How can you promise clients that your cake is great, every time?
That promise begins with a well-tested recipe.
I made a good cake. All my friends and family told me so. Church suppers, family get-togethers, showers, funerals, parties, you could your bet cold hard cash I would show up with a cake. Over and over, friends and family would say, “You should sell your cakes.”
So, I decided to do just that.
With teenage children and a husband who traveled for work, pastry school was not an option. To elevate my decorating skills, I took a few cake decorating classes and learned from the incredible Nicholas Lodge.
But I also needed a menu of no-fail recipes.
Without the benefit of the internet, I relied on cookbooks and my mom, who was a fabulous baker, to discover the perfect cake recipes for my business. The process took hundreds of hours of time and hundreds of dollars. Every cake flavor was put through a rigorous testing process guided by my straight forward criteria. Lots of cake went in to the trash because it didn’t meet my standards.
When building my book of recipes, I kept these seven items at the forefront.
Flavor. The cake had to be delicious. Not just good, but delicious and memorable in the best way. (Pink Champagne is the reigning champion in my profile)
Crumb. A tight crumb that was soft, but not too soft, moist but not wet.
Size matters. Most wedding cakes are a minimum of three tiers so it was imperative that the 4” round cake and the 16” round cake had the same texture and crumb. In other words, it had to bake perfectly in a small pan and a large pan.
Shelf life. Some cakes are good for a day or two. I needed a cake that would have a shelf life of five days and would also freeze well.
Consistency. The cake had to turn out the same every time I baked it. EVERY SINGLE TIME, WITHOUT FAIL.
Ingredients. The ingredients had to be of the highest quality possible, but also, not difficult to find. With the exception of Callebaut chocolate and Cocoa Barry cocoa powder (which I can now buy on Amazon!), I needed to be able to find ingredients in the grocery store in a pinch.
Uncomplicated. If I was going to bake in volume, I knew from my engineering husband, a system was important for consistent output. I didn’t have the luxury of time for overly complicated, rarefied recipes.
The Best Vanilla Cake from The Recipes That Built My Business
Focus on three flavors to start then add slowly. The truth is most clients still love vanilla and chocolate. If you are just starting out, commit to perfecting vanilla and chocolate and then build a profile one at a time. (or save yourself thousands of dollars and hours of time and purchase The Recipes That Built My Business).
It took me years to build a flavor profile. Decades into this career, I am confident in my recipe profile. Clients rave about the flavors and quality, and the profile allows me to have some fun with seasonal recipes and fillings.
Once you have dialed in your recipe profile, the next thing you can do to ensure your exceptional reputation stays intact is to say no.
In 2006, I was asked to make a wedding cake for Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix. They wanted a vegan cake, and of course, the request was short notice during the height of wedding season. My answer? No. Vegan cakes were not something I offered. There wasn’t enough time to test recipes, so I passed rather than risk my reputation. Another cake shop made the cake. Rumor has it the cake fell during the reception.
I know it is hard to say no.
That one word can save you the pain of a cake fail…if someone requests a cake flavor that you haven’t perfected and you have zero time to test the recipes three times, bless and release the client. Your reputation is critical to business success and one failure spreads like buttercream on a hot day in the sun.