"Even if I were to open a storefront I couldn't do anymore than I do now," Esplin said. She likes to do every step on each cake herself.

Six years ago, Esplin received a request from her daughter for a special unicorn cake. She said her husband had previously made the children's birthday cakes when they were babies using special pans or designs but they never turned out quite right.

Esplin, herself, had never really baked.

She took a stab at it anyway.

It turned out great and two months later she made another successful karate-themed cake for her son.

"The grocery bill started adding up and I had to at least ask that people pay for the ingredients," Esplin said. "That's really how it got started."

Then the requests started coming in from strangers.

"In all honesty, it exploded from there," she said.

In mid-2011 Esplin officially opened "Cakes to Remember," receiving her business license and health certifications.

Since then she has made more than 1,000 cakes, each personalized to her customers.

"I have done cakes from pictures people have brought me but I really prefer not to use a picture," Esplin said. "I like to talk to them. Get the information about what they want, think about it, and it comes together."

She offers 30 flavors of cakes — almond with raspberry filling is the most popular — and keeps her recipes close.

While she makes cakes for a variety of occasions, Esplin's favorite to design are wedding cakes.

"I just love weddings and getting to go set up for the wedding," she said.

But the cake that was the most fun to put together was a fire-breathing dragon for a little boy's birthday.

The high demand has forced Esplin to establish a schedule: early Monday and Tuesday mornings she makes the decorations for the cakes; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are baking days; and Thursday, Friday and Saturday are spent putting the cakes together and adding finishing touches.

Esplin said her passion and talent for cake-making came as a surprise.

"I couldn't make a cake at all and I am seriously not artistic," she said. "I always think it is funny cause sometimes people instead of cake decorating say you are a cake artist. I always think that is cute because in my head I am anything but. It really kind of throws me."

Her customers would beg to differ.

"She makes the most amazing cakes. We just loved our wedding cake," said Brittany Smith of Gloucester.

Esplin contributes her efforts to organizations like "Cakes for Kids with Cancer" and "Icing Smiles." The organizations use cake makers around the country to create and deliver amazing birthday cakes for kids battling cancer.

"We are so blessed with healthy children. I could not imagine what these parents go through," she said. "It's a way that I can give back because we have the ability to do so."

Esplin found out Tuesday that she received the Wedding Wire Couple Choice Award for 2015. The award is given each year to the top 5 percent of cake decorators in the nation.

"It was a nice surprise," Esplin said.

While she may never take her business out of the comforts of her home kitchen, she does see it as a long-term venture.

She has 27 weddings already scheduled for 2015 — two are on the same day in April and are five-tier cakes — and her biggest fear is having to turn customers away.

"I just enjoy watching them come get their cake," Esplin said. "My favorite part is when someone comes in and they smile. I love the faces."

Hubbard can be reached by phone at 757-298-5834

Cakes to Remember

Visit http://www.traceyscakestoremember.com for more information about Tracey Esplin's custom special events cakes. See a video and photos of Tracey's cakes at dailypress.com.