Love is in the air and for me this means, pretty things and sweet treats for me! HOWEVER... decorating is not my strong suit. I reached out to one of my favorite Instagram accounts for some hot tips for some Valentine's decorating fun!
Since Ocravvings is locating in London, I asked if Maria (owner) would share some cupcake tips and her story of becoming a business owner.
In Maria's words:
I always loved eating cake and always helped my mum in the kitchen. Oh my... she did make the best cakes in town!! HONESTLY!
On a beautiful sunny day (very rare in London) I decided to take my self out, to a local coffee and a doughnut. I remember having my breakfast, when I started noticing all the customers lining up to purchase their favorite desserts. I will never forget how happy and satisfied the consumer seemed leaving the shop and also taking beautiful photos of what they bought.
I finished my breakfast and decided to walk back home, imagining myself owning my own cake business plan. Little did I know, the taking myself out for breakfast would change my life.
I love every single moment I spend in the kitchen and more importantly, making clients happy. The feeling I get every time they look st their cake for the first time. Its just priceless. I also love creating new recipes and finding new ways to decorate my caked cupcakes! We believe that cakes makes life a little sweeter! We work hard to create delicious, fresh and beautiful cakes. We only use fresh ingredients that are supplied by local stores and farms. We don't use artificial ingredients or powders dan all cakes are made to order. If we believe that the cake is not good enough for us, then its not good enough for our customers.
The highs and lows...
With everything in life there are always ups and downs. I will never forget the time I had to make a big bake for a client and the power went out. I ended up throwing alt he batter away and starting all over again. There are also the moments when you are not happy with the infresients that your supplier had provided and you have to find a way to communicate with them and ask for a replacement without sounding unprofessional. At the end of the day, if the ingredients are not great, our cakes will not be either.
Some useful tips:
-keep all ingredients for your frosting in the fridge and take them out right before you start baking. This will give your frosting more volume and stability when you pipe your cupcakes. Finally, place your cupcakes int he fridge right away after you have decorated them.
-Try to use butter in your cupcakes, it will make them fluffier and a lot more yummy
-use ingredients you are familiar with and gradually add new ones or new brands, once you have gained confidence
-when experimenting with new ingredients or flavors, choose 1 or 2 new ones at a time until you are confident that they work well.
-not all flavors work for everyone. Everyone has different
-use tools that are made of stainless steel or silicone. Plastic or disposable tools will do the job but not as good as higher quality ones. One of my favorite brands are Lakeland and Wilton
-keep practicing, practice makes perfect!
FIND Ocravving at www.ocravvings.co.uk
Instagram @ocravvings
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