Cindy Laverdiere began operating Imaginary Cakes out of her home in 2009. Within two years she had outgrown her space and moved to her current location at 6005 Oleander Drive, sharing the building with Progressive Gardens. For the past few years she has used the space as her commercial baking facility and tasting room for custom cakes, open by appointment only.
 
Now Laverdiere has opened the shop for retail, offering cakes, petit fours, cookies, cupcakes and pies. Imaginary Cakes will be open on Thursday and Friday through the holiday season and will begin adding more days every few weeks starting in January.
 
Seasonal specialties include Gingerbread and White Chocolate Petit Fours, a Spiked Eggnog cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream filling and a Chocolate Peppermint Cake with Andes Mint ganache. A variety of cakes will be on hand, but special orders are welcome.
 
Laverdiere, who earned her art degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, specializes in 3-D designs and wedding cakes. Her portfolio includes cakes shaped like dragons, college mascots and even a stand-up guitar.
 
“My entire staff is made up of artists,” Laverdiere said. “I can teach them how to make a cake taste good but in order to execute the type of cakes we do, the art background is essential.”
 
She insists that the art of baking requires a cake to taste as good as it looks. Imaginary Cakes uses the freshest and highest quality ingredients available, according to Laverdiere.
 
“We take the time to work with each customer individually to create the perfect cake for their event and budget,” Laverdiere said.  “It’s important to us that every cake has that wow factor.”
 
Specialty cake orders typically require at least a two-week lead time and Imaginary Cakes offers interactive tastings for $25. Customers get the chance to taste several cakes, fillings and frostings individually and decide which combinations they prefer.
 
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