By Karen Parr-Moody
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A lavish, multi-layered cake is crucial to a Quinceañera, the traditional ceremony held in the Latin American community to celebrate a girl’s 15th birthday. So when it came time for Osiris Perez to organize this rite-of-passage event for her eldest daughter, Altaira, she began planning months beforehand. But she soon discovered that elaborate Quinceañera cakes are incredibly pricey in Clarksville.
“It was unaffordable,” she says. “It was too, too, too expensive.”
So Perez decided to make the cake herself. But she didn’t want to cut corners; this was a Quinceañera cake, after all. She got inspired to go the extra distance by a cake featured in a Wilton cake decorating magazine.
For six months Perez studied the photo and practiced with cake after cake until she was prepared for the real confection. What resulted was a three-tiered cake with multiple smaller cakes surrounding its base, all topped with flowers. It was extravagant, even by Quinceañera standards.
That was six years ago. Today Perez operates Gallardo’s Bakery at 215 Dover Road, which she opened last March. She does so with the support of her husband, Martin Gallardo, who bakes the cakes, daughter Amber Gallardo, who helps decorate, and her other two daughters, Altaira Rau and Ariadna Gallardo.
Unlike bakeries that charge for “add ons” such as fondant figures or gumpaste flowers, Perez prices her cakes by the serving. Party cakes are $3 per serving and wedding cakes are $4 per serving. Quinceañeras, christenings and Sweet 16 cakes are priced as wedding cakes.
The bakery’s motto is “There is no cake that we can’t bake,” and from the looks of the cakes, this is true. One Mother’s Day cake featured a mom
lounging in a bathtub. Then there are various dragons and other creatures made of fondant. The bakery has even sent car cakes out the door.
The bakery also makes daily confections such as cupcakes, cookies and cheesecake, and there is even an ice cream bar. Customers can stop by for a pick-me-up while being wowed by the many examples of cakes that surround the shop.
In particular, Perez and her daughter Amber are true artists when it comes to painting fondant figures and modeling gumpaste flowers. On a recent day, Perez was readying a Peter Rabbit figure to top a baby shower cake. The charm was in the details. The rabbit had visible “fur” that Perez had 
carefully painted on in delicate strokes, along with tiny stitches in his blue coat. Surrounding Peter were fluffy green cabbages that looked like miniatures of the real thing. It is the kind of work that takes time and talent.
Like her mother, Amber is self-taught. She said she learned practically everything on YouTube. But watching YouTube does not a baker make. And one visit to Gallardo’s Bakery will reveal the artists within.
For more information on Gallardo’s Bakery call 931-919-5030 or check out the store’s Facebook page.
In addition to specialty cakes, Gallardo’s Bakery features a wide array of single-serving confections and ice cream./Karen Parr-Moody