Mariahs Cake Decorating is a small bakery specialising in decorated cakes in the rural Manawatu settlement of Rangiotu, and it holds a perfect five-star rating from its single Google review. In the cake-decorating trade, most pieces are made to order rather than sold off the shelf, so it pays to enquire well ahead — a wedding or birthday cake can take days of baking, icing and setting. A decorator will usually want a few basics from you: the date, how many mouths to feed, and a sense of the look you're after, from smooth fondant to swirled buttercream. Small rural bakers often work by arrangement rather than set shop hours, so a quick phone call first can save a wasted trip. Out on the Rangiotu backroads, Mariahs puts that kind of custom cake work within easy reach of the surrounding Manawatu countryside.