Ellington

Two students from Seattle University make their way through racks of sex-themed candies and toys to a collection of pre-made cakes. They stand in front of the rotating display case for a moment and examine the menagerie of round cakes topped with realistic breasts and upright penises.

The students, Blake Johnson and Lauren Mitchell, explain they are there to buy a cake for Mitchell's gay roommate's birthday.

"I don't know of anywhere else you can get an erotic cake." Mitchell says with a laugh when asked why she chose this particular bakery.

"This is the only place you can buy one [a cake in the shape of a penis] west of the Rockies," adds Kimmie Barnett, owner of the Erotic Bakery in Wallingford.

It wasn't long before Mitchell and Johnson decide on a white-frosted round cake topped with an upright penis in bondage regalia. The penis was hand sculpted from marzipan, a sweet confection made from almond paste which is commonly found on wedding cakes.

"I've never seen a more prefect cake for her roommate," Johnson says. "I'm sure he'll enjoy it," he adds with a sly smile.

For more than 20 years, people like Mitchell and Johnson have been seeking out the colorful corner bakery in search of a unique, erotic-themed cake for situations when a generic cake won't do.

Borrowing the idea from a similar store in Colorado, founder Rob Prado opened the doors to his erotic bakery on April 6, 1986. After a successful opening and many years of solid business, Prado decided to retire and sell the bakery in 1999.

Barnett's husband's family owns Lover's Package, a chain of adult stores, and supplied Prado with much of his merchandise. Barnett, who had been the company buyer for Lover's Package, decided she wanted to begin a family and retire from the corporate life. She and her husband immediately purchased the bakery.

"So I've been in this industry -- the relationship enhancement industry -- for about 21 years," Barnett explains. She had worked for Lover's Package for 15 years before purchasing The Erotic Bakery.

"I always like to say that I've been in the industry longer than some of the video talent has been alive," she adds, referring to actors in pornographic films.

Though Barnett had experience in the erotic industry, she also had plenty of experience owning and operating a bakery. She had previously opened a small bakery, Bosom Buddies, that focused on conventional cakes.

But when Barnett took over ownership of the Erotic Bakery, most of the bakery staff left with Prado. Barnett found herself with the colossal task of hiring new staff members who could create the detailed artwork required for her cakes.

"You can't exactly put an ad in the paper for a marzipan sculptor who can make penises and vaginas," she says with a laugh.

Currently, Barnett and employee Donald Hagenlock hand sculpt the erotic decorations which not only top cakes, but also adorn brownies and cookies. Barnett estimates the bakery uses between four and six five-gallon buckets of marzipan a week in order to decorate its products.

In the back of the bakery, hidden from public eye, is the worktable Barnett and Hagenlock use to create the cake decorations. Laying an assortment of erotic marzipan sculptures at the edge of the table, Hagenlock as if in an assembly line. He drops a chunk of white marzipan on the table and begins molding the substance with his hands.

"Marzipan is really dense," Barnett explains looking on. "You have to work it a lot like clay."

Hagenlock continues to roll the marzipan until it is soft enough to shape. He then rolls it into a cord and with deft expertise, pinches two parallel lines into the top using his thumbs. With a quickness learned only through repetition, Hagenlock chops off the end of the cord and uses the dismembered chunk of marzipan to form the life-like head of a penis that he then reattaches. He then works a small amount of red marzipan into a bow, which he wraps around the base of the penis.

The bakery's most popular product is a seven-inch, double-layer cake topped with an upright Caucasian penis covered in confectionary cum. Barnett explains their most common customers are females between the ages of 20 to 45 shopping for bachelorette parties.

Barnett emphasizes, however, that her favorite creations are those that deviate from the standard breasts and penises.

She went on to describe a recent cake she decorated with a life-like rendition of a half-gallon Jack Daniels bottle where she hand painted the label and changed some of the lettering to personalize it for her customers.

"It was a monstrosity, but it turned out beautiful." she says.

Another of Barnett's favorites was a cake was decorated with a two-dimensional marzipan sculpture of President George Bush giving birth to a baby. The cake read "Here's shrubbette," using a play on words referring to pubic hair and Bush's name.

Barnett has had so many unique requests that it's hard to shock her these days.

"And then we always like the ones where people want to do Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse in an erotic position. Those are always fun to do. Kermit the Frog tends to be real popular -- I think it's the tongue," Barnett says with a hearty laugh.

The unique requests Barnett has received over the years don't only make for entertaining stories, but they sometimes become established staples in the bakery's cake designs.

"Most of our ideas come from the minds of our customers," says Barnett. "Some of our best concepts have been developed simply by other people telling us what kind of vision they have for their cake."

Interaction with her customers seems to be both Barnett's inspiration and motivation.

"People think we sell cakes. What we really sell is emotions," Barnett explains. She adds watching her customer's reaction when seeing her creations for the first time is icing on the cake.

"The most rewarding thing to me is when you present someone the cake and they get the little welled-up tears in their eyes. Because really what we did is immortalized that person forever."