Are cakes, sweets, and other delicious treats… art? Kara Johnson and Julie Cyburt, owners of local sweet shop and bakery Yummy! (Voted best Desserts of Ocean City 2012) prove that indeed they are! Originally from Pennsylvania, the sisters moved to the Eastern Shore roughly twenty years ago. But it wasn’t until four years ago that they decided to open Yummy!

“We were in search of a creative outlet that also brightened customers’ days,” Kara proclaimed. “We  individually customize everything for each separate customer and rarely ever duplicate decorations,” Julie added. All ingredients are fresh and top quality, the sisters individually hand make their entire stock and all baked sweets are made from scratch.

Prior to opening the shop, Kara worked in retail specializing in customer service. “That’s what separates us from the others, and aside from our customer service each sweet is custom,” Julie stated.

I must agree with her. During my visit, upon entering the pleasing sugar shop, customers were promptly greeted then waited on within seconds; each and every customer leaving with a big smile and a handmade treat none like the other. Every cake, from ingredients to décor was one-of-a-kind, made exclusively for each specific customer. Both sisters enjoy separate roles in their business together; whereas “cakes are Julie’s forte,” Kara declared, and desert buffets for weddings were Kara’s.

Growing up Kara and Julie’s parents were deeply involved artistically. Their mother was a remarkable artist specializing in the fine arts and their father an incredible wood worker. The girls have been artistically inclined their entire lives and astonishingly have only been decorating cakes two years preceding the shop’s opening, as more of a hobby.

“I wanted to do something more closely to fine art. Unfortunately in the real world, that may not always pay the bills. That’s the beauty in cake decorating, it’s a creative outlet for us where fine art meets commercial art,” Julie stated.

“We realized growing up in a house full of artists that making a career from your passion may be difficult, however the passion is still there no matter what,” Kara explained. These cakes are these sisters’ canvases. Yummy! is most definitely a must stop attraction while in the area, conveniently located off Rt. 589 in South Gate Ocean Pines. Make sure to set your GPS to 11021 Nicholas Lane SWEET 3, Berlin MD 21811 and pay these lovely ladies a visit.