Post pop shop come back!

After the highs and lows of the pop up shop I've picked myself up, dusted myself down and put my pinny on!  It's been a busy old fortnight with nerves shredded I swear it's one of the scariest feeling sensing off your bakes without knowing what they're going to be like until somebody cuts into them and then you get feedback and it's like a huge weight lifts and you can breathe again!  The first to leave the 'nest' was this fun minion creation, I love it, I sometimes think the simpler the design the more effective they can be!

Next on the agenda was some pops for a christening for a little boy after discussing some designs we decided on a mixture of effects which I think work really well all together rather than them all being the same especially as they were going on display

This week was my sister in laws birthday and she asked me to do some cupcakes and pops to take into work given complete free reign on design, after much deliberation and many hours on Pinterest I decided to go design them around Cath Kidston colours and flowers.  The cupcakes themselves were a mixture of chocolate, chocolate with cherry filling, vanilla, vanilla with strawberry filling and lemon with lemon curd

Here's a close up of my favourites!!

I tried to get the pops to match but they're slightly more pastelly but very pretty!  These went down a storm apparently - even asked if I was married!!
I made extra main ones and took them round to my next door neighbours for a play date and got a lovely text saying how yummy they were!

 

Then finally we were invited round today for her birthday so it'd be rude not to take cake! I'd decided I wanted to do a surprise inside cake and initially was thinking rainbow cake but found a fab tutorial on you tube on leopard print and thought right I'm doing that, now it didn't all go to plan! I used my 5layer kit I picked up earlier this year I got a bit carried away with my piping into the tins and realised I should only have used half my black to start off so some didn't come out as actual leopard spots but the effect was there! Then piping I was searching for something else then came across this effect so gave it a go, not bad for a first attempt it was a little hot in the kitchen and the buttercream started melting a bit in the piping bag from the heat in my hand and the atmosphere so I had to work fast but I think it ended up quite pretty and would work really well as a smash cake too!

Pop up Pop Shop!

This week has been filled with ups and downs, monday was the first official day of trading for Smashing Cakes, Environmental Health visited the other week and my liability insurance kicked in on monday.  No turning back now!  Sunday my facebook page got to 100 fans I'm completely overwhelmed by the support which meant i had to make some cupcakes to give away to a winner picked at random, when I contacted the winner it was by chance her dads birthday the next day so I did two boxes of 6 so she could give a box to her dad.

It all nearly went to pot when I was baking the cakes just getting the mix into the cases, and little cakes came running into the kitchen saying that baby cakes was touching my cakes!  Confused as there were no cakes I ran into the dining room and there she was with one of the cake toppers I'd made the night before and left in the middle of the dining table to dry out, absolutely no idea how she got them as she's not that tall!!  The little tinker!!!!!!!

The evidence

Anyway I quickly had to make a new one then deliver the finished cakes.  Next on the agenda was cake pop mania ready for my pop up stall on the friday, it was all going so well apart from I got new sticks which were very hollow and for those of you who are a little squirmish best stop reading now!  There are a few gross things associated with cake pops one being if theres a hole even a pin prick in the coating it will ooze what I can only assume is fat!!  And since my new sticks were hollow it came down the sticks via capilliary reaction (get me showing off my scientific knowledge!)  Don't worry I haven't taken any photos!  So anyway I'd made some 100 cake pops 20 of which were for a baby shower and had to re stick them all!!! which led to a very late thursday night

Check out the time on the cooker thats am!!!

So after about 3 hours sleep I set off for my stall, I knew it wasn't going to be that busy as it was a pop up te room not like a craft event, and I thought it would break me in gently.  I got there at 10 and set up ready for them to open at 11

 I met some lovely other stall holders including Vicki from phoenix trading, Catherine from temple spa then the lovely Del from Del's home designs who was so lovely after being there quite a while and not selling a single one she told me not to get down and give up sometimes its just like that just keep going.  Anyway it got to 2pm and I'd sold 7!  I have to say after staying up all night I was a bit disheartened and as nobody had been in for a while we all decided to start packing up.  I was just taking a box out to the car when my amazing friend turned up full of smiles asking how it had gone I literally could have cried and I'm starting to well up now typing this.  She bought a box of 8 off me I was so touched and said she didn't have to but was so grateful, as it now meant at least I'd got my stall fee back, but not covered ingredients.

So I got in the car and sent Mr Cakes a text just on the off chance anybody wanted some at work, then he rang me, and again I nearly cried, finding out how many I had left and he'd see what he can do.  By the time I got to the supermarket and started sorting them all out into mixed boxes I got a text saying he thought he'd got rid of them all I was like how many is all of them as I wasn't sure how many I had! Anyway turned out I had 8 boxes of 8 and god love the staff at his work they bought the lot!  I can't begin to express the relief and the love I felt then I though we'd be eating cake pops till they came out of our ears!

This whole experience hasn't put me off doing stalls they're a great way to get your name known but maybe pick my venues a little more carefully.  And thanks to the amazing guys at his work I finished my first week in profit! Not enough to pay a wage but profit!!!

Here's some close up pics of some of the pops I took

Raspberry flavoured sugar coating

Frozen inspired

These are coated with popping candy and cruchy bronze!

This next week I've got a surprise birthday cake and some christening cake pops

Thanks for taking the time to read my waffle, If you like this please follow me on my facebook page Smashing Cakes

Pop Practice for Next Weeks Stall and Other Bakes.

Had lots of practice this last fortnight, I tried some new designs which I want to take to the pop up tea room at Hesketh Bank next friday.  I sent them to Mr Cakes work and they sold them in aid of Derian House.  The vintage inspired rosebud ones seem to be the most popular so will be taking plenty of those.  Just got to work out now how many of each to take now!!

This week has been a break from pops, with cupcakes being the order of the day some being for new grandpaernts to celebrate their new grandaughter!

And this weeks big bake was a 10inch vanilla cake for a diamond wedding anniversary, (I don't think I'll get to celebrate mine I'd be about 94 if we got there!!)  This is the first cake of this style with so much writing on I've done and I did have reservations but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, my only regret is I wish I'd used a larger cake drum as the design is a little lost once the cake went on!  I hope they like it, there is this worry that takes over with cakes until somebody has taken it away and cut into it to make sure its ok! 

It is 100% edible the flowers are made from sugarpaste and covered in edible glitter (here's a close up!) - I remade them as I first used some glitter which when I read it said could be used on cakes but for removable decorations! - whats the point in that if it goes on a cake I'm of the opinion that you should be able to eat it!!

Next week I was supposed to have a cake smash to make (which I'm very excited about as its a different design that I think you'll all love!)  but unfortunately the little boys come down with chicken pox so will be rearranged for a later date! Then theres the pop up tea room stall we'll see how my stress levels cope with that!! - I'll keep you posted!

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