You only need to take a few steps inside the doors of
Soolicious Cake Art Studio to know you’ve found something special. It could be the sweet smells in the air. The crisp and clean, modern yet cozy interior of its welcome area. Or, it could be the warmth in the greeting you receive from owner and pastry chef, Soo Bradley.
Your sights will first sit on a small counter displaying fresh loaves of sourdough on Wednesdays beyond the entrance. And on Fridays, it’s often adorned with cupcakes and other high-quality sweet treats. Since Bradley is regularly busy creating cakes for special occasions and weddings, the counter doesn’t have desserts every day—so these days are extra-special treats.
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Photo Credit Courtney Jerome / Epicenter Mt. Pleasant“Even though I don't have a counter to sell dessert every day, I want to add something special for people to enjoy—say on a Wednesday with sourdough, or Fridays with cupcakes,” says Soo Bradley.
Around the corner of her counter though, just off the front entrance, is her commercial kitchen. It’s built for one and is full of Michigan-made appliances—such as a Delfield refrigerator and a Kitchen Aid mixer.
She has also affectionately nicknamed some appliances that find their home there: “Sally” the oven and “Harry” the mixer.
Her Soolicious shelves are lined with sprinkles. The tabletop shows her latest creations in the works, including her latest experiment with sourdough cinnamon rolls.
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Photo Credit Courtney Jerome / Epicenter Mt. PleasantA behind-the-scenes look at the Soolicious Cake kitchen.
“Everything is made from scratch with really good quality ingredients—like chocolate from Belgium,” says Bradley, who is Asian American and originally from South Korea.
Bradley attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Australia, then moved to Mt. Pleasant for love in 2007. She worked as a pastry chef at Soaring Eagle Casino for 11 years. Following her husband’s passing, and then the pandemic, Bradley started to refocus on her life goals.
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Photo Credit Courtney Jerome / Epicenter Mt. PleasantBradley attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Australia, where she started working in the pastry kitchen.
“After the pandemic happened, so many people started to think about their future. And you know, the pandemic gave me those thoughts, too,” Bradleys shares. “I decided to do something for myself and kind of explore what I can do.”
In 2022, Bradley left her position at Soaring Eagle and began baking from her home to “test the waters” in business. In 2023, she officially opened her Soolicious Cakes kitchen and storefront at 4912 E. Pickard Street in Mt. Pleasant.
“I wasn’t really active about advertising yet, but people were coming,” she shares of her grand opening. “And here I am; it’s been over one year, and more people are finding me.”
Since opening her bakery, Bradley’s sense of community pride and celebrating special occasions throughout the central Michigan area has grown and grown. Whether fulfilling special orders from oversees and delivering them to CMU students who are celebrating milestones, to providing pastries and sweets to college campus events at Central Michigan University and Alma College, to designing wedding cakes for brides and grooms who are seeking high-quality and custom ingredients, Bradley finds joy in every occasion.
“It's not like a grocery cake that is more affordable,” she shares of her custom cakes. “But once people try my cake, they realize, ‘Oh, my God, this is a great cake,’ and it makes the celebration more memorable.”
“That’s where I find joy, really, and they keep coming back,” Bradley says. “I work personally with the customer. I can sit down here and ask, “What are you thinking?’ We can be connected, more personally.”
Having conversations in her gathering room at the studio, answering questions via email, plus offering online payments, pick-up, and delivery options, Bradley aims to make cake requests as convenient as possible for her customers.
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Photo Credit Courtney Jerome / Epicenter Mt. Pleasant
She also takes pride in providing great ingredients—such as buttercream that she says is unlike what we may be used to here in Michigan.
“Some people say our buttercream is different from what they’ve had before—and I get it. They’re used to American buttercream, which is simply sugar and fat mixed together,” she explains.
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Courtesy Soo Bradley / Soolicious Cake Art StudioSoolicious offers elegant cakes and pastries in flavors and designs that suit their customers’ uniqueness and special occasions.
“I make Swiss and French buttercream, which are meringue-based. These buttercreams are completely different and require more skill to make,” Bradley continues. “They offer a rich, light, and smooth texture with a subtle sweetness, creating a whole new experience when enjoying a buttercream cake!”
When buttercream and wedding cakes keep her the busiest in the summer months, she invites colleagues from her culinary past to collaborate and join her in her Soolicious kitchen off of Pickard Street part time.
In the colder months, she offers a winter cake subscription club, along with holiday workshops for sugar cookies and cake decorating.
These activities further her mission to connect with people in the community—in the town she has decided to keep as her home.
“I find it’s a beautiful town,” says Bradley of Mt. Pleasant. “The four seasons, obviously, are beautiful. And the lakes are nice. And most importantly, the people are friendly and just so welcoming. I’m just comfortable and loving it here.”
To discover more about Soolicious Cake and Art Studio’s cake menu, bake shop, workshops, weddings and dessert catering, visit
sooliciouscake.com.