Name: Olivia Bogacki
Blog name and URL: Liv for Cake
Where were you born? Cracow, Poland
Where are you living now? Port Moody, BC (but in my heart I live in Paris)
Why did you start your blog?
I first started Liv for Cake in 2010 as a place to chronicle my journey when I started taking cake decorating classes. After I finished the classes, I made some cakes for family and friends, and continued to post about them, but it slowly petered out. When I graduated from Pastry School in the fall of 2014, I decided I wanted to blog full-time, so I officially relaunched Liv for Cake in January of 2015 and have been 100% focused on it since.
How did you decide on your blog name?
Initially the blog was going to be exclusively about cake decorating, so I wanted Cake in the title. Liv is the short form of my name (but only my cousin ever uses that). I thought it would be cute to call it Liv for Cake… because I live for cake!
What do you blog about?
Cakes are my passion, but you’ll find a variety of dessert recipes on my blog, and I sometimes have tutorial posts filled with tips and techniques. My posts usually focus on the recipe itself and how I got there, from start to finish. More often than not, my posts also cover all of the fails I encountered along the way. There are always many, many fails.
What post on your blog most encapsulates you?
This one, The Momofuku Birthday Cake, has it all -- major fails (typical), cursing (a regular occurrence in my kitchen), victory (overcoming the odds despite wanting to throw in the towel), and, finally, tips for my readers (so they know what NOT to do).
Which post do you wish received more love and why?
These damn Stained Glass Cookies. I love them, and I love how they turned out, but they took SO long. Taking pics alone took me four hours. FOUR hours!! And I don’t love the pics (shocker, I almost never do). So yeah, I wish they had gotten a bit more love, but they’re totally seasonal, so fingers crossed for Christmas 2016!
Which post’s success surprised you and why?
I am truly surprised by the success of this Brownie Cookies post. I mean, they’re just cookies. I don’t even like making cookies all that much, but hey, I’ll take it!
What’s your biggest challenge as a blogger?
Photography, hands down. I hate taking pics, SO much. I don’t think I’m good at it, and it honestly takes me forever. If it’s a pic taking day I am stressed out until it’s over and done with. I don’t like figuring out what to put in the “scene,” and don’t feel like I have a natural instinct for what will look best. I often have to try a whole bunch of different things to get the look I want. Often times it never quite gets to what my vision originally was (if I had one to begin with). Taking pics takes me forever, too. I have to take SO many to get just a handful of good ones. And then spend what seems like forever sifting through all the pics, comparing them, choosing a handful of the “best” ones.
That being said, I actually enjoy editing them. Or rather, I enjoy seeing the difference some quick edits in some good editing software can make!
Share a couple of your favourite food blogs to read. Why do you like them?
The Cake Blog - I love cakes and cake decorating, so this is my favourite blog by far. I’ve been following The Cake Blog for years, and am super excited to have recently joined them as a contributor!
Half Baked Harvest - I am obsessed with Teighan’s photography. I love the rustic farmhouse feel of her photos.
Favourite food - care to share a recipe or a restaurant destination?
My favourite food surprisingly isn’t a dessert! It’s scalloped potatoes. But not the cheesy kind – just potatoes, onions, and a béchamel sauce. Omg, so good. I almost never have them because they’re kind of a pain to make (for me). And because I would literally eat the entire thing. The entire thing.
What are you working on next for your blog?
I’m going to try to include more on cakes since they’re what I love the most, so you’ll be seeing more cake posts in the future!
What else should we know about you that may or not be in your “About Me” page?
I can parallel park like nobody’s business. I also have a serious Bundt cake addiction. I have a lot of other fun facts on my About Me page - #10 is particularly interesting given what I do for a living J.
What makes your blog unique?
I try to create recipes that look elegant and taste great but aren’t too difficult for most people to pull off. I walk readers through the process so they can follow along and make pretty desserts for themselves, and I’m not afraid to share my fails – it’s all about persevering even if you make a mistake! I think being professionally trained also makes my blog unique, as I try to share the things I learned with my readers.
What part of the FBC site do you find most useful?
There are so many elements that are helpful, but when I first started my blog, I ran through every single day in the 31 Day Blog Challenge. Such great info and tips, especially for a newbie!
There are a lot of other gems in the Blogger Resources section, so be sure to check it out.
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I am so glad to see you featuring one of my favourite bloggers! Olivia makes the most beautiful and delicious cakes. BTW I am also obsessed with Tieghan’s photography.
Loved learning more about Olivia and her amazing blog! She is one of the kindest souls in the food blogging world and she shares my daughter’s name!!