The Daily Dot is celebrating Woman Crush Wednesday, better known as #WCW on Twitter and Instagram, by highlighting female creators on YouTube whose work we admire.
There is something completely mesmerizing about watching Jemma Wilson, the baker behind Cupcake Jemma, magically transform a handful of ingredients into a world-class rainbow cake. Her hands seamlessly move from one recipe step to the next as a tower of color and sugar transforms into a frosted masterpiece before her.
Dubbed London’s “badass baker,” Wilson fell into the world of baking by accident, but after deciding to turn her passion into a full-time career, she opened her bakery Crumbs and Doilies in 2006. Soon after, the now-35-year-old was asked to run Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen street party and left such an impression that a baking channel under Oliver’s 1.8 million-strong YouTube network Food Tube quickly followed.
In just over two years, Wilson’s channel has boosted cake-decorating tutorials and recipes achievable for everyone from the aspiring beginner baker to the seasoned veteran. Uploading a video a week, Wilson has used YouTube to build a personality around her bakery that has driven over 24 million views to her channel. And once you dive into her tutorial for the burger cake, prepare to fall down a sweet rabbit hole where emoji cookies, piñata cupcakes, donut shortbread cookies, and the classic, perfect soft chocolate chip cookie will have you planning a small dinner party just to try these out.
This summer, Wilson was named one of the most influential people of 2015 by the U.K.’s Evening Standard and recognized for her work using digital media to provide tutorials to a global audience. Boosting 50-60 rotating flavors in her SoHo-based store, Wilson estimates that over half of her customers are Cupcake Jemma fans—many of whom are young aspiring bakers themselves. While YouTube has countless cooking and baking shows, what makes Wilson stand out from the pack is her confidence in being herself and the personal relationship she has built with her fans. On her website, Wilson asks for video requests and keeps fans up-to-date with the bakery’s daily projects through a beautiful—and mouth-watering—Instagram library. Her story of taking her passion and turning it into a reality is a message that has resonated strongly with her young YouTube fans.
So, dear readers, should you ever find yourself in London, head Jemma’s way, thank her for making baking so entertaining, and then please send me a Batman cupcake!
Screengrab via CupcakeJemma/YouTube