Lisa Dowling won fan favorite at IDDBA’s 2025 Cake’d Competition.

Dowling’s attention to detail and miniature creations make her cakes stand out from competition.

The pastry case at Willamette Street’s Market of Choice is filled with confectionery goodies. Cookies, macaroons, petit fours and cakes glitter from behind a pane of glass, beckoning shoppers into the bakery section.

Behind the counter stands Lisa Dowling, a longtime cake decorator and recent award winner at the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association’s Cake’d Competition.

Dowling has been at Market of Choice for 20 years. She loves creating, both at home and at work, and is always working on a new project. Her decorating specialties, including miniatures, florals, and shape cakes, landed her the title of Fan Favorite at the competition in New Orleans.

“I know a lot of people would say that my florals tend to stand out,” Dowling said of her cake decorating. “I love to pay attention to the world around me, and all the flowers I make I try to be realistic.”

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Dowling also loves to create at home with clay. She recently made a 2-inch-tall version of the 50-foot woman, towering over a tiny cityscape. She’s also created a mini version of aliens in a cornfield out of clay, along with other small, quirky Christmas presents for her family.

“I love paying attention to details,” Dowling said.

She incorporates miniatures into her cakes, too, and also loves to make shape cakes. Animals like dogs, cats, and tigers are Dowling’s bread and butter behind the counter, and she’s always proud to show them off in the pastry case.

“The case down there is great for showcasing what a grocery store is actually capable of,” Dowling said. “People might not think that a grocery store is capable of doing smaller, boutique-level, homemade cakes, but we definitely are.”

Dowling was able to prove her expertise among a competitive group of bakers.

She was chosen from a pool of 150 entrants to compete along with three other decorators for the grand prize. Although Dowling didn’t take home the gold, her unique style and use of colors won her the Fan Favorite award.

The first day, Dowling had to choose a holiday for her decoration theme. She chose Easter to showcase her floral skills and color palette. In the second round, the challenge was to create a cake inspired by New Orleans or the IDDBA, and Dowling chose to do both.

“The top tier, I had a silhouette of someone playing a trumpet with Cake’d 2025 on it, and a wrap-around piano key,” she said. “On the bottom, I got tedious with the minis, and since it’s deli dairy bakery, I made little versions of each of those with tiny cheeses and bakers and inlets into the cake.”

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Dowling said she loved working alongside other passionate decorators during the competition and hopes to compete at the IDDBA again in the future.

“It definitely feels good to win [the fan favorite] award, but having been [at Market of Choice] for so long, I have a lot of returning customers that also give me encouragement and trust, which means a lot to me, too,” Dowling said.

Now, Dowling is back to her normal routine. She’s meeting with customers for cake consultations and turning out one to 50 cakes a day, depending on the amount of detail required. But, no matter the cake, Dowling is approaching it with the same excitement and attention that won her Fan Favorite at this year’s IDDBA Cake’d competition.

Samantha Pierotti is the food, drinks and “things to do” reporter for The Register-Guard. With tips on restaurants and local happenings, you can reach her via email at spierotti@gannett.com.