Four Inane Questions with Black Sheep Custom Cakes’ Mike Elder
Courtesy photo
Believe it or not, Mike Elder never intended to become a cake guy. This despite the fact that his mom was a famous baker and his dad was “an equally famous Corvette restorer,” says Elder. “I swore I’d never do either.”
Well, fast forward a few decades, and it seems Mike has made the elder Elders quite proud.
He’s become a world-renowned cake artist here in KC who also builds classic and exotic cars. As the owner of Black Sheep Custom Cakes, Mike tells us his talents have been quite the adventurous meal ticket. He’s garnered three Guinness World Records, appeared on 16 TV shows, and delivered cakes to three continents.
Not unlike “Field of Dreams,” Mike has an “if-you-build-it-they-will-come” mentality. He’s created mouthwatering cakes in castles, on yachts, and even in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest. He’s also quick to name-drop celebs who have requested his cakes, including George Lucas and David Letterman. (If you went to the opening of Gordon Ramsay’s Steak in North Kansas City a few years ago, you probably spied Mike’s handiwork—a four-foot-tall cake resembling Ramsay’s famous Beef Wellington.)
Currently, Elder is gearing up for a cake expo in Lexington, Missouri, on August 25 and 26.
“I’m calling it ‘A Not-So-Civil Cake War!’” he says. “It will feature a TV-style battle and cake show.”
When we pinged Elder with our litany of lame-o questions, he seemed unphased. He also didn’t bat an eyelash when we ate our weight in his buttercream frosting.
The Pitch: Shhh—tell no one! What’s a super-secret frosting flavor that no one knows about but needs to?
Mike Elder: Yo! Ganache! It’s so easy to make and tastes so rich and awesome. I use it a lot on complicated sculpture cakes because it’s firmer than buttercream. But hands-down, any ganache is better than any buttercream! My fave is chocolate on yellow cake. Uh, kill me!
If you were a planet, which planet would you be?
I love this as I’m an amateur astronomer! It’s hard, though, but I think Jupiter. It’s a bit big and round (like me), but it’s also underappreciated. When I was in grade school, my teacher told me to thank Jupiter when I see it because its gravity pulls all the junk that would otherwise hit the Earth and keeps us safe. I love that idea—quietly helping from afar can be very rewarding. That’s who I want to be. Leave the Earth better than when I found it.
Also, I have the sun and moon tattooed on my hands and a galaxy on my shoulder. So, this question is definitely up my alley.
What’s the weirdest cake compliment you’ve ever received?
[laughs] Not really a compliment, but I was thankful for it! For a little boy’s birthday, I made a bumblebee Camaro cake, and I made a little caricature of the boy hanging out the driver’s window.
His little 7 or 8-year-old brother was in awe as I carried it in. His response was, “Wow, that’s so cool, but the face is too flat.” I was offended at first, but he was right! I’ve been doing this for decades, wondering what my problem was, and this lil’ dude knew it in five seconds. I told his mom to get him some clay! He’s got a real gift.
You can have one celeb chef cook you dinner, including dessert. What’s on the menu?
That’s easy, and it’s already happened! Gordon. Ramsay. I’ve been super fortunate to have made his birthday cake on more than one occasion. The last time was when he opened his restaurant here. He made me his signature Beef Wellington.
Also, he didn’t like the light my cake was in, so he picked it up and moved it to a better spot in his restaurant. To me, that showed real respect. He was concerned about how my work looked in pics and wanted the best. I’ll never forget that!
Bonus 5th Question: Forget cakes for a minute. If you could only eat one cookie for the rest of your life—what would it be?
Easy. Chocolate chip. I make ice cream cones, waffles, and obviously cookies from chocolate chip cookie dough! Throw the dough in a waffle maker for a minute or so, and dump it on a plate with some vanilla ice cream.
