Yuri Richardson’s cakes, sold through her company, Rich Creations, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, are pieces of art, sculpted from flour, sugar, and butter, with glorious toppings and meticulous attention to detail.
Some feel nostalgic, like heart-shaped cakes piped with buttercream garlands and the words Just Married. Others are whimsical: forest cakes with red-and-gold mushrooms, Scooby-Doo in his van, or a graduation cake topped with a 3-D Converse sneaker. A baby shower design featured fondant elephants nestled among green leaves beneath a topper that read Oh Baby.
Perhaps the funniest, a farewell cake for a co-worker, decorated with black roses and the words: You’re Dead to Us. We Hope You Fail. The cake was perfect; the message bittersweet.
Yuri appreciates that her customers have faith she’ll turn their dreams into realities, no matter how much effort it takes. The most challenging project so far has been the New England lobster boil cake, shaped like a stockpot brimming with a red lobster and yellow corn on the cob. She lost track of the hours she spent perfecting that order.
Yuri practices. She experiments. She orders specialty piping equipment from as far away as the U.K. and never scrimps on quality ingredients.
She thinks she might be YouTube’s best friend, since she’s spent so much time watching its cake decorating videos. But making cakes look grand is only half the battle. They have to be equally delicious. Fortunately, Yuri has had plenty of baking experience, though not in the traditional sense.
Each summer, she spent time with her Grandmother Sissy, who made the best red velvet cake Yuri had ever tasted. When Yuri finally asked for the recipe, her grandmother turned her down, instead telling her to watch her make it. “I think she liked knowing she was the only person in the world who could make it the way I liked it,” Yuri says, smiling at the memory.
It wasn’t until after Grandmother Sissy passed away that Yuri got to see the handwritten recipe, tucked away inside a well-loved metal recipe box. She has since added her own twist to the family recipe, adding two additional ingredients.
Professionally, she got her start when her father and his business partner purchased the Bliss Cupcake franchise in Fort Smith and asked her to manage it. Fresh out of college and working in HR, she jumped at the chance. Mistakes came often, but she leaned on local bakers and learned quickly.
She ran Bliss until its closure in January 2024, then pivoted. Instead of a storefront, she opened a commercial kitchen, taking orders through social media. Customers followed.
Since she started, she’s had some big requests, like the 200 cupcakes she made for the Northside Grizzlies’ senior signing day. She’s recently taken on all the orders for one local corporation, and on October 25, she will provide desserts for the Sunset Supper at the Fort Smith Riverfront Glass Pavilion, which is being hosted by Uncork’d.
As for the smaller orders, most are picked up on Saturday mornings in downtown Fort Smith. Customers wait in line at Prohibition, a speakeasy and social lounge her parents own. Yuri greets each customer, then shows them what she’s created just for them.
Strawberry cake, one of Rich Creations’ bestsellers, is made with real berries, and it’s delicious. The standard vanilla is anything but, with a flavor that is both rich and delicate. Recently, a customer left a review saying she knew how much passion and effort Yuri put into her cakes. Yuri loved that. “I want people to know that attention was paid, from breaking the eggs to the batter being put in the liners to the decorating. It’s about looks and taste.”
At twenty-eight, Yuri balances work, faith, and family with ease. The daughter of Arkansas State Representative Jay Richardson and community leader Talicia Richardson, she grew up focused and independent, once filling out college applications in grade school just to see what recruiters required.
Her parents only hoped she’d be kind and humble. “I love her to death,” Talicia says. Yuri, who lives just a street away, feels the same. Her younger brother often raids her fridge, and she sees her parents daily. For Yuri, it all adds up to this: a sweet life, made richer with every cake.
Find Rich Creations on Facebook and Instagram.
