Malissa Rosa Sanfilippo was born in Southern California and was raised in the ethnic Point Loma Portuguese Community of San Diego. From the time she was a little girl, Malissa always excelled in art, winning awards both at school and in local competitions. In 2000, Malissa graduated from the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, an all-girls private preparatory high school where she was named Best Artist and Most Likely To Succeed.
In 2001, Malissa entered college in Los Angeles. She spent one year abroad studying art in Italy and graduated from the University of Southern California with a double major in Fine Art and Italian.
The next chapter in her life saw Malissa marrying the love of her life, a professional soccer player and fellow San Diegan, Frankie Sanfilippo. As they traveled the southern United States to the various cities for which he played, Malissa worked in many well-established bakeries, refining her talent and honing her skills. Upon Frankie’s retirement from professional soccer in 2017, they returned to San Diego, where she soon began making cakes for family and friends. In 2020, Malissa decided to combine her passion for art with her love of baking, and Violet Cake Co. was born. Throughout the pandemic and well into 2021, Violet Cake Co. has prospered and remains vital to the greater San Diego community that it serves. Violet Cake Co. was named one of 10 Most Outstanding Bakeries in San Diego by Weddingsrule.com. Malissa has studied under Ron-Ben Israel, Jacqueline Butler, and Tortik Annushka.
For Malissa, craftsmanship, customer service, and quality are the keys to a successful business. Her husband Frankie is now Assistant Coach of the University of San Diego’s Division I Soccer team, and Malissa continues to captivate people everywhere with her amazing cake artistry. Malissa and Frankie reside in San Diego with their sons Frankie Jr. and Dominic and their beloved goldendoodle, Pepper.
