Bluebird Bakery fills need for local baked goods

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Bluebird Bakery fills need for local baked goods

By Shiloh Appel

  Bluebird Bakery, the newest bakery in town, has been filling the gap when it comes to cakes, cupcakes and cookies, since January of 2020. With Redfield’s long-standing bakery, The Breadbox, no longer in operation, the Bluebird Bakery has been receiving plenty of business.

Bakery owner, Camilia Houghtaling, said it all started with cheesecakes.

“I have been making cheesecakes for probably a little over ten years,” said Houghtaling. “I just made them for my dad, because he enjoyed them. Then I just started making cakes because people would request them. And  now we’re here. …I have just always had a passion for baking and my grandma was always baking. I loved baking with her. So I would say my grandma inspired me.”

  Today, Houghtaling has her own 20 by 18 commercial kitchen that her husband built for her as an addition onto their house. She bakes around seven custom cakes per week (or one wedding cake with mini cheesecakes or cupcakes and a couple of custom cakes each week).

  Houghtaling said she loves it when customers give her creative freedom with the cakes she creates. She also loves trying new recipes and new styles.

“I am a very creative person and I love being creative, so it is fun to just go with that,” said Houghtaling. “Then I love making cheesecakes, too. I know I am not going to let anybody down with a good cheesecake.”

  The name of Houghtaling’s bakery has a creative and thoughtful touch to it as well.

“My daughters both have blue eyes, so I was trying to think of something with blue. Then I walked out of my house two weeks after my grandma passed away…she would always have birds and stuff,” said Houghtaling. “There was a bluebird sitting out on the cement and I thought it was a sign from her. I thought, ‘yeah, Bluebird Bakery.’”

   Houghtaling said her proudest moment came this past September.

  “I had accidentally booked three weddings in one week and I was able to push myself and get all of the orders completed without any mess-ups or anything,” said Houghtaling. “Another top proud moment would be [when] my family was at a wedding recently. I had made the cake and the photographer was taking pictures of it. My daughter ran up to her, proud as a peach, and told her that her momma made the cake.”

Even with the onset of COVID in 2020, Houghtaling said business wasn’t bad.

“I had a few big events that got canceled right away, but I was just starting out, so I didn’t even know what to expect...,” said Houghtaling. “Business has definitely picked up more this year. There are a lot of weddings that were rescheduled from last year.”

  Houghtaling offers white, chocolate, yellow, marble, carrot, banana, red velvet, lemon, orange, almond, pumpkin, strawberry and funfetti cakes; various cookies and cookie sandwiches; cupcakes; cheesecakes, mini cheesecakes, and cheesecake bites; and a large variety of frostings/fillings and flavors. She also offers gluten free and sugar free options. In addition, she welcomes new ideas and seasonal requests.

“Like, for the fall, I’ve done little pumpkin streusel cakes,” said Houghtaling. Check out Bluebird Bakery’s Facebook page for the full menu.

Houghtaling can be contacted through Bluebird Bakery’s Facebook Messenger; via email at bluebirdbakerysd@gmail.com; or via phone at (605) 450-0505. She expressed her appreciation for the continued community support.

“It has really been more than I could ever have imagined,” said Houghtaling.