"We had to do a major house renovation," Biggers said. "It was a really good thing, because if I had kept doing it in my family kitchen, I would never have grown to the size I am right now."

Carrie's Cakes now employes a handful of family members full- and part-time and sells 600 cakes a year, ranging from $125 to $2,500, with many of the tiered wedding-style cakes going for about $500.

Biggers said many cake decorators hesitate to teach cake-decorating classes in the off-season for fear they'll be vulnerable to a new generation of competition. Biggers never learned who called the health department, but she thinks it might have been a competitor.

"I have my suspicions," Biggers said. "I always tell her whenever I see her, 'Whoever turned me in did me a big favor."'

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com