as good as they tasted, so Rachel got some excellent instruction.

“I went to a cupcake class at the Frosted Apron in New Iberia, and learned how to use the set of decorating tips I had. I discovered I could make the prettiest cupcakes,” she said.”Stacey was so patient and supportive of me, a home baker.”

YouTube and just observation helped her as well. “I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos, usually to figure out specific techniques. I can look at a picture someone gives me, and pretty much go from there. I also went to a class at Baker’s Choice in Lafayette, two hours of making roses on a nail,” she said.

“When I started, I mainly made cupcakes, then branched out into cakes. I made my daughter Emma’s smash cake for her first birthday, and cakes for my twins, Owen and Levi. My husband, Steven, always has a request for his birthday cake,” DeBuse said.

Rachel branched out into baking for her neighborhood in January of 2020. “I’d been learning, making cakes for just my family, then I took the leap and put a post on our neighborhood’s Facebook page that I would make custom cakes for sale. The first cake I made then was a Gucci-inspired cake for a lady’s birthday. She loved it,” she said.

“I enjoy learning new techniques, learning how to mix colors, and make different designs. My flower cupcakes are fun, the hydrangea is so pretty, and easy,” she said. “I’m doing two to three orders per week, and I plan baking around my kids’ schedule. I bake while they nap in the mornings and afternoons, and Emma, who is now two, likes to be my ‘icing helper’. I would like to keep the business at this level while the kids are at home, but once they go to school, I may think about opening up a shop.”

While she makes several flavors of cakes and cupcakes, ranging from vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, lemon and strawberry to german chocolate, Rachel says her favorite is her carrot cake. “It’s the only recipe for carrot cake I really like. It’s delicious.”

Her biggest job so far: a three-tier cake plus cupcakes for an 18th birthday party. “The order was originally just the cupcakes, for an eighteen-year-old girl who had struggled to make it on her own. Her parents wanted to do it up big when she turned 18. They called me back and asked me to do her cake as well. They said afterward how much she loved it,” said DeBuse.

Her latest experiment: Petits fours. “My mom inspired me to try these and they’ve been a real hit. They can be time-consuming, but I sold several orders for Easter,” she said. “I’ve also been trying to perfect fresh fruit cakes. The first one I made was pretty… but the cake was moist, the fruit was moist, and after a minute of beauty, the cake split down the middle.”

She advertises her cakes and cupcakes on her RELOS Cakes & Treats Facebook page. (The name comes from her family’s initials, Rachel, Emma, Levi, Owen and Steven.) All of her cakes are baked fresh, her decorations are handmade, and edible. She also offers DIY cupcake kits, with six baked cupcakes, two piping bags of icing, sprinkles and fondant decorations. She takes orders by text or phone call, 337-441-6915, or message her on Facebook.