Episode 108: Heather Cannon of the Wicked Whisk Cake Co. -

Sheri and Leo talk with Heather Cannon of Wicked Whisk Cake Co. in Frankfort.

Heather Cannon of the Wicked Whisk Cake Co. has a passion for baking and a love for all things Halloween
Her Halloween decorations stay up all year round, she got married on Halloween, and her birthday is in October.
She started out working at Walmart cleaning the bathrooms
She liked baking cupcakes at home
Walmart moved her to work in the meat and produce section
They found out that she wanted to make cupcakes at home, so while they were down a cake decorator, they moved her to the cake decorating department and she discovered she had a knack for decorating cakes
She was decorating cakes and cupcakes at Walmart for quite a while when she met her husband.
About three or four months after they met, he fell ill, so she moved to Stamping Ground and transferred to the Georgetown Walmart, where she decorated cakes for a while.
Later, she transitioned into the human resources department.
One day, she came home from work, and her husband told her he had bought her a bakery.
She was working 60 hours a week, going to school full-time, but she started the bakery as a home baker for the first year.
Susan from Downtown Frankfort told her about the building that was opening at the corner of Main Street and St. Clair.
With a partner, Charlie Van Hoose, they went into business in that location.
Charlie makes cookies, which are a perfect complement to Heather’s cakes and cupcakes.
Charlie lives in Lexington and has a home bakery called V’s Bakery. They thought that would be confusing with B’s Bakery across the street. They decided to name the shop Wicked Whisk Cake Co. because Heather wanted a Halloween-themed bakery.
The Wicked Whisk Cake Co. held its grand opening on January 25, 2023.
They have a mix of both locals and tourists visiting. Many tourists ask if they will be opening stores in other cities and states.
She studied Psychology and Sociology in college because of her interest in how the mind works.
Eventually, she would like to have franchises that are different, holiday-focused, but still with the Wicked theme (e.g., Wicked Valentine’s, Wicked Christmas, etc.).
She would like to draw more tourism to Frankfort, so she has a lot of plans to make it even more Halloween-like, giant skeletons crawling up the side of the building.
Wicked Whisk Cake Co. is trying to figure out a way to ship their products.
One of the surprises she encountered when they opened the business was that high levels of stress can cause a recurrence of chickenpox. In the first month, she worked every day, taking naps in her car or sometimes not sleeping at all.
They decided they needed to hire more people. They are understanding with their employees and recognize that life can be hectic, so they strive to work with everyone and avoid overloading them with excessive tasks.
They were lucky not to be affected by the flood this past spring, but they did create care packages and take them to the hotel for those who were affected.
Marketing to travelers is primarily achieved through the use of the building’s color (lime green), which draws the eye, along with the spider webs in the windows. For the local community, they post on their Facebook every day, including photos, on Instagram, some TikTok, and the Frankfort area Facebook groups. They try to answer questions on social media as quickly as possible.
Wicked Whisk Cake Co. is usually open seven days a week, but for the summer, they are closed on Sunday and Monday, which are their slow days. Plus, they want to give their employees time off during the summer.
They make new items every week. One of their biggest sellers is the “Elvis Last Bite,” which is a banana pudding cupcake topped with peanut butter, cream cheese, and bacon.
They are looking into doing a chocolate chip bacon cupcake.
They have considered doing a bourbon cupcake, but are trying to find out if they need a liquor license in order to do that.
They do have a website through Shopify and were able to allow people to order through there, and they would deliver, but as they are busier, they need to keep the employees in the store, so they are no longer able to deliver.
Another lesson she has learned is that it is a lot of hard work. It’s definitely more than working a 9 to 5 job, but it is her dream, her passion, and she loves it.
Another lesson is the value of community. She finds that the more you support other businesses, the more they support you.
Future plans, in addition to franchising someday, include potentially opening up a theme park.
One of her favorite cakes she has done was of the Goat Man of Kentucky.
Heather loves to decorate cakes to make people happy.
Customers can order their cakes via the website by filling out a form and explaining what they want, and Heather comes up with unique ideas for the design.
She stays booked about three weeks out. Currently, she is booked until mid-August.
They have started carrying pre-made cakes that people don’t have to pre-order.
She has some people contacting her about doing cakes for 2026.
She has made birthday cakes for dogs using yogurt, carrots and other pet-friendly ingredients. They want to do dog treats but this requires sending your recipe to be lab tested and approved.
If someone were to ask her for advice on starting a business, she would tell them to just do it.
She has had hard, long days, but ultimately she says it has been worth it.
She wants to bring joy, the love of Halloween, that Halloween is not evil but fun and whimsical.
In the short term, she wants to fine-tune running the business. For example, the hours. Should they stay open later, open earlier?
Currently they are open Tuesday through Thursday from 12:00 until 8:00, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 until 9:00. They will return to their non-summer hours (e.g., be open Sunday and Monday) when it starts to get cool either in September or October.
They found that during the week, a lot of parents come in during school hours without their children for their own little guilty treat.