It all started with cookies.

Then came cakes and cupcakes.

Before she knew it, Linnea Masters was running her own business.

“It just literally started on a whim,” she said. “One day I did a batch of cookies and people were like, ‘You could sell these’, and it just went from there. And then my girlfriend needed a cake for her son’s birthday and she was like, ‘You can do it’. I’d never decorated one before.”

She rose to the challenge and baked the cake, which she topped with an Elmo design. And so Frost Bites was born.

Today Mrs Masters posts pictures of her desserts on Frost Bite’s Facebook page, and on Instagram. Some designs are one-of-a-kind, all are creative and, according to clients, all are very tasty.

If you can imagine an image, she’ll reproduce it. Alternatively, give her creative licence and she’ll come up with a design to suit.

“I’ve always been artistic so for me the designs are just using a different medium,” she explained.

“I will pretty much try anything. Sometimes people will send a picture or a reference, or [they might] say, ‘This is the theme, have a go at it’.

“[The more difficult requests are] when you have people come to you and they have no idea what they want, but they want something completely different from everyone else. You then just hope they like [what you’ve created] and you’re on pins and needles waiting to find out if they do or they don’t.”

So far, every cake has been successfully received, she said. Part of the secret to her success is the ‘love’ she adds.

“The icing on most of my cakes is made from butter cream. Many [others use] fondant.

“For me, I guess because I’m self-taught, it was easier for me to use butter cream. And it worked out because a lot of people prefer one over the other.”

Mrs Masters has a full-time job at the National Sports Centre. She bakes in her spare time.

“I think it might take away my passion or love [for baking] if I had to do it,” she said. “Right now I have a choice. I’m able to do it on a limited basis, which allows my passion and creativity to come out unlike if I had to make 12 cakes a week. I like what I do now. It’s almost like an outlet for me — some people like yoga, I like baking.”

She asks for two to three weeks’ notice from clients.

“Initially I was working through the day and going home and working at night because I didn’t want to upset anybody by saying no,” she said.

“It took a while for me to figure out a balance but I’ve now gotten more comfortable knowing my limits. I only take so many orders — about one or two — during the week.

“I save the majority for weekends so there’s a little bit of a balance. Sadly enough, my kids will be the first to say they [never] get a birthday cake on time.

“This is the first year I crossed off [my appointment] book and said no orders this weekend. It’s [Jordan’s] sweet 16 and I’m doing the baking. For the past few years I’ve said, ‘Oh, want a mousse cake from Miles?’”

Contact Mrs Masters on: Frostbites@logic.bm or 505-3133.