Schuylkill bakery goes from classic cakes to ‘super’ surprises

For special one-of-a-kind cakes, The Cake Pros, with bakeries in Andreas and Schuylkill Haven, can deliver.

Eileen Williams, who co-owns the bakeries with her husband, said they have gone as far north as Scranton and as far south as Lancaster. But for their granddaughter, they went to North Carolina.

“It was a lot of effort, but it was really good because it was family,” Williams said.

Williams and other family members in the baking industry pulled together a very special wedding cake.

Her granddaughter, Arianne Collins, wanted to surprise her future husband, Nathan Crowell, with a wedding cake that included his favorite superhero — Batman.

The groom said he was really impressed with how Val Kilmer played the title character in “Batman Forever.” Here was “someone with no powers, fighting with his will, body and mind against villains, who meant harm to others, was something of awe,” he said.

To keep the wedding cake a surprise, his bride-to-be told him the superhero could be part of the groom’s cake.

“A groom’s cake is very big in the south, so we had a Batman groom’s cake,” Williams said. “It was a decoy.”

Like the groomsmen who wore superhero shirts under their tuxedo shirts, the wedding cake had a hidden identity. The five-tier white wedding cake, with layers of lemon, chocolate and vanilla, was decorated traditionally for 75 percent of it. But a slight turn of the cake and something totally different was revealed.

The edges of the white fondant icing on the traditional side of the cake was molded to look like a drape being pulled back, showing the true cake underneath — Gotham City.

“It was a big surprise for Nate,” Williams said.

The crew of ladies had traveled about nine hours over 560 miles to bring this cake to them. Once there, it took almost three hours to assemble it.

Williams’ daughter, Rebekah Philyaw, baked the cake. Hannah Naecker, one of her relatives and a decorator at Cake Pros, created Gotham City. Williams’ granddaughter Madeline Williams, a cake decorator in California, pulled the cake’s design together.

“They were very appreciative,” Williams said about the couple. “It was a great family adventure that gave us the opportunity to bless one of the grandchildren, as well as build memories together as a family.”

By trade, Williams isn’t a baker, but she knows how to run a business.

Williams hails from the corporate world where she was an executive, and a mother of five. One day, she had enough of traveling for business.

“On a fluke, I found this listing for a bakery,” she said. It was The Cake Pros in Schuylkill Haven.

Williams and her husband, the Rev. Jim Williams of the Zion Church in Lewistown Valley, discussed purchasing it, and decided to go for it.

“It’s totally a step of faith,” she said. When they started the purchasing process in 2014, “everything fell into place.”

They added A Blessing Table Company. to the name of the business, because having a blessing table in their home was a tradition. They box up treats every Wednesday to give to people for free who know someone in need of a little cheer.

“(A Blessing Table) is a way to bless your kids and now a way to bless the community,” she said.

The Williamses also own a second bakery in Andreas that they purchased in 2017. It was the former Momma C’s Bakery in a plaza along Route 309.

They have 10 employees between the two bakeries with two bakers who focus on making all of the cakes, cupcakes, pies, cookies, as well as quiche, scones, muffins, gluten-free and vegan products.

The crew in Andreas also makes all of the doughnuts, kiffles, chocolate candy and macaroons, which are special to that location.

There are six decorators, and two people who focus on customer service. Five of the staff members are original employees from both locations, and some of the others are family. Williams also hires an intern each summer.

The Schuylkill Haven bakery is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Andreas bakery is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

BUSINESS: Jim and Eileen Williams, owners, The Cake Pros, a Blessing Table Company.

CONTACT: Call 570-593-8166 in Schuylkill Haven or 570-386-2005 in Andreas.

WEBSITE: http://www.thecakepros.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheCakeProsABlessingTableCompany/