Look out, Duff Goldman: Tthe Cape Region now has its own ace of cakes.

Austin’s Amazing Cakes is a new cake business from Austin Andrews, a 22-year-old pastry chef who began her love of baking at age 5.

“My mom was an executive chef, and she hated to bake, so she taught me how to bake when I was really young. So, I just fell in love with it and started to do it as a hobby. Then I realized it’s what I wanted to do with my life. I was really passionate about it,” Andrews said.

A graduate of Cape Henlopen High School, Andrews holds degrees from Johnson & Wales University’s North Miami campus in baking and pasty arts, and food service management. Andrews previously has worked at restaurants in Delaware and Miami as a pastry cook or pastry chef.

Austin’s Amazing Cakes takes orders online only for a wide selection of cakes and desserts, although Andrews hopes to have a store in the future. Andrews makes cakes for weddings, birthdays, communions and other special events. In addition, she offers handmade chocolate truffles, cookies, cheesecake, pies and a selection of gluten-free items.

“I do the classics like a strawberry shortcake,” Andrews said. “I have a raspberry latte cake, which is one of my favorites. I do fondant work, which, if people watch ‘Ace of Cakes,’ all the cool stuff he does, I can do that stuff too. Anything traditional or if you want something crazy, I can do that as well.”

Andrews said it could take days to make a big specialty cake, so she likes to have a week’s notice before making it. She said prices range from around $30 for pies and small cakes to $100 and up for specialty wedding cakes.

Andrews said one of the more unusual cakes she has done was for a child’s birthday party.

“I’ve done a gluten-free volcano cake that exploded chocolate ganache, and we put fireworks and everything in because he was turning 13. The fireworks shot out of the top.

“The cake exploded in his backyard, but he loved it – and he could still eat it,” she said with a laugh.

As for the chocolate, Austin’s offers truffles in every flavor imaginable – dark chocolate, milk chocolate, peanut butter, raspberry and Grand Marnier, among others. Customers have the option of creating their own flavor. She uses milk from Lewes Dairy with Belgian chocolate.

Of the truffle-making process, Andrews said cooking temperature plays a role in how the chocolate is formed and molded.

“If you raise the temperature and then lower it in a certain temperature guideline, then the chocolate also hardens. When you think about truffles, that shell is that,” she said.

Besides truffles, Austin makes almond and pecan clusters, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate-dipped peanut butter and frozen chocolate bananas.

Andrews said the most rewarding part of her work is the feedback she gets from customers.

“It’s really nice to know that you’ve made someone’s day, while doing something I love to. And that it was tasty,” she said.

For ordering information and a photo gallery of available cakes, visit www.austinsamazingcakes.com