About
About CakeSpy
Cakespy.com is a Dessert Detective Agency dedicated to seeking sweetness (literally) in everyday life. Sweet dispatches include writeups of bakery visits, decadently delicious recipes and baking experiments, confectionery themed art projects, and more. CakeSpy encourages you to bake (and live) with sweet abandon.
About the creator, Jessie Oleson Moore
Jessie is a triple threat: writer, illustrator, baker. She was born and raised on the Jersey Shore; she honed her artistic skills at the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. After living in New York for many years, she ventured west to Seattle, where she worked at a refrigerator magnet company. She quit her magnetic job to found CakeSpy.com.
Since 2007, she has made an illustrious but modest living from this site, as well as through various illustration and writing projects.
As CakeSpy, she has authored two brilliant books:
- CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life (which was, yes, featured on the Today Show), published in 2011;
- The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts
, published in 2013.
She has also made a number of TV appearances and has recently been enjoying success as a teacher of children's baking classes.
Aside from SpyLife, her writing has appeared on DailyCandy.com, and has been featured on Serious Eats and Craftsy. She has illustrated for more bakeries than we can quickly name, as well as various companies including Microsoft, iPop, All-Mighty, Taylored Expressions, and Taste of Home.
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Frequently asked questions
Where do you live? I am apparently afflicted with wanderlust. I have lived in Seattle, Philadelphia, Santa Fe, and New York City; if you want to know where I am now, it's probably good to ask.
Can I hire you to write or illustrate something? Sure! I love making money, because it keeps me from being evicted. Email me at jessieoleson@gmail.com to get the ball rolling. I love partnerships, too!
Can I send you stuff? Sure, but it doesn't mean for sure I will write about it. You can email me at jessieoleson@gmail.com if you want to send an inquiry.
How are you not 500 pounds? That's such a boring question. We are more than what we weigh, my friends.
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Want to work with CakeSpy?
Here are some of the ways we can work together.
Recipe Development! I have enjoyed a number of recipe development projects for clients such as Pillsbury, Peanut Butter and Company, Food and Wine Magazine, Walkers Shortbread, the Wisconsin Butter Board, Taste of Home, and more.
Want a mural in your home or bakery featuring my artwork? I can do that. I've done it before, for bakeries, ice cream parlors, and individuals. I'm not ridiculously expensive, either. Contact me for a free quote!
Speaking engagements: Want me to talk at your school, about working as an artist and writer? Or to your book group? I am open to it. Email me!
Cooking and art classes: I especially love working with kids; a unique mix of art and baking skills is learned in these engaging classes. References available, and I will travel.
For any of the above and more, email me at jessieoleson@gmail.com
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Ten Things You May Not Know About Me
- My birthplace? Neptune. Ah, Neptune, New Jersey, that is.
- I have six different pairs of glasses in various colors, and try to match them to my shoes whenever possible.
- I have a pug named Porkchop.
- My mother is a children's book illustrator.
- I am a yoga enthusiast and do it nearly every day.
- I dropped out of art school.
- I favor a sort of fashion that I call "unicorn chic". I am pretty sure I have more pieces of unicorn apparel than you.
- I think it always tastes better when someone else bakes it. Not because I don't do a good job, but because having someone bake for you tastes like love.
- I love sweets, but I also have a "salt tooth". Sometimes I sprinkle sea salt on my cake or ice cream!
- I have visited 40 of the 50 states. I'd like to visit them all.
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Eating disorder activism
After suffering for an eating disorder for many years, I am now an eating disorder activist and donate a portion of all profits from my online store to eating disorder awareness and treatment. I also write about eating disorders on the Unicorn Love portion of my website.
How does a former anorexic and bulimic write a site so unabashedly dedicated to sweets? Believe it or not, I believe that desserts (even over the top ones) are an important part of recovery. Becoming "friends" with forbidden foods allows you to form a healthy relationship with all sorts of foods.
Plus, I strongly believe that what you might "lose", healthwise, in calories or nutrition from consuming dessert is more than made up for by the way sweet and delicious things nourish the soul. We all need delicious things in our lives. This is both literal and figurative, and I consider it my mission to bring them to as many lives as I can!
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A few things I should also mention
Curious about the life (and art) of a Spy?
- Got kids? You'll definitely want to download these coloring book pages done for Taste of Home!
- Oh, and find CakeSpy on twitter here, and Facebook here.
Thank you for visiting the sweet site that is CakeSpy!