As the holiday season approaches, Baton Rouge native Chelsi Flowers prepares a full kitchen’s worth of sweet treats for parties and other events. Through her business Cupcakes by Chelsi, Flowers puts her creative decorating skills to the test.
With experience decorating cupcakes for special occasions like sweet sixteens and Christmas celebrations, Flowers has trained herself to execute even the most complicated cupcake presentations. Despite not having any formal training in cake creating, Flowers educated herself with television shows on The Food Network.
Every weekend, she practiced tips and baking styles from her favorite Pinterest boards, letting her family sample her creations.
Since her first attempt at baking in 2012, Flowers has taught herself all the recipes for cupcake success, from baking time to tasteful flavor duos.
“I was able to do a lot of things I thought I couldn’t,” Flowers said. “But I gave it a try, and it all came out nice.”
Once she started experimenting with fondant toppers, her social media friends’ approving responses motivated her.
Flowers said the first cupcake she ever baked was from a box batter with vanilla icing to top it off. Now, Cupcakes by Chelsi bakes cakes decorated like a firefighter’s uniform and the Instagram camera logo, to name a few.
Now creating cupcakes from scratch, Flowers credits her willingness to learn to the original Pinterest recipes she used for inspiration.
Other than cupcakes, she dabbles in decorative candy apples, sugar cookies, Rice Krispies treats, and chocolate-dipped Oreos and pretzels.
Complimented by satisfied customers, Flowers prides herself on her attention to details and neatness.
“Whenever I’m decorating, I’m very focused,” Flowers said.
Flowers experienced her first difficult order when she was faced with the task of creating a three-dimensional Air Jordan sneaker. Aside from the large amount of fondant cutouts needed to incorporate into the sneaker design, shaping the cake troubled Flowers the most.
“I had to be aware of both sides being a mirror image, which was difficult for my first three-dimensional cake,” Flowers said.
Flowers can now add “triumph” to a list of cake skills she masters.
Using passion as her fuel for everyday growth, Flowers said she hopes to someday open her own bakery, so she constantly rebrands herself. In the near future, she hopes to expand Cupcakes by Chelsi to a global market.
“If it is your passion, do it,” Flowers said. “You’ll stumble but it takes practice. You’ll be sure to get it.”

Gallery • 5 Photos

Ryan McCarble

A customized Daily Reveille cupcake depicts Chelsi's cupcake collection.