Bartlett High student bakes cakes like a Food Network pro

Look - it's a chef's hat on top of a cutting board sitting on a pot placed on a briefcase.

Wait, it's a cake! But ... is the knife real?

It's easy to imagine that's what people thought when they saw the imaginative, multitiered cake baked last February by Bartlett High School senior Alexa Abaroa, the first student asked to prepare a cake for the VIP room at the annual Illinois ProStart Student Invitational held at Kendall College.

"It was the biggest cake I ever made," said Alexa, 17. "All the Kendall chefs got to see it. I was excited to make it so they could see what I can do. It took three days. It is a step-by-step process in making these things. Each tier was an issue in trying to fit it all in the refrigerator. It's definitely a two-person job to try to pick it up and move it."

And yes, the knife was edible, too.

Alexa's talent as a baker and cake decorator is astonishing for someone so young, experts say.

For the last two years Alexa, who lives in Bartlett, has been part of ProStart, a program for high school juniors and seniors run by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

"She is a fantastic student. I will tell you that all the other students were really wowed by her cake," said Kathy Summers, executive director of the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, who gave Alexa the VIP cake task.

"What impressed me is her skill level, far beyond what I've seen from other high school students. Multitiered cakes with characters, all fondant-covered cakes, which is technically difficult. She demonstrates a strong commitment to baking and pastry."

Just two weekends ago, Alexa, won most outstanding gold in the fondant cakes category of the Family Career and Community Leaders of America state competition. Last year, she came home with a silver medal.

With her win, Alexa got an $18,000 scholarship to attend Kendall College in the fall, where she wants to earn an associate degree in baking and pastry. She is also about to earn a ProStart national certification, for which students have to pass two national exams, have 200 volunteer hours (which Alexa earned at school by catering - with other students - staff parties and luncheons), and 200 hours working in the food service industry. Alexa works at Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets in Addison on Saturdays and Sundays, arriving at 4 or 5 a.m. so she can decorate cakes that will later be distributed to Caputo's stores throughout the Chicago area.

"She is one of the hardest-working students I ever had, and she's the most talented baking student I ever had - ever - in my 20 years of teaching," said Linda Snyder, who heads Bartlett High's family and consumer science department. "I think you're going to see her on the Food Network. There is no stopping her. She's going to go a long way."

Alexa was drawn to the kitchen at a very early age and was making dinner for the whole family by age 10.

"She would have this list of ingredients and say, 'Do you think you could get these at the store?' She was working out of a big cookbook, picking entrees, picking vegetables," said her mother, Christine Abaroa. "It was really helpful and surprising. Everyone was so jealous."

Christine, an accountant, says Alexa's culinary talent didn't come from her or from her husband, Jorge, who works in sales for Lala Foods. Alexa has a twin brother, Joey, who is into music and playing guitar.

Eventually, Alexa realized that cakes were her thing.

"'Ace of Cakes' started coming on TV (on the Food Network), and I thought, 'I'd like to do that, make a step up from box mixes and store-bought icing,'" said Alexa, who admires baker and cake decorator Buddy Valastro, of TLC's "Cake Boss" fame.

"The first cake from scratch I did turned out pretty good, so I wanted to keep trying different carvings, different tiered cakes. For my 15th birthday I made a cake covered in fondant."

Fondant is like "edible Play-Doh," Alexa explains. "I make mine out of melted marshmallows and powdered sugar. You roll it and put it on top of the cake, you smooth it down all around. The challenging part is getting the corners."

Baking is all about precision and following recipes, said Alexa, who is much more comfortable in the calm, cooler environment of cakes rather than the hot bustle of the cook line. She likes pretty cakes and uses a professional air brush to add sparkle and color. But she also likes to experiment with interesting shapes. She once made a cake in the form of a boxing glove for her dad.

"It's just crazy the talent and focus she has," Christine Abaroa said. "She knew what she wanted to do. Teachers would say, 'You have to have other ideas,' but it was like, 'No, there is no Plan B.' We kind of always knew where she was going."

Alexa said her parents call her "The Angry Baker."

"When I'm making cakes, no else is allowed in the kitchen. You cannot get in my space when I'm focused. And don't say anything about the cake, because it's not done yet!" she said.

She sells cakes on her website, straightacakes.com. Why the name? Because Alexa gets straight A's in school.

"I can only handle one a week, though I have two due tomorrow," she said, explaining each cake takes about two hours to bake and four hours to decorate.

Once, a Bartlett High teacher asked for a cake with the cartoon "Yo Gabba Gabba" for her grandchild's first birthday. "(Alexa) immediately drew and did it," Snyder said. "She draws designs on paper and asks (customers), 'Is this what you're looking for?' Most of the time they say, 'Yeah, but can you actually do that?' and then they are flabbergasted at the cake."

Alexa said she has suffered surprisingly few baking failures, although at least one was memorable.

"I wanted to do a topsy-turvy cake that looks like it's about to fall over, and it fell over," she said. "It was for my 16th birthday. I was upset because there was no time to do it over."

May 26 is going to be a big day for Alexa. She will graduate from high school in the afternoon, but only after delivering her first wedding cake in the morning.

Mary Sager, a culinary arts teacher at Marengo High School, saw Alexa's VIP cake at Kendall College in February and decided to give her the job for her big day.

"I would not have guessed that a person in high school would have been able to make such a beautiful cake with so much skill and talent and detail," Sager said. "I'm also calling her to do my nephew's birthday cake. She doesn't know it yet."

Alexa isn't sure where baking will lead her, although there is no question she will be baking somewhere, she said.

"I want to just try everything and do as many experiences as I can - travel, or work for a reputable hotel, a restaurant, a cruise. Maybe I'll open up my own shop someday," she said.

So does she have any words of wisdom for baking novices?

"Baking is a science. If you just follow the recipe, you should be OK," she said.

Ÿ Elena Ferrarin wrote today's column. She and Kimberly Pohl always are looking for Suburban Standouts to profile. If you know of someone whose story just wows you, please send a note including name, town, email and phone contacts for you and the nominee to standouts@dailyherald.com or call our Standouts hotline at (847) 608-2733.

Alexa Abaroa

Age: 17

Hometown: Bartlett

School: Bartlett High School

Who inspires you? My teacher Linda Snyder is awesome. She does so much for me and this whole school.

What's on your iPod? A lot of Aerosmith.

What book are you reading? “Cujo” by Stephen King.

The three words that best describe you? Independent. Organized. Creative.