Officially a Baker

I sold my first dozen cupcakes! The past several years, I've toyed with the idea of eventually retiring from being a cubicloid and opening my own bakery. These last 6 months, though, have shown me that this might be a tangible dream (and I might be able to reach it before retirement).

I've started to really enjoy baking - not just the reward, but the actual work to practice and perfect a recipe. I play with measurements and techniques, take notes and and add little touches until something is perfect. Then I start again and try to reach a new level of perfection. I'm the team baker at work, no matter where I work. I know loving to bake isn't the same as being able to be a professional at it, but I've gotten to the point where coworkers (my most frequent guinea pigs) are now talking about having me bake their party cupcakes and even a groom's cake.

We'll see if any of those come to fruition, but at least one glimmer of the future became a reality. Today, I sold my first baked goods! A coworker placed an order for a dozen of my Chocolate Stout cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday and I delivered them today, tied with a sheer green bow.

Viola!

I would have loved to use a cuter container, but at least the foil had a nice paisley design on it. Next time, i want to buy pastry boxes or at least the disposable containers with lids.

I placed a "Wish!" sticker on the paper underneath one of the cupcakes and told my buyer that whoever picks that cupcakes gets to make a wish. I thought it was a cute touch and she really liked it! She actually got visibly upset when she gave a couple of the extra cupcakes away and forgot to check that they weren't the Wish Cupcake. I remembered which one it was, though, so I assured her it was still in the tin. One of my other coworkers thought I had inexplicably baked the sticker in the cupcake and yelled, "I hope that was a food-safe sticker!"

No, dear. I don't bake things into cupcakes unless it is another edible thing. Give me a LITTLE credit!

Anyway, I am really proud of myself and hope this baking thing happens. I mean, there is no reason for it not to. I don't have plans for a storefront or employees or anything - I just want to bake out of my home for now under cottage laws. I'll deliver locally, mostly to friends. If I get lucky and this get a popular following, then I can think about a small location down the line. For now, I'm happy. I already reserved the URL.

Happy baking!