Remembering Remo Borracchini, whose cakes graced celebrations around Seattle

For generations his cake creations were synonymous with birthdays, weddings and graduations. Remo Borracchini of Borracchini’s Bakery in Seattle’s Rainier Valley died this month.

Longtime residents will remember Borracchini’s cakes covered in his signature Bavarian cream frosting. But many also remember his kindness and generosity.

Daughter Nannette Heye remembers a bride calling the bakery in tears. Her reception with 200 guests was about to start, but no cake. The cake, from another bakery, didn’t show up.

“My dad had taken that call,” recalled Heye. “And he said you go and shake the hands of your guests. I will be there in 20 minutes.”

He took a cake that was prepared for a different wedding later that day and rushed it to that reception.

“He set it up and he gave her a hug," Heye said. "He didn’t charge her for it. He said, 'You’ve been through enough, just enjoy your day.'”

Then he rushed back to the bakery to make a new replacement cake.

Heye said her father was born into the profession. His parents baked bread out of a brick oven in the family home in South Seattle. At a young age he started baking with them. It was all he wanted to do.

“When he got to high school as a freshman, the truant officer, when he was absent from school knew exactly where to find him,” Heye said. “She’d come from Franklin [High School], she’d come down to the bakery and find him right there, baking bread with his folks.”

The bakery expanded from breads to other baked goods and eventually the signature cakes. The frosting recipe was co-developed with Heye's husband, Jim.

"There was nothing like it," Heye said. "It wasn't cloying sweet like buttercream. It was sweet enough without overwhelming the entire cake."

Pandemic restrictions took a toll on the business. It permanently closed in 2021, after nearly a century of baking bread and sweets.

Heye said in her father’s final days, he continued to talk about the people he met through the bakery, and the joy they brought him.

Remo Borracchini was 92 years old.