CRIMINAL DESSERTS

Meet the Maker

Hi, I’m Katia.
I make cakes that defy expectations.

I’m the person behind Criminal Desserts — the one sketching, baking, building, and occasionally wondering how on earth I’m going to make the next idea stand up.

What began as cupcakes for my son has become a one-woman studio creating luxury wedding cakes, sculptural designs, and unexpected edible installations for celebrations across Toronto, Vaughan, Barrie, and the GTA. I’m self-taught, endlessly curious, and happiest when a design seems just a little impossible.

Self-taughtEst. 2020One-woman studio
Katia, founder of Criminal Desserts, with a sculptural wedding cake

Before the First Cake

My first creative language was movement.

Long before I picked up a piping bag, I represented Canada in rhythmic and aesthetic group gymnastics, then found my way into circus performance, contortion, apparatus work and aerial hoop. I learned to see shapes, lines and balance differently. I still do — I just work with cake now.

Katia performing rhythmic gymnastics before founding Criminal Desserts
Rhythmic gymnastics
Circus aerial hoop performance
Performance
Katia performing on aerial hoop
Aerial hoop
Katia with her son and a cake
Where it all began

The Unexpected Beginning

It all started with cupcakes.

In 2019, I was looking for treats for my son’s third birthday at daycare. Nothing felt quite right. So I made myself a promise: next year, I’d make them.

I spent nearly two months testing recipes before his next birthday. The cupcakes were a hit, and suddenly I couldn’t stop experimenting. My husband’s coworkers became my unofficial tasting panel, and eventually a friend asked me to make two cakes.

I nearly quit two days before that first order. Instead, I stayed up for two nights, finished the cakes, and realized I wanted to do it all over again. Maybe with a little more sleep.

July 1, 2020

Criminal Desserts was born.

My husband suggested Criminal Cupcakes. I wanted a name with room for bigger ideas. And that’s how Criminal Desserts came to be. Desserts so delicious, it’s criminal.

When Cake Meets Construction

Some ideas need more than a piping bag.

One technique led to another. I learned to sculpt cakes, build antigravity structures, and make designs that seem to float, move or hang in midair.

Then the cake projects started demanding woodworking, drilling, metalwork, welding, mechanisms and basic electrical work. So I learned those too. It turns out that a cake studio can involve quite a few power tools.

Along the way, I built a dedicated studio kitchen at home. Every commission still passes through my hands, from the first sketch to the final detail.

PastryArtMovementEngineering
Katia beside a suspended, gravity-defying cake installation created by Criminal Desserts

Today

Still just me.
And a lot of ideas.

I still design and create every Criminal Desserts commission myself. I care just as much about the flavour as the unexpected details — because a beautiful cake should taste every bit as special as it looks.

I don’t just want people to see the cake. I want them to remember it.

Let's create something memorable