Mae Karaan Owner of Los Angeles Based Sugar Babies Bake Shop is Gearing Up for the Busiest Holiday Season Ever!
Mae Karaan is the owner of Los Angeles based Sugar Babies Bake Shop known for its creative cakes, glaze-based sugar cookies, cake pops and more. Mae is also the new owner of the iconic Los Angeles staple, Hansen’s Cakes, known for its buttercream based cake creations such as the famous basket weave cakes, standard floral cakes and much more. What started as a hobby making birthday cakes for her three kids has grown into a passion to create cakes that bring her customers’ vision alive. As a self-taught cake decorator with over 20 years of experience, Mae still has a laser focus on customer service excellence and giving back to the communities she does business in. “Cake decorating has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember, there’s just something magical about bringing someone’s vision to life in sugar and frosting. Every single cake I make is a little slice of my heart, celebrating with the people who inspire me most: our customers, community and of course my family. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a smile when the cake or other desserts are revealed – that’s why I do what I do!”
What led you to your passion for cake decorating?
19 years ago, on my first born’s first birthday, I decided to attempt to make him a Halloween themed cake. It was a disaster, but I had so much fun making it and watching everyone enjoying it, it brought this inner sense of joy. So, I continued to practice at home for friends and family and overtime, I kept pushing myself, doing a lot of research, watching videos and shows, my skills had evolved to the point where my husband encouraged me to open my own business. We were in Canada at the time and had moved to USA in 2017. Two years later, Sugar Babies Bake Shop was for sale so we bought it and the rest is history! It was so nerve racking and exciting at the same time. A few months in and COVID hit, we didn’t know if we were going to make it through. Our community came through and kept us going! It’s been amazing to see how we’ve elevated Sugar Babies to where it is today, with talented staff and standard practices, the future is definitely bright!
Fast forward to 2024, the iconic Hansen’s Cakes was for sale. It was a huge step for us and when we officially bought it late December 2024, it has been one amazing story.
Unicorn Cake
Spider Man Cake
Floral Letter Sugar Cookies
Sugar Babies Bake Shop is well-known in LA for its creative cakes, glaze-based sugar cookies, and cake pops. What makes your shop so special?
We live by our six pillars (customer service excellence, community, integrity, innovation, giving, and quality). We make every dessert as if it’s for our own family because that is the only way you can taste love. Our shop has a warm, welcoming vibe that makes you part of the family the moment you walk in. It’s always about recreating that joy I felt 19 years ago, one sweet bite at a time. And our gluten free and vegan options allow us to have something for everyone!
Order Online or from our retail store is open for walk-in purchases of our signature mini cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and brownies, Tuesday – Saturday 11am-5pm
Your creativity is AMAZING! What are your favorites?
Thank you! So many to choose from. The latest one was a 14.5ft long life size Porsche Taycan for a music artist earlier this year. It took 6 staff and 4.5 days to make. It was incredible. Maybe even a record?! Others include a 3ft tall Olaf from Frozen and a three-tiered winter wonderland themed cake.
Teddy
Elsa Cake
What are your top-sellers?
Our top sellers at Hansen’s Cakes are our standard florals, our basket weave cakes made popular thanks to the Kardashians, and edible print cakes. Sugar Babies’ top- seller are our glazed sugar cookies. I believe we are one of the few, if not the only bakery that offers glaze as others focus on royal icing. Glaze icing makes our cookies soft and delicious and easy to decorate. Our signature cakes are popular as well as our fondant creations.
Halloween is a huge holiday among Angelinos. What do you offer?
Halloween is actually our busiest day of the entire year. We’ll have Halloween themed cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and cookies in store. We do encourage customers to order ahead of time, especially for any custom designs.
Halloween Cupcake Set
How excited are you for the holidays? Tell us about your gift packages, new treats, and party cakes.
This is truly my favorite time of year. We give staff creative freedom to make cute designs for each holiday. We make themed desserts, weekly design surprises, and we even have a monthly themed cupcake competition during the school year with two schools that compete against each other, from K-5th. These kids are so creative and always excited to participate. This year has been the largest participation year by far!
The Popular Birthday Package
What have you enjoyed the most during your journey?
Bakery life is not an easy one but through faith, prayer and having my husband by my side, it’s been an incredible journey. When I receive dms, tags, emails and phone calls from our customers letting us know their cake, cookies etc.. were a hit at their party, that’s what it’s all about. We have so many customers who have been with us during their children’s baby showers and to their 6th birthday for example. At Hansen’s, we are continually meeting customers that have been coming for 20yrs all the way to 60 years! It’s amazing hearing their stories, which we want to start sharing with you all soon!
