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Right now, she has time to make about
two full-sized cakes a week (they each
take her at least three days to complete
because there are so many different components
— and many of them are intricately
decorated). She’s sometimes in the
kitchen “from 10 o’clock in the morning
till 10 o’clock at night,” she said.
“I follow recipes very loosely, and then
I kind of just like to experiment, and most
of the time it turns out.” On the rare occasions
that she messes up, the mistakes
often spark ideas for new flavor combinations
and recipes in the future.
Her one rule is that she will not make the
same cake twice, because “no one person
is the same,” she said, and she really likes to
tailor her treats to the recipients’ tastes.
“I like to find out about people, find out
where they’re from, find out what they
miss eating that they don’t get to eat
anymore, and be a little indulgent and a
little fun and whimsical with it, because
honestly my favorite part is bringing joy
to people,” Mortensen said. “I just want
people to feel loved.”
Photos courtesy of Ashley Mortensen
Black raspberry tart