Having her cake & baking it, too

Karen Koch, owner of Miss Nancy’s Fancy Bakery, has been whipping up magic for more than 25 years

By Donna L. Cole

Once upon a time, on a beautiful summer evening, there was a magnificent wedding reception at a New England lakeside country club. The bride and groom were the picture of perfect. The wedding was gorgeous, the reception ideal and the guests were beautiful and largely, well-to-do — it was like a page straight out of “The Great Gatsby.”

Then there was the cake. In vomit-green fondant with pearls draped ever-so-not delicately around it, it was a hideously ugly cake. People, including this writer, who somehow managed to snag an invitation, rationalized — maybe it would taste good.

Nope. From start to finish, it was a disaster.

Few things in life are better than baked goods and here’s why — if done correctly, they taste good, look good and for better or worse, they’re memorable.

The cake described above was not baked by the Annapolis-based Miss Nancy’s Fancy Bakery, known for their fabulously beautiful and great tasting delicacies.

“There are some things I won’t do — I won’t do fondant,” said Karen Koch, owner of Miss Nancy’s. “I don’t think it tastes good.”

“Our motto is we make wedding cakes that taste as good as they look,” said Koch.

Being that cakes are often the center of attention at a party, isn’t that a lot of pressure on the baker?

“The ones I stress over the most are not wedding cakes — it’s the shapes or designs I’ve never done before,” Koch said. “The hardest one we ever did — it was in the shape of a house; it was the most expensive one we ever did and it was on a boat and the boat was late.”

Sure enough, she showed a picture of a colonial style house or rather cake.

“It was under four figures (price) — it should have been over four figures, but I just couldn’t do it,” said Koch.

While Koch does make a lot of cakes, the biggest part of her business is wholesale — breads and desserts sold direct to local restaurants.

“Wholesale is regular — that’s what I like about it,” she said.

She then turned to a large, industrial mixer and threw some flour in it.

“I’m making bread for Paul’s Homewood Café,” Koch said.

In this small bakery in the industrial area off of Chinquapin Round Road, Koch’s business is nestled in nicely amongst mostly auto repair places.

“This is where all the magic happens,” said Koch. “It doesn’t look like much, but the magic has been happening for over 25 years.”

Koch purchased the business 14 years ago, decided to keep the original name and stay put in what doesn’t seem like a place where you’d find a bakery.

“I don’t want a storefront,” she explained. “Many, many years ago and before my time we did have a storefront at the Market House.”

She said between the waste and the hassles, it just wasn’t worth it.

“We make everything to order and we only take as much work as we can handle and do well,” said Koch. “That’s probably the hardest thing — telling people no.”

To try one of Koch’s favorites, you’d actually have to go to Edgewater.

“What’s great about the Old Stein (Inn), they have a dessert called the Bavarian Apple Torte and I only make it for them and only them,” she said, with a smile.

She also likes bread a lot, too.

“I have to say I like making bread the best,” said Koch. “There’s satisfaction in shaping bread and the smell of it.”

Perhaps it was destiny that Koch is in this business or maybe it’s in her blood, given her names — well, almost.

“My maiden name is Angebrandt, which means slightly burnt in German, and Koch means cook,” she explained, with a laugh.

Being green is part of her business model too.

“Most of the suppliers we use are local, we use seasonal ingredients — we try to be green,” said Koch.

As long as that doesn’t mean vomit green fondant, that’s a great thing.

“Sometimes you’re at the mercy of what the bride wants,” said the very diplomatic Koch.

Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in the Annapolis area. The rum cake served at her Barbados wedding reception was so bad, she and her groom refused to save a piece for their first anniversary despite tradition. They’re still happily married.