Although her work life now deals in flour, sugar, butter and eggs, Basant G. Paradis hasn’t forgotten her roots as a chemist. In fact, the baking she does at her new Bangor business, Cake Concoctions on Water Street in downtown Bangor, is its own kind of sweet science.
“You need just the right amount of dry and wet, of certain things, to make a really, really good muffin or a great whoopie pie,” Paradis said. “There’s absolutely a science to it.”
Cake Concoctions opened in late August in one of the newly renovated spaces on the ground floor of the Freese’s building on Main Street. Paradis will be offering a variety of goods baked fresh daily along with hot and iced coffee and cold drinks. She also takes orders for custom cakes and cupcakes for parties and special occasions.
Before striking out on her own as a professional baker, Paradis, who received her master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Maine in Orono, worked as an engineer and a teacher of chemistry for more than a decade, first at the Old Town mill and later teaching at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor and at Unity College. Baking didn’t enter into the picture in a serious way until she had children — older son Andre and younger daughter Olivia — and her youngest asked for an ambitious second birthday cake.
“We were looking at cakes, and she pointed to this castle cake. She wanted that one. She’s very headstrong,” Paradis said. “I looked at it and thought ‘this is way beyond my decorating skills.’ So I ended up taking a cake decorating class, and found that I was kind of good at it and I’ve been doing it as a hobby ever since.”
What was a hobby has become a career, as Paradis decided earlier this year to leave engineering and teaching behind and take up baking full time.
“It’s always been my dream to have a bakery,” she said. “It’s been my dream since I was a kid. And last year I finally decided to go full time, after baking for friends and family for years.”
After searching for a proper spot for a bakery in her hometown of Old Town, she landed on the 1,000-square-foot space located next door to The Juice Cellar but with a front door that opens at the corner of Water and Main Streets.
Paradis not only creates elegant wedding, birthday and other special occasion cakes but also crafts her own special recipes for everything from whoopie pies and muffins to cake pops, baklava and gluten-free French macarons. Additionally, Cake Concoctions manager Brynna Simon adds her own flair to the bakery and soon will be offering flaky croissants.
Paradis also is offering semi-regular Bake ‘n’ Sips, in which for $25 participants can bring their alcoholic beverage of choice and decorate and take home a dozen cupcakes decorated with the variety of cake decorating materials available at the bakery. Check the Cake Concoctions Facebook page for upcoming Bake ‘n’ Sip events.
Hours at Cake Concoctions are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. To consult with Paradis about custom cakes and cupcakes, call 941-6450.
