Custom cakes
Every tier is four layers of cake, two of filling and a frosting middle, in your choice of 9 flavors.
Custom bakery · Little Rock, Arkansas
Custom Cakes, Pastries, & Sugar Art In Little Rock, made to order for your Celebration
Bring your celebration to life with a cake designed around you: wedding tiers, birthday showpieces, cupcakes, cookies and macarons, all handmade by baker and pastry artist Ryan Chvala-Manges.
Please note: everything is made to order and there is no storefront for walk-in purchases. Pickup is by appointment.
- Culinary Arts degreeThe Art Institute of Atlanta
- Baking & pastry trainingJohnson & Wales University, Charleston
- Short-notice savesCustomers praise last-minute custom cakes
- Little Rock bakerHere since March 2021, pickup by appointment
What I make
Treats as unique as your celebration
Every order is designed around your event, your colors and your favorite flavors. Pick a starting point:
Cupcakes
By the dozen from $42, from simple rosettes to fully themed sets.
Custom cookies
Royal-iced sets from $42 a dozen for showers, birthdays, holidays and logos.
Macarons
A dozen from $18, in your colors, fillings and even custom shapes.
Weddings
Wedding cakes, designed with you over a 30-minute consultation
Your wedding is a very special day, one most of us only do once. Every wedding cake starts with a short, face-to-face consultation, where we talk through your vision, your guests and your flavors, and make sure we’re the right fit for each other.
- Tiered buttercream cakes with piped or sugar flowers
- Matching cupcakes and bridal shower cookies
- Favors individually heat-sealed or wrapped with ribbon
How ordering works
From idea to pickup in four simple steps
Tell me about it
Send your date, size, flavors and any reference photos through the request form, by email or by phone.
Get your quote
I reply, typically within 1–2 business days, with questions, ideas and an accurate price.
Confirm your order
Once we agree on design, flavors and price, your date goes on my calendar.
Pick up by appointment
Collect your order in Little Rock at the agreed time. Everything is made fresh to order.
Recent work
Handmade, start to finish
Sculpted characters, painted buttercream, sugar flowers and royal icing: a few favorites from the galleries.
Meet the owner
Ryan Chvala-Manges, your baker and pastry artist
Ryan moved to Little Rock from Atlanta in March 2021, bringing a strong culinary background and a commitment to the finest quality ingredients.
- Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from the Art Institute of Atlanta, where his passion for baking and pastry blossomed.
- Advanced study in Baking and Pastry at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC: bread making, fondant and gum paste work.
- A love of teaching discovered as an instructor’s assistant at The Viking Showroom.
Kind words
Last-minute celebrations, saved
Two customers who needed a custom cake on short notice, in their own words.
I was in a pinch when I stumbled upon Mental Bakedowns and Pastry Attacks. Needing a custom cake for a special occasion, I reached out with a short notice. To my surprise, they not only accommodated my request but also created a masterpiece. The cake was a flavor explosion, with unexpected yet perfectly balanced combinations. The design was whimsical and personalized, capturing the essence of the event. If you’re looking for a bakery that can deliver exceptional quality and creativity, even under tight deadlines, Mental Bakedowns and Pastry Attacks is a must-try!
Where to begin…!? This place is AMAZING. Ryan squeezed my cake order into his schedule on short notice, making an INCREDIBLE cake that was as delicious as it was beautiful. I took the cake to a birthday dinner party, and all of the guests were just beside themselves and were swooning over how tasty it was. As far as I’m concerned, all future cakes in my life will come from Mental BakeDowns and Pastry Attacks. If you haven’t been here, you are in for a treat!
Reviews coming soon.
Menu favorites
Ready-to-order classics
Signature cakes, cupcakes, cookie sets and macarons with listed starting prices. The German Chocolate Cake is the best seller.
German Chocolate Cake
The best seller: four chocolate layers, coconut pecan filling, chocolate buttercream.
Cement Brushstroke Cake
Vanilla cake, almond buttercream and a concrete-look Swiss buttercream finish.
Cupcakes – Standard
One dozen 2-inch cupcakes with a simple rosette, 1 flavor and 1 icing color.
Cupcakes – Themed
One dozen 2-inch cupcakes decorated in your theme: a holiday, event or style.
Halloween Baker’s Dozen Sugar Cookies
Thirteen decorated Halloween sugar cookies, from witch hats to a hearse.
Almond Macarons
Twelve 1.5–2" macarons with almond flour shells, your color and filling.
The menu is being updated.
From the blog
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Let’s create something sweet together
Tell me your date, size, flavors and any reference photos. I’ll reply within 1–2 business days with ideas and a quote.