Clough Street Cakes becomes a ‘sugar angel’
Goodies that are as beautiful as they are delicious of all types can be found at Clough Street Cakes, an at-home business run by Lennoxville baker Annie Duriez. Now Duriez has added ‘baking a difference’ to her offerings by teaming up with the non-profit organization Icing Smiles Canada.
“I got an email out of the blue,” she said. Though Duriez had heard of the foundation, she didn’t know they functioned in Quebec. “I was contacted by Leanne Maksylewich (the administrator for the Quebec and North Eastern Ontario chapter of Icing Smiles) and she told me about this young boy who was just turning 15 with Hunter Syndrome.”
The boy is Nathaniel Phaneuf. He lives in Stanstead with his mother, Lisa Bernais, and younger sister, Chelsea. The disease, also called mucopolysaccharidosis II, or MPS2, is extremely rare. It is caused by a missing or malfunctioning enzyme, which can’t break down certain harmful substances in body, thus creating a buildup. The buildup can cause progressive and permanent damage to organs and mental faculties.
Duriez explained that the organization receives requests from families with children suffering from life-threatening diseases, like Nathaniel’s. The organization then contacts a local bakery, asking for a cake donation to the child.
“The idea immediately appealed to me, but I was a little bit uncomfortable” said Duriez, confiding that there was another baker that she knew of in Stanstead, and didn’t want to overstep into her territory, so to speak. “In the end though the other woman couldn’t do it, and I agreed to take on the cake.”
And so, the baker became what Icing Smiles Canada calls a ‘sugar angel’. Duriez was then put in contact with Nathaniel’s mom.
“It was a lot for her to handle. They ask the children what flavor of cake they want and what they’re interested in and ask for design ideas and all sorts of things. But because of the syndrome, Nathaniel is non-verbal,” explained Duriez. “I walked her through it. Lisa was recently widowed, and Nathaniel and his father loved Nascar. So that’s where I got my inspiration from.”
Duriez has been baking for three years now. She said that she had however ‘lived a number of lives before.”
“I reinvent myself every eight or nine years,” she laughed. “I was actually a journalist before, and before that I was a translator.”
She learned to bake at culinary school at the Centre de Formation Professionelle 24 Juin, where she took night classes.
“I used to take photos of the things I would be making in class and share them on Facebook for my friends and one day my friend asked me to make a cake for her.”
Since then, according to Duriez, she has been working her business from home, advertising very little and relying instead on word-of-mouth for clients. Her cakes are extremely personalized; no two are the same.
“They allow me to be creative,” she explained. “Nathaniel’s took me six hours to make, but every cake is different. They can be complex and time consuming. It’s a challenge, part of the fun, wondering ‘how am I going to do this?”
The cake is a beautiful two tier confection, decked with the Nascar logo, topped with two checkered flags and written “Happy Birthday Nathaniel” at the bottom in fondant.
“Lisa told me that Nathaniel was enamored by engines and movement. That’s why I got the idea of making the bottom of the cake look like a tire,” said Duriez. “He and his dad also loved a particular racer, number 17. I thought of making his car out of fondant, but the amount of detail, and how small it would be, I decided against it.”
The racer is Matt Kenseth. Duriez said that she was able to find a miniature toy replica of his car, which provided the perfect finishing touch on the cake. She thought that it proved an even better idea than the edible version she wanted at first, as it would provide Nathaniel with a souvenir he could keep.
“When I delivered the cake Sunday morning, I got to meet them,” she added. “It made it so much more meaningful. You know, Lisa opened the box and saw THE car on it and she got teary and said ‘Oh! You found it!’ It was pretty emotional.”
“It was a great experience. I like designing. I got free reign. The only directions were the flavor and the ‘happy birthday’ at the bottom.”
Nathaniel’s mom was over the moon with the cake, which was chocolate flavored.
“His cake was wonderful! And he loved it, he absolutely loved it,” she exclaimed. “We put sparklers in it. He’s non-verbal but I know he adored the cake, his eyes said it all.”
Bernais has asked the Icing Smiles foundation for another cake, this time for her daughter Chelsea, who’s birthday is in May. The organization also offers cakes to the siblings of sick children, given that they are often left in the sidelines.
“It’s just a wonderful idea. I just found out about them six months ago. It’s great for sick kids and their families,” said Bernais. “I try really, really hard to not have Chelsea feel left out, but sometimes you’re wrapped up in so much hospital stuff, they feel like that even if you try.”
Though his party was Sunday, Nathaniel’s birthday was Tuesday, and Bernais was planning on having another party to enjoy the leftovers of Duriez’s creation.
“We are really, really happy. It was a real treat,” said Bernais, who added with a laugh: “I think we’ll be using Annie more often!”
Duriez, on the other hand, loves her craft.
“It feels like I’m part of the celebrations, like I have a connection with the family,” she said. “Some people tell me ‘Oh, your cakes are so beautiful, we didn’t want to cut into them!’ but that’s what I like. I create and then let go. It’s ephemeral.”
“I hope to have an opportunity to bake for Icing Smiles again,” Duriez added. “I’m a sugar angel now, so I hope I get a ‘call to action’!”