Local businesswoman has her cake and eats it, too
Craving for chocolate turns into sweet profits
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS- Lisa Donahue displays one of the sweet-tasting creations from her Thousand Oaks-based business, For Heavens Cakes. One of her specialties is called the Chocolate Bomb.

Just about everyone has had a craving for a chocolate cake, but Lisa Donahue turned her craving into For Heavens Cakes, a successful Thousand Oaks business.

"I was a stayathomemommy for my two young sons, and I could not find anything just right to satisfy a craving I was having for a chocolate cake," Donahue recalled.

With little baking experience, Donahue set out to make the ultimate chocolate cake. The result she called the Chocolate Bomb.

Donahue's original dessert soon became a favorite among family and friends, who asked her to bring her Chocolate Bomb to get-togethers. Then other people began asking her to make it for a family gathering or their child's birthday party. The more people who ate it, the more who wanted to serve it at their next event.

The bomb just exploded.

Before she knew it, Donahue was being asked to make 10 cakes a week. So she became certified as a food handler and made sure she was following all the legal requirements to start selling her creation. Ten cakes a week turned into 100 cakes a week. Then Nordstrom, coffee shops, restaurants and a variety of other places began ordering from her.

The Chocolate Bomb gave birth to other cakes- carrot, lemon and vanilla. Cakes then came in various sizes: cupcakes, mini cakes and even teensy weensy cake bites about the size of a boxed chocolate. And, yes, she sells them in boxes as if they were chocolates- but, make no mistake, they are little bites of cake.

Donahue packages her cakes elegantly and calls them couture cakes. In November 2006 she opened her first retail store and is now selling directly to the public. Some might be inclined to purchase her creations or send them as gifts just for their presentation. But how they taste is most likely the reason her cakes have caught on.

"I designed them like cakes I like to eat, and I like rich, dense and intense," Donahue said.

She knows the taste is memorable, which is why she's opened up a tasting room at her bakery. Those interested in ordering a wedding cake can make an appointment to come in, sit down and take time to taste and decide.

Her bakery is also unique because cakes aren't on hand inside a refrigerator waiting to be purchased by those who just drop in. Anyone interested in having a cake must order first. Most of the time a morning order will result in an afternoon cake, but 24 hours' notice is best, Donahue said.

She's also starting to mail her cakes. One customer had Donahue's signature chocolate cake sent to Iraq to surprise her husband, who's serving in the military, on his birthday.

Donahue realizes there are some people who come in for a cake and want to walk out with a cake, and she's expecting to someday have such a setup available. But right now her business is in its infancy, and customers just have to plan ahead and be patient.

On the business's website, www.forheavenscakes.com, a regular-size cake costs $45. Mini cakes start at $12 each. A box of 32 cake bites costs $39. Donahue also sells specialty cakes in a variety of shapes, including an autoshaped Bentley cake.

For more information, call (805) 497-6111. For Heavens Cakes is at 804 Thousand Oaks Blvd., in Heritage Plaza.