Birthday Cakes

I don't do whole lot of baking for restaurants anymore. If I have an order it generally will come from a private client. I like those so much better. It doesn't feel so pump em' out, assembly line style. Rather, I can take my time, add my 'creativity' (insert evil laugh) and actually make better money. As with anyone who creates for income whether it be art, jewelry, crafting, cooking, baking or whatever, one tends to wear their heart on their sleeve. I say that because it essentially represents an extension of who you are. When you see your creation making someone happy, it definitely makes YOU happy.
When I sold my baking at the Farmer's Markets I had a fairly good following and I appreciated the fact customers would seek me out when they shopped. I tried to make my food stand out in terms of using organic and local ingredients as much as possible and I believe my customers really liked that approach to fresh food. They never quibbled about the price either. Just goes to show there are certain markets for certain products. I was always a nervous wreck when it came to selling though. I was always scared I would get a complaint about quality or hear about some random piece of egg shell hanging on to my brownie for dear life.

This weekend I received an order from someone I consider to be my best customer (and at times, my only!) I will absolutely bend over backwards to make sure I work with her because she is such a faithful customer. She also teaches at my kid's school :) This week she asked if I had time to make a big birthday cake for her birthday (yesterday.) As she put it, "The only way I will get a good cake is if I order it myself." Let me also add that she is the best paying client I ever had. She truly appreciates baking and makes sure I know it.

Unfortunately I am a total loser when it comes to decorating. I can't do all the fondant, gum paste and piped flowers normal cake bakers can create. I'm totally the opposite. I hate to use the term "rustic" in reference to my baking but I'm not sure what else to call it :) If I mess up, I hide my errors with fresh flowers or what not so they are none the wiser (hopefully.) I have definitely come up with some doozies though and just a warning don't EVER let me bake your kid's birthday cake. Trust me, DIS.AS.TER.

I'm trying to remember what med I was on when I created this jobber yesterday morning but my client was so excited she squealed leaving me very relieved and happy that she was happy. Oh please let it taste good! Did I remember the sugar? What about enough eggs? Is it too dry? Yes, these questions will plague my dreams in the night.


CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE - No I won't give out the recipe because it is super easy and you will think how in the world could I get paid for something that easy? To my credit however, it is made from scratch :)

Now you can see what I mean by 'rustic'!