How a New Hampshire mom built a booming baking business on social media

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When Leah Boudreault first picked up a piping bag more than a decade ago, she never imagined she’d turn baking into a full-time career—let alone an online business followed by thousands on social media.

“I just kind of went in head first,” she said.

Her passion for cake decorating and baking started unexpectedly. At the time, she was running a small side business doing makeup and nails, complete with her own YouTube channel. Then one of her daughters asked for a special birthday cake.  

“So I did it. I made her the cake, and I really enjoyed doing it,” said Boudreault, 38, who lives in Milford.

Boudreault took a single Wilton cake-decorating course at Michael’s, became a certified instructor within a month, and started teaching. Beyond that, she’s self-taught.

“I watched countless YouTube videos, did my own research, and learned through trial and error,”  Boudreault said.

Now, she runs a full-time home bakery, taking weekly orders for everything from birthday to wedding cakes. She also goes live on TikTok, under her account, @sugarandslicenh, three to four days a week, sometimes streaming for up to 12 hours.

“At first, I was nervous,”  Boudreault said about going live. “I didn’t even talk during my first live.”

She got more comfortable and now has over 100,000 followers. Live-streaming has become a second income stream, thanks to subscriptions, online classes, and recipe sharing. 

“It’s a second job, because you have to make sure the cameras are at the right angle,” Boudreault said. “If you don’t talk to people, they get mad. And I’m the type of person that, if I’m on live, I’m going to answer every question, I’m going to explain what I’m doing, I’m going to teach, I’m going to interact.”

Angie Archer of Colorado started following Boudreault on TikTok after seeing one of her live videos.

“Her patience is what’s so amazing,” Archer said. “She really knows the whole picture of everything, not just cakes, She makes it look easy and it’s not that easy, and you want to be as good as she is.”

The two have since become friends, and Boudreault visited Archer in Colorado earlier this year. 

“We just clicked with the baking stuff,” Archer said.

Boudreault’s cakes range from elegant creations to sculpted, realistic designs. One of her favorites was a Monster Jam cake built with help from her husband.

“It looked like an actual truck,” she said. “It was really cool.” 

Originally from Massachusetts, Boudreault and her husband moved to New Hampshire in 2009 for his work and never looked back. Now 38, she’s raising three kids while staying active in the community. She coaches recreational soccer and basketball and helps run the middle school PTO.

Once her children are older, she hopes to open a small bakery.For now, she’s content balancing family, her booming home business, and a dedicated online following.

Her favorite part? 

“A cake is such a big part of an event, or desserts, it’s like the first thing people think of and I like being able to help make their event special with a really cool cake,” Boudreault said.