A baker in Calera realizes her dream by opening a bakery in her hometown

by Lauren Dowdle, content director
photos courtesy of Creations Galore & Moore

The inviting smells of cake, ice cream, cookies, and other mouthwatering desserts bring families to Calera’s Creations Galore & Moore. But, opening a bakery wasn’t something owner Nedra Moore would have imagined as she worked behind a computer screen just a few years ago.

Moore says she’s always enjoyed savory food and cooking, remembering being in the kitchen with her grandmother when she was younger. Though she didn’t know it then, her passion, talent, and dreams would lead her back to those sweet times.

But before that happened, Moore earned a degree in network engineering and had a career in information technology. She was happy — but she wanted more.

“You never really know where life will take you,” Moore says. “We have things planned out. But then something happens, and you have to take a detour and end up on a completely different path.”

That’s when she started baking for close friends and family. But, it didn’t take long before people beyond her inner circle started asking for her to bake cakes. To meet the growing demand, Moore began juggling her full-time IT job, baking, and two young children.

“Finally, it came to a point where I had to make a decision,” she says. “I can’t answer why I did that. It’s just something inside of me that wouldn’t let me give up. Sometimes, you have to do crazy things to get crazy results.”

Moore decided to leave her full-time job and started baking out of her house. Then in October, she opened Creations Galore & Moore in Calera — though it wasn’t a traditional grand opening.

She had been baking custom cakes out of the storefront for a few weeks, and people would regularly peek in to see if she was open. So one day, she decided to simply prop the door open — and that’s all it took.

“I’m at a loss for words at the amount of support we received,” she says. “There are so many people coming each day. The community has been so supportive.”

She encourages everyone to stop by the bakery, no matter what they’re craving.

“You’re in for a treat,” Moore says. “We have something to satisfy your palate. There’s something for everyone.”

Besides Moore’s beautiful and tasty cakes and cupcakes, the bakery also serves ice cream, milkshakes, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and their signature waffle split. That comes with three scoops of ice cream topped with caramelized bananas, strawberries, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and whipped cream — all served on a homemade waffle.

“We’re here to satisfy that sweet tooth,” she says.

In addition to the treats in the shop, Moore continues to create custom cakes, as well. She is a self-taught baker and says she tries to make each cake better than the last. Moore makes everything from whimsical children’s birthday cakes to elegant wedding cakes.

One memorable project was a life-size 3D Spider-Man cake that weighed more than 200 pounds. Moore worked 16 to 18 hours a day for six days to complete it, and she said it was one of her favorites. 

She’s also crafted cakes that look like purses, a Jordan sneaker, unicorns, space ships, and anything else her customers can imagine. Her life-like, edible flowers are also popular, especially on wedding cakes.

People often ask Moore how she creates her flowers and other stunning cakes, so she decided to share her secrets. She wrote a book, “All in the Name of Cake,” that shares step-by-step tutorials for some of her famous designs and treats. Moore says she plans to release the book as soon as she gets in the swing of things with the bakery.

Of course, everything she does is because of the support from her family. She says her children and husband have pushed her and kept her going through it all. The former IT worker turned bakery owner and soon-to-be author seems to do it all.

“You only live once,” Moore says. “Why not live your dream?”

Creations Galore & Moore is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The bakery is located at 8261 Hwy. 31 (map) in Calera. Custom cakes can be ordered by calling the shop at 205-690-8399 or by filling out an order form through the bakery’s social media pages.