Mommy & Me In Business Together

LoHud.com:

Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley and co-authors of three cookbooks, including this year’s “Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse: Cupcakes, Small Cakes, Muffins, and Other Mini Treats.”

Liv Hansen was a recent college grad with a fine arts degree from Cornell University and struggling to make a living as a painter when mom Kaye Hansen bought the Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley in 1994. Liv came aboard to work behind the counter, but soon became a creative force.

“She started waiting on customers on the front, then shortly thereafter she started helping me with the cake decorating because I was doing the bulk of it at the time, and shortly after that, she said, ‘Move over mom, I’m taking it over,’ ” Kaye recalls with a chuckle.

The pair say their closeness makes working together a natural fit.

Liv’s father died when Kaye was pregnant, and she raised her daughter as a single mom making a living in the bakery and catering business.

The mom and daughter became authors after a customer and friend introduced a literary agent to the colorful and whimsical cakes Liv created at the Riviera Bakehouse.

Today, Liv, 37, balances staying at home with her 4-year-old son, Kase, and giving cake and cookie decorating classes at the bakery and designing wedding cakes and specialty items like Mother’s Day cookies.