BLACKFOOT — A local cake and dessert shop in Blackfoot is celebrating 10 years of sweets and smiles come next month.

Paisley Cakes has been baking and decorating cakes since August 2013 with the mission to “provide the highest quality and the most beautiful treats and desserts that we can,” said Lenae Workman, baker and owner of the shop.

“We really enjoy helping people celebrate the happiest days of their lives,” Workman added. “We makes desserts for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, retirements and all kinds of other special occasions.”

Workman has been making cakes since she was 12 years old. She started by making cakes for friends and family, and eventually made her first wedding cake at 15 years old. In total, Workman has been making cakes for 23 years.

Later on, she married Michael Workman who helped her open her storefront two years ago. Before their current storefront, they were running out of the Oak Ridge Gas Station on Airport Road in Blackfoot.

In addition to custom-made cakes, Paisley Cakes offers many different desserts including brownies, chocolate-covered strawberries, cookies and occasionally cannolis. Workman shared a few of her favorite desserts that Paisley Cakes offers.

“A couple of my favorites I really enjoy are cookie dough bonbons, which is a chocolate chip cookie dough ball dipped in chocolate,” Workman said. “My favorite cupcake is a strawberry lemonade cupcake. I really enjoy a good cheesecake and our cream cheese brownings are also really good. There’s always something good to eat at Paisley Cakes.”

Workman said her favorite part of running Paisley Cakes is seeing her customer’s reactions to their custom cakes.

“My favorite part is making people happy,” Workman said. “Of course, desserts make people happy. But specifically, I love the look on a young girl’s face when she comes in and sees her birthday cake that she helped design, or a bride and groom on their wedding day really enjoying the custom cake that was made just for them. Those are the times that are the best for me, is the smile on people’s faces when they’re either enjoying a really delicious treat or seeing the thing that was baked just for them.”

Paisley Cakes has made many notable accomplishments over the years, including being nominated as the best cake and dessert in Idaho for multiple years. Workman said that she has a lot of fun participating in the Eastern Idaho State Fair where she has also won many awards.

“We’ve participated in some other competitions including one in Salt Lake,” Workman said. “That was a competition by invitation where Buddy Valastro from the Cake Boss (a reality TV show) was the judge, and that was a really cool experience.”

Workman strives to support her community by participating in fundraisers and supporting local businesses. In addition to Paisley Cakes, she hosts the Maker’s Market where many local crafters can display their homemade creations for sale.

Workman said that over the years the biggest challenge she has faced with running the business is making the time for all of her orders.

“We have to maximize our availability to be able to fit in as many orders as possible,” Workman said. “Occasionally, people will be upset because I am booked out. The challenge is getting people to place their orders far enough in advance so we can fit it all in.”

Paisley Cakes is named after the pattern found on a bandanna called paisley fabric. Workman cycled through a few names, but she said that she found that one to be the most fun.

Paisley Cakes is located at 747 S. Broadway St. in Blackfoot and is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. To learn more about Paisley Cakes, visit their website at paisleycakes.com or their Facebook at facebook.com/cakes.paisley.