If you happen to be traversing the small town of Barre on foot over the weekend and find yourself beckoned inside the pink-and-lime green shop of Cakes by Amanda, you might think you have entered another trendy cupcake joint. You will want to savor it while it lasts, knowing that the cupcake boom is due for crash — or so many forecasters predict.

But if owner Amanda Russell has anything to do with it, her shop — which is dressed up like a cupcake shop during its open hours, but has a few trade secrets behind closed doors — won't be going anywhere.

"I've put everything I had into this business, so I really have no choice but to succeed," she said. Part of that success, she knows, means making some confections to put out for weekend customers who stop by for a coffee and to take quick refuge in the warmth and welcome of the cozy shop's café tables.

Behind the scenes, she runs a bustling custom cake business, with each week's roster including five to 10 occasion cakes and two or three wedding cakes. While she tries not to say no to an order, there is also something in her small-business model that appeals to customers — particularly brides.

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"They like to know that they aren't one of 20 cakes going out that weekend," she explained. So far, Ms. Russell delivers each wedding cake in person, something she has found that brides are drawn to. With her own wedding slated for later this year, she has a soft spot for working with brides; she spends the off-season, December to April, attending bridal expos and holding tastings.

"They trust that I am not only going to do a great job, but that they don't have to worry about it," Ms. Russell said. "I am totally focused on them and I am going to make sure their cake arrives on time and exactly what they wanted."

A 2004 graduate of Quabbin Regional High School, Ms. Russell went to art school at Monserrat in Beverly on the North Shore. Toward the end of her junior year, though, her life changed instantly when her sister, Angella, was killed in a car accident. There was no question — she was coming home.

She freelanced for several years and did some bartending in addition to working at several Worcester-area bakeries. It was in those bakeries where she learned about the hard work and dedication that goes into the business, and she didn't see the point in working so hard for someone else's dream.

At 29, she opened her shop in a former nail salon tucked behind a small office building at the center of Barre in June 2014. Without using a single credit card or credit line, she instead tapped money she had saved while trying to decide where she wanted to go with her career.

"I have always known that I would not be happy working for someone else," she said. "There was also never a question that I would do something artistic."

From the cakes that rival anything you would see on the Food Network, to the chalkboard art in the sitting area, Ms. Russell's artistic abilities run the show. But it is ultimately her commitment to her clients that generates more word-of-mouth business.

There is irony, of course, in the fact that Ms. Russell is gluten intolerant and works in a veritable creative avalanche of gluten. It doesn't make her love her creations any less.

Her recipes are tried and true, handed down from her grandmother, from whom she inherited a love for baking. To this day, her grandmother won't accept a discount on the goodies sold at the shop, even though she was one of the dozens of friends and family members who helped remodel the shop to get it ready for launch last year.

"She watches me like a hawk at the register to make sure I don't even give her 10 cents off," Ms. Russell said and laughed.

For more information, find her on Facebook by searching "Cakes by Amanda." The shop at 16 Cat Alley is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with private appointments available throughout the week.

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