Start a Cake Business Today

Duff creates a cake for the Lebowski-fest celebrating The Big Lebowski and a Millennium Falcon Groom’s Cake for a Star Wars fan.

Check out this video from the Washington Post. Note the customer interviews — they keep coming back for different reasons - a special occasion, to reward themselves, to see new flavors…these are all strategies you should be incorporating in your cake or cupcake business marketing…

Baker Sylvia Weinstock demonstrates how to make the perfect chocolate cake.

The team makes a Kung Fu Panda cake and a replica of Chicago-style pizza. 21:00 minutes

There are some terrific niche cake businesses specializing in food allergies or special food requirements and I wanted to share this one with you especially because the owner of Bella’s has built a bakery room addition onto the back of her house for her business.

From her website:

Our oldest daughter, Arabella, is severely allergic

to peanuts and all tree nuts and it just so happens

that Bella’s mom is a pastry chef. Originally we

created this bakery for Bella and her friends

to enjoy, and we are confident that you and your

family will truly enjoyour fantastically delicious,

nut-free treats.

Thank you for visiting Bella’s Bakery!

[From Bella's Bakery, Short Hills, NJ - Homemade, Yummy, NUT-FREE Treats!]

In a recent edition of my cake business newsletter, I advised my readers to offer products that appeal to a broad scope of customers — to serve the needs at all ranges of the market. Custom grooms cakes are a perfect example of this.

If you’re a fan of Ace of Cakes, you’ve no doubt heard about the Millennium Falcon Cake. But did you know that Jennifer Luxmore of Sin Desserts in Providence, RI mastered this extremely challenging cake as well? I love it!

Creating unique grooms cakes has become a profitable trend for cake decorators. It involves the mastery of baking as well as a strong sculptural sensibility. One must know how to create complex designs, carve forms and understand the limits of their medium. Keep in mind that 3D cakes, while almost entirely edible, are not always 100% cake. Duff for example, uses a rice krispie-like  element in his cakes. Be creative and experiment!!

“The most awesomist grooms cake ever!” Millenium Falcon decorated with help from painter Jason Brockert :Jason Brockert and designer Phil Karl

Tags: Aceof Cakes, Sin Desserts, 3D cake, grooms cake, cake business ideas

If you are running a wedding cake business, you should think about what the customer is looking for and thinking about. This video represents the kind of information that brides are getting when searching for a cake decorator.

Wedding cake designer Shinmin Li started baking wedding cakes after training in fine art. It’s not that jarring of a change, if you think about it. Li owns I Dream of Cake in San Francisco, and spends her time obsessing over cake consistency, design details, and whether her clients will eat the finished product.

This is a very cute cake idea for the star wars fans!

Source: Han Solo in Cake-onite”

Tags: starwars cake

Here’s an article discussing the influence of  Ace of Cakes and the Food Network on the wedding cake industry. What I find most interesting is that while new trends are emerging, the bulk of work for these cake businesses is still a good tasting buttercream cake.

Wedding cakes used to be a simple, though beautiful, part of a reception — three tiers of cake stacked together, some butter cream frosting, a few decorative flowers, a miniature bride and groom, and dessert was set. Yet with the advent of the Food Network and a new era of culinary creativity, bakers are now seeing requests ranging beyond the traditional to the unusual when it comes to the cake.Television shows like “Ace of Cakes” and “Food Network Challenge” have introduced concepts that years ago might have been impossible, designs that seem to defy the laws of physics to present cakes that emphasize art.

Also, says James Nargi of Michael’s Bakery in East Hartford, brides-to-be get inspired and have ideas of their own from seeing cakes at other weddings. “People come in and seem a lot more educated about wedding cakes than before,” Nargi says. Nargi says the result is a move away from traditional cakes. Three tiers have been replaced by five or seven, often times not even stacked.

Journal Inquirer > Archives > Living > Tradition meets Food Network

Tags: cakebusiness