Jo Kinyon Geary has fans all over Sun City, her workplace, and among friends and family. Geary creates cakes that are works of art.
For the interview, Geary was prepared with a visual presentation of her creativity. The cake was a replica of the last edition of the Sun Day newspaper. Geary said, “The yellow cake is filled with custard. The Sun Day article was printed with edible ink on rice paper.”
“I love baking. I just made my 65th Birthday cake and cookies. My husband, Jim was planning a big party for my birthday, but with the current situation, we just had a small gathering. He did not want me to make my cake, but I wanted to. I created a fault line cake. These are all the rage right now. They are so many possibilities from sprinkles to flowers to fill the fault line. I filled mine with fresh strawberries and blackberries.”
How long has Geary been baking and creating these masterpieces? Geary said, “I’ve always liked baking and made my kids birthday cakes, but I always wanted to take the Wilton classes in cake decorating. My husband surprised me once by stopping at a Michaels store and signing me up for the entire series of classes. I was thrilled.”
Geary said, “On one occasion I brought a cake that looked a beer mug to a neighborhood Drinks on the Drive. No one was diving into the cake. One guest finally said to me ‘What’s in the jar?’ When I told her it was a cake, she got up to get a closer look. Everybody followed to get a closer look and finally dove into it.”
Geary also shared her personal favorite creation.
“I made a cake in the shape of Canon Camera, a birthday cake for my son’s fiancé. They both are photographers. On the display screen on the camera, I printed out their save the date announcement. I found out years later she never ate it. She froze it. She could not bring herself to cut into the camera. I was thrilled that she had cherished it so much but told her it was meant to be eaten,” she said.
As a surprise to Sun Day reporter Christine Such, Geary baked a “Sun Day” cake featuring a recent story of Christine’s. (Photo by Christine Such/Sun Day)
“Another fun cake was a COVID-themed cake request for a birthday during the quarantine. I made Clorox wipes tub with a mask and a pump disinfectant. It was all edible,” Geary said.
When she’s not creating culinary works of art, Geary works at Northwestern hospital.
“Everyone gets excited when they see me with a cake box. I usually make cupcakes with the left-over batter and bring them to work. I make everything from scratch, even the fondant. I think it tastes better homemade. I also make my vanilla. It takes six months before the vanilla is ready.” Geary shared.
“A co-worker ordered a cake for a celebration for his grown kids. He used to read this book, The Giving Tree, to his own children. It’s a 5-layer choc cake with gnash and raspberry filling and one big fat layer of brownies!”
The cake looked the stump of the Giving Tree with, of course, an edible version of the book laid on top of the stump.
Geary’s granddaughter, Tessa, has inherited her grandma’s passion.
“Tessa started working with me in the kitchen when she was four. She had definite ideas. For her fourth birthday, Tessa wanted a Frozen themed cake. When I asked if she wanted Elsa or Anna, she said both. And we did find a way to include both. Now at seven, she does most of the work on her own. Working as a team, I help her with the finishing touches.”
Geary’s creations can be viewed on her Facebook page, thecakeladyhuntley. There’s no theme Geary won’t tackle.
