BY NANCY SNIPPER

At the age of four, Janice Paulino was poking her fingers into her mom’s homemade desserts — cakes, pies, cookies — you name it, her mother baked it — usually under the watchful eye of hungry neighbourhood kids. In fact, little Janice was lucky if she could get more than a fingerful of batter.

But it all worked out in the end; the adage, like mother like daughter is definitely the case here.

“Little did I know that when I dipped into the batter, sweet success was around the corner. I became a professional baker 30 years later. But delicious desserts were always a part of family life. My father ran a restaurant, and mom made the desserts. They did that for several years. They were greasy lunches but the desserts were real popular. It’s a good thing dad got out of the kitchen and into other lines for his livelihood. He owns a building in NDG, and I have to say that the area provides a plethora of cake-eating clients that appreciate the finer things in life — putting on calories,” said Janice, who opened her own baking business more than 12 years ago. It’s called Gateaux Janice.

“I actually have a fully equipped baking studio made to measure for my desserts. It has a high table so I don’t have to bend down to work. My dad made it. He insists on getting his fingers into everything,” joked this mom, whose two sons are in their twenties. They are her biggest fans, and like those days of yore, their friends come over to sample her cakes.

What gets tongues wagging about them are each cake’s irresistibly light texture and fantastic flavour. What’s more, Janice is a cake-batter artist; you can’t find one better than her. Drawing inspiration from fabrics, nature, even the leaves of NDG’s trees,

this cake master creates pictorial scenes that really belong on a canvas rather than on a plate. Her images are both humorous and seductive. They include: trains, electric guitars, Chanel and Hermes purses. lipstick and Burberry scarves, Ferrari Grand Prix red caps, Jimmy Choo sandals, calla lilies, roses, multi-tiered castles and villas, Of course, her wedding cakes are stand-outs. Wow! Not surprising, Janice is an accomplished oil painter. (She will soon have her paintings on display at Cactus Gallery as part of 9 Artistes 9 in NDG).

“Just the other day, I designed a Persian carpet cake. It was for a party with an Arabian nights’ theme. It was a three-layer cake, intricately patterned. Some cakes are sculpted into a 3-D shape, such as my choo-choo train cakes. Delivery is a big challenge — pot holes can wreak havoc. My son once took off his seat belt as I slammed on the van brakes. He ended up sitting in the cake; he wasn’t part of the order. I don’t want to give away my secrets, but it can take as many as five cakes to produce one design. It’s a lot of work, and it’s time consuming.”

She also does country pies, muffins and more. I had the pleasure of tasting her dripping- in-chocolate cupcakes. The chocolate literally melted on my tongue with each bite. They were decadent, unforgettable, exciting — better than the ones I tasted in Paris at a renowned patisserie.

Snowdon resident, Nancy Fitzhugh said this about her creations: “Her cakes are very special, totally unique, outstanding, and they taste great. There was a fantastic reaction from my guests — perfect!” She ordered a Holt Refrew cake decked out in edible garments and pearls. Likewise, NDG photographer, Marcie Richstone is in awe of her artistry. “Janice’s cakes are visual and edible masterpieces — top quality inside and they create their own photo opportunity. LCC in NDG has commissioned her to create the junior school graduate cake. It’s going to be a scrap book with edible photos whose pages will be finished in 24-karat gold; the grads and their parents will be eating this 24” X 12” novelty.

Her cakes aren’t overly sweet, and they are magnificently moist. There’s only one problem with them. Once you taste one, you’ll never want to bake your own again. J.P takes the cake, but you get to eat it.

• To bite into hedonistic heaven, call Janice at 514-331-1700. Her web site is www.gateauxjanice.com.