It’s your girl bri

The baker behind the bakes

It’s your girl bri

The baker behind the bakes

Every order matters to me — from the scratch-made cake to the final sprinkle on top. Baking has always felt tied to life’s sweetest memories: birthday candles, holiday cookies, family recipes, and the people gathered around them. I like to think of what I create as thoughtful baking — whimsical touches, nostalgic flavors, and desserts made to feel just as special as the moments they’re part of.

I’m a completely self-taught cottage baker who’s always learning, experimenting, and dreaming up new ideas. But beyond the desserts themselves, the relationships I build with my clients mean everything to me. So many people come back year after year, and getting to be part of your celebrations is truly the sweetest thing.

Outside of Bri Bakes, I’m a wife, a mother, a plant lover, a dreamer, and an open book. I’ve learned life isn’t always linear. I am a widow who lost my husband in 2019. It’s taught me to hold tight to the little moments, love people deeply, chase the things that light you up, and be unapologetically yourself.

xoxo,

Bri

Connect with Bri
Connect with Bri
A woman with long dark hair, wearing red glasses and a sleeveless white and light blue vest, standing outdoors in front of a bush with pink and white flowers.

Ask bri anything: about mE

A woman wearing red glasses and a tie-dye shirt with dessert stains, smiling and holding a slice of cake with chocolate and cream, sitting against a plain light background.
A woman with long curly brown hair is sitting at a table, holding an open book. The table has desserts like strawberries, cake, and cookies, and a large bouquet of flowers in a vase. The background is an outdoor setting with blurred trees and warm lighting.

  • Brownie because it’s not too sweet and is the underdog of desserts. Quiet but powerful.

  • Birth care! Specifically, how women are treated during labor & delivery. I was working towards becoming a doula, and COVID hit, and it made it really hard to continue. One day, I will continue that journey.

  • Easter. We love giant egg hunts around here! My mom goes crazy! It’s so fun!

  • Always and forever dark teal! But my favorite color combo of all time is an antique pink with a very saturated navy.

  • Hummingbirds coming to the feeder in spring. Also Bert my carpenter bee that guards our back gate. He always acts all big and tough and flies at me but fact is he can’t hurt me. No stinger. I just walk on by and say, “ hey Burt!” 😂

  • My aunt’s sugar cookies take me to the holidays at my mamaw’s house. I can smell them now.

  • Overhead lights being on. Absolutely hate them.

  • Lisa Frank iykyk

  • Up by 7ish, coffee, walking the garden, maybe some planting, family time, baking something for my family, and reading.

  • FART! I have two boys. So yeah. They run around farting in each other along with their dad. 😩😂 Also, we call each other rotten all the time. 😂

  • I was a musical theater kid and went to a conservatory for it. I sang everything from belty musical theater to opera. It’s something I would still love to explore again. I miss singing opera very much.

A woman in a tie-dye shirt holding a young girl while standing at a wooden table with flour on it. The woman is stirring a large, colorful bowl with a spoon. The background is a soft pink wall.

Ask Bri anything: about Biz

A woman with short dark hair and glasses wearing a black top is smiling while standing behind a table with a decorated cake and small cups of dessert. The background shows a wall with ornate picture frames.

FXBG CAKE WARS 1ST PLACE WINNER

  • So kind of a long but not long story? I started a version of BriBakes (completely different name and cannot remember what it was) back in 2010ish while living in NYC. I did a few markets and did really well. But doing this in a tiny apt was not optimal so I gave up pretty quick. Fast forward to 2021, I decided I was going to make cocoa bombs to sell at the holidays and then added cookies. I ended my first season with 40 orders just by word of mouth essentially. Then in February 2022 I got my llc and the rest is history. BriBakes has evolved many times over in that time.

  • Definitely winning FXBG Cake Wars in 2025. (Pictured with my winning cake on the right) Both Judges’ first place & people’s choice. As an adult & a baker, there aren’t many opportunities to be highlighted & praised in such a way.

  • I think the biggest thing is my hybrid Swiss American buttercream. It’s creamy and not too sweet, unlike the usual American most are used to. Also, my addition of texture fillings to my cakes. I love love textures in cakes. It just makes for a very rewarding bite.

  • Chaos Queen over here.  😳😂 I wish I was one of those bakers in a pretty apron and my kitchen perfectly organized but that is just not me.

  • Leaving dishes for the morning 😭

  • Definitely beginning of December 2025. 400 cookies for the FXBG cookie crawl and a wedding…and a couple customs all in one weekend. I was DEAD. And my kitchen was an absolute disaster.

  • SCALE! Sometimes cups. But I weigh everything. Except vanilla I pour that ish in! 😂

  • Lemon & Mint. Trust me on this. Now saying that I need to actually incorporate that flavor combo on my menu, 😂

  • Taylor Swift. Don’t judge me. 😂

  • My family's peanut butter fudge. It’s so creamy & people are always blown away by it.

  • Cinnamon because it makes so many things better!

  • I rarely use “mise en place” which means to get all ingredients weighed out and ready to go before starting the recipe. Some recipes need it, but so many aren’t so dainty. lol. Again. Chaos kitchen.

  • I’m honestly not a big follower of celebrities, but if I had to pick, it would be Kate Winslet. She is such a timeless beauty, and I feel like our vibes would match as far as elegance and whimsy for cake design. So hey, Kate, ya know! Reach out to your girl! 😂

  • Just being able to create something delicious from very few ingredients. Baking is magic. And of course science.

  • Scratch-made cakes, buttercreams & fillings. Nothing I bake comes from a box. A lot of cake recipes are now my own. Adapted from other recipes but tweaked and played around with as I’ve learned the science behind baking.

  • Oh man. That’s a tough one! As much as I’d like to say I’d open a store one day, because well that’s what everyone always assumes, I don’t know if that is for me. Really I just want to create cake art on a larger scale. I want to be a premier wedding & large event cake baker in VA & even beyond. And you don’t have to have a store front to do those things!