L.A. WeeklyWelcome to your newest obsession: Cake by Courtney. Whether you’re already a fan or have superhuman willpower that allows you to avoid confections, you can’t help but be sucked in by Courtney’s abundant charm and disarmingly vast knowledge of all things cake. Don’t like cake, you say? “People who don’t like cake are just people who’ve had bad cake,” confirms Courtney on the L.A. Weekly podcast hosted by publisher Brian Calle.
Have you ever been surprised where your path has ended up? Courtney feels the same way. Today, she is a celebrated cake guru, featured on the Kelly Clarkson Show, the Today Show, Oprah Magazine, and of course, L.A. Weekly, but less than a decade ago she was a young mom who had never made a cake from scratch in her life.
Courtney was at a loss. Holding a broadcast journalism degree from Brigham Young University, she spent 13 successful years as a focus group moderator for a major consulting firm. While she was great at her job, she was missing that spark of joy that only following your passion can bring. However, like most of us, pinpointing her passion was easier said than done.
Pinterest fails are iconic, but for some, Pinterest fails are life-changing. At 26, she set about to embody the perfect mom and make her son’s 1st birthday cake from scratch. Not only did she want to make something entirely by hand as a labor of love, but she really wanted to impress her in-laws and earn a little respect in the kitchen. While the end product looked a mess, it tasted great. “It looked like a big brown mound with sprinkles and a candle – honestly, a train-wreck, but it tasted delicious and I was hooked!”
Taste aside, what surprised her the most was how much fun she had in the kitchen battling this cake and how good she felt with her end result. She knew she had found her passion and was ready to change her life forever; the transformation from Courtney Rich to Cake by Courtney was complete.
“There were a lot of fails along the way,” shares Courtney when Brian urges her to give listeners some insight into her growth. “Something about that ignited a fire within me.” Her advice to those of us still searching for that fire? Keep exploring things that you enjoy. “When you have those moments you’ve got to follow them.”
While sugar has dominated her life, her former talents still shine through. With over 300,000 followers on Instagram, a successful product line, sold-out baking classes, and a new podcast called Courtney Beyond the Cake, Courtney has what it takes to turn a hobby into an empire. “Good content rises to the top,” explains Courtney in this episode of the L.A. Weekly weekly podcast.
More than just a baker, Courtney serves as an inspiration. Telling her “I came for the cake, but stayed for the way you make me feel,” those who follow her teachings learn more than just cake-101 and the importance of a good crumb layer, they learn how to never give up, even when a task seems insurmountable. Vocal about her struggles with depression, Courtney remains an open book on how to manage life’s struggles while juggling life as a baker, business woman, influencer, wife and mother.
If you’re looking to fuel your creative outlet, have an opinion on the controversy that is ice cream cake, or just want to hear about Brian almost burning his childhood home down after a failed attempt in the kitchen, tune into this week’s podcast with Cake by Courtney.
Listen to the podcast here or find it on iTunes here.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.