There’s an old saying, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” In San Angelo, that person could be Sasha Armenta, one of the busiest people in town. Sasha and her family have worked in the restaurant business since her father Felipe started Armenta’s Café 26 years ago. Sasha now runs Cakes in a Cup and Armenta’s, her brother Marco manages The Grill, and her brother Felipe Jr. has four restaurants in Fort Worth. 

Yes, it’s a family dynasty. 

Sasha and her Armenta’s crew make all their traditional Mexican food from scratch. “We get up every morning and make our rice and beans fresh. We make our salsa ourselves, grating dried red chili peppers for flavor,” she said. On top of that, every morning she bakes cakes and cupcakes for Cakes in a Cup.

Sasha was just a child when she and her brother started learning at her mother’s side.  “My mother enjoyed baking and Felipe Jr. and I would read books about it and watch her, and finally we were baking every day,” she said. In 2010, she bought San Angelo’s Cakes in a Cup bakery and moved it to the east of Armenta’s. The basic idea for the bakery was to make little cups full of cake, decorated and tied with a bow. Sasha has expanded beyond that. 

“It’s definitely more than just cakes in a cup now,” she said.  “We have vegan cakes, gluten-free cookies, custom cakes. That’s what removes us from others. We keep our customers happy.” Karen McCuistion works in the bakery and handles the details, but Sasha still bakes. On a regular day Sasha and Karen make cupcakes, cookies, cutout shortbread cookies, three tres leches cakes, two carrot cakes and two red velvet cakes. All the desserts are sold in the bakery and at the restaurant.

"MY MOTHER ENJOYED BAKING AND FELIPE JR. AND I WOULD READ BOOKS ABOUT IT AND WATCH HER, AND FINALLY WE WERE BAKING EVERY DAY" - Sasha Armenta

“The tres leches is made in a 9 by 13 pan and we make it with pancake flour so it is rich and light. It’s called tres leches, which means three milks, but we make it with four milks,” she explained. “Flan isn’t on the menu, but people ask for it. It’s so hard to make; it takes at least an hour and a half, and we want to be sure it’s just right. People want it for holidays, and we make sure it’s there.” The cakes in a cup are especially popular at Valentine’s Day, and Sasha and Karen make plenty so people can grab them and go. Key lime pie in a graham cracker crust is another favorite. “We make four pies at once. They take 38 limes for the four,” Sasha said.

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“The tres leches is made in a 9 by 13 pan and we make it with pancake flour so it is rich and light. It’s called tres leches, which means three milks, but we make it with four milks,” she explained. “Flan isn’t on the menu, but people ask for it. It’s so hard to make; it takes at least an hour and a half, and we want to be sure it’s just right. People want it for holidays, and we make sure it’s there.” The cakes in a cup are especially popular at Valentine’s Day, and Sasha and Karen make plenty so people can grab them and go. Key lime pie in a graham cracker crust is another favorite. “We make four pies at once. They take 38 limes for the four,” Sasha said.

How does a busy person stay on top of everything? Sasha said she organizes and cleans everything. “I like things a certain way,” Sasha said. “I do them in order. My house looks like nobody lives there; I organize how I want. I make sure everything is clean. I organize after my son goes to sleep. I want everything washed right after it’s used. If you don’t wash right way, you waste time by washing more.”   

And that, friends, is how a busy person like Sasha can accomplish more than the rest of us mortals. 

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