Susan McMakin opened her doors in 2005, and twenty years on, the shop still works the way the name suggests: custom cakes built one at a time, treated as commissioned pieces rather than something waiting in a case. Wedding cakes are the signature, though the range runs well past them.
Groom's cakes, birthday and graduation cakes, religious and corporate cakes, and full showpiece builds all come out of the same kitchen. What sets it apart from most custom shops is the everyday side: cupcakes and smaller treats you can pick up without commissioning anything, so the same place that builds a five-tier wedding cake will also sell you a single cupcake on a Tuesday.
Ordering here is less like buying a cake off a shelf and more like sitting down with a baker to design one, which is why people tend to plan their big occasions around what this kitchen can build.