Cake baker and business proprietor Star Gaetaniello has waited a long time to see her dream come true. After years of honing her craft at area bakeries and at home, she finally found that a space of her own was more a necessity than an option.

It all began when Gaetaniello was a teenager and took a job at Giant as a bread wrapper. Before long, the store needed a cake decorator. Gaint staff brought someone in to give her a quick two-week course, and one of her co-worker friends helped her learn how to decorate and frost cakes.

It took off from there.

Gaetaniello worked in many different bakeries, learning the nuances of different frosting recipes and decorating techniques.

“It’s funny,” she said, “because I learned how to make my icing roses from a left-handed person, and because I learn from watching and then doing it, I still make them that way even though I’m right handed. I’m constantly being told I do things backward.”

She discovered she loved what she was doing.

“I love food and I love art, so the fact that I get to be artistic and play with food and then eat it when I’m done is amazing,” she said.

Gaetaniello’s recipes come from a variety of sources. Some are handed down from her family, and some she finds online, such as her gluten-free offerings, which she has tried in vanilla, chocolate, banana and carrot.

“I like to play with recipes,” she said, which speaks to her experience as a baker.

Her dark chocolate cupcake recipe is from her grandmother and is a closely guarded secret.

She began baking at home for friends and family, which led to word of mouth, and “pretty soon there was a lot of word of mouth,” she said.

She knew it was time to make a move. She and her husband had been looking for about five years when they stumbled across her current venue at 929 Main St., Northampton. The location was perfect for several reasons. Gaetaniello said she likes the area and wanted to stay local to where they live and her kids go to school. It also had a large window and enough room for what she wanted to do.

When they found it, COVID-19 was in full swing, and with the lull in restaurant business, they were able to revamp the place and make it hers.

“Now I’m not taking up the kitchen (at home) anymore,” she said. “It’s nice to have my own little space.”

Her refrigerators are once again open to family food rather than being taken up by bakery food.

Gaetaniello said the most important aspect of her business is making people happy.

“If I don’t have my customers, I don’t have a job, so I’m very open minded when it comes to flavors,” she said. “I actually changed my raspberry three times since I’ve been here because I’m not the one eating them.”

She will try out new cupcake flavors, a couple at a time, to see how they go over and will take suggestions from people as well.

She also does her best to honor requests, such as the carrot cake a bride-to-be requested for her wedding.

“I’d never done one before, but it turns out it was a family tradition,” she said. “Her mother and grandmother both had carrot cake for their weddings, so I knew I had to try it.”

However, there are some things she just won’t do.

“I refuse to make muffin-size cupcakes because I think they’re too big and dry out,” she noted. “I like little bites. I am all about ratio. You should have filling in every bite and just the right amount of frosting.”

She will even offer extra frosting on the side if you want.

She will discuss her business aspect with others, and she will send customers to other bakeries in the area if she doesn’t offer what they are looking for. The one thing she will not do is give her grandmother’s secret recipes away.

Her family backs her endeavor 100 percent. Her husband, who is in the construction field, did a lot of the work needed to convert the store front, “and he loves to taste test,” she added.

In addition, her youngest daughter helps with the customers and baking.

“I taught her how to measure and mix, and she really likes it,” Gaetaniello said. “I just won’t let her near the ovens yet; it makes me nervous until she’s older. My son pops in every once in a while to eat cupcakes.”

Though she only opened a few months ago, Gaetaniello said she is already way past any goals she may have set for herself. She had lines down the block when she opened and has already had to turn people away because she can’t accommodate their orders.

“I am a one-woman show most of the time,” she said. “I bake, decorate, answer the phone, ring up customers and deliver cakes. Right now, if I have a delivery, I have to close the shop unless I have someone here who can run the register. My son’s friends come and help out once in a while.”

Other than finding help, she does have a couple of other changes in mind.

“I know I need a bigger sign, and I know my hours are hard right now,” she said. “With my daughter changing schools, my hours will change, and I hope to add one later night.”

Gaetaniello hopes for your next special occasion - or for times when only cake will do, you have to look no further than Cakes on Main.