‘Why would you put that on a cake?’ The C Word Cakery frosts the boundaries of good taste

The C Word Cakery is a reflection of the baker behind the business, Savannah Brady shared.

“It doesn’t take itself too seriously,” she explained.

Savannah Brady, The C Word Cakery

Brady — a southwest Missouri native who moved to Kansas City during the pandemic — specializes in, as she puts it, “good cake, bad words” — vintage-looking, classic, floral cakes that feature messages with swear words.

“I love the contrast of something beautiful and funny,” she said.

Click here for a gallery of The C Word Cakery’s quirky (and explicit) work.

After working at several bakeries across the country doing sugar work and edible painting, Brady launched The C Word Cakery in spring 2021 after relocating to KC.

“I really like the community of small businesses,” said Brady, who also co-owns and works full time at The Fix, a plant-based comfort food restaurant in Midtown.

She makes everything from wedding cakes — “get your cold fucking feet off of me” — to birthday cakes — “birthday bitch” — to first birthday smash cakes — “patriarchy.” (But she also makes cakes without swear words and clever messages if the party is PG.)

“As far as style goes, I love anything really colorful,” she explained. “But I have two sides. I love just an all-black,edgy cake or a cake with flowers and fruit and glitter. I’ll just throw shit on it and make it really fun and colorful.”

Click here to check out the menu available from The C Word Cakery.

A wedding cake from The C Word Cakery

A cake from The C Word Cakery

Brady is also all about seasons and sustainability, she noted. In the spring and summer, she likes to use flowers and greenery from her garden to decorate her cakes. Then she partners with local florists to use dried flowers during the fall and winter.

“I love using flowers,” she continued. “Sometimes I’ll use really weird stuff on a cake (like radishes) and I’m like, ‘These people are gonna think that’s weird; like why would you put that on a cake?’ But I like messing with different textures and weird stuff.”

She also offers a rotating menu of seasonal flavors like pumpkin chai (spiced pumpkin chai cake, pumpkin cream cheese buttercream filling, cookie crumbs, spiced cream cheese buttercream) and cranberry orange (orange cake, citrus spiked cranberry curd, whipped orange buttercream, orange zest).

“I’m always trying to experiment with new flavors,” she added.

Click here to follow The C Word Cakery on Instagram.

Savannah Brady, The C Word Cakery; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Her cakes are also vegan and made without any artificial flavors and dyes; plus she uses eco-friendly materials like compostable piping bags.

“I’m trying to make cool, fun cakes but also be environmentally conscious,” added Brady.

While she’s currently a cottage baker, Brady hopes to move her cake operations into a commercial kitchen space in the next year, and then eventually into a storefront, she said.