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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fondre



Finally confirmed to take part in the Family Bazaar for last Sunday. As I had booked a space for selling cakes, I prepared myself to spend a hectic Saturday for the whole preparation to happen. T had his day off so he was totally up for helping me out with one extra pair of hands and a smile. And I was so touched he actually cancelled his plan with his friends and chose to be with me instead. I was glad as well that we for the first time had an opportunity to run a three-hour business together and establish a connection away from our routine.



Told T that no matter how busy the whole thing was, we were supposed to take it easy and have a bit of fun. Yeah sure….. but in reality??? Well, it was actually a bit chaotic at the end of Saturday evening because we were both busy with our tasks and due to miscommunication, T unintentionally cut the baked vanilla sponge cake which was supposed to be for Fruity Carousel Cake into something else.



While I found out about it, I freaked out but quickly calmed myself down and dealt with it. Apparently my butter cream was not sufficient to decorate 40 cupcakes and 3 whole cakes. It was late and I didn’t really want to make more butter cream nor another vanilla sponge cake. Therefore I concluded maybe the incident was a blessing in disguise and I should be content with 40 cupcakes and 2 whole cakes, instead of 3.



So those were all we got: 40 chocolate cashew nut cupcakes frosted with vanilla and coffee butter cream, 1 coffee cake covered with coffee butter cream, garnished with almond and kiwi fruit, and 1 chocolate cake covered with vanilla butter cream, topped with longans and pomegranate.



On Sunday morning, we arrived at the empty car park at 11:15 in the morning, set up our counter by combining 2 book shelves, and discovered hat we had to share not-so-big shelter with the neighboring shop. Some of my cake stands were obviously off the sheltered area and directly exposed to the sun. Didn’t really have time to do anything about it since customers started to order cakes and we had to slice them, put them into boxes, and then place the boxes into plastic bags. And on top of that collected money and gave the change. Only about 20 minutes later we realized that our cakes started to melt. We had to do something about it right away!! It was a critical situation. SOS! SOS!!!



I quickly approached one of the organizers and begged to relocate our counter to the shady area right underneath the building. She granted it and without any delay we moved all the things as quickly as we could. And that really helped because the melting stopped and I was hysterical noticing that some parts of the cake decoration were deformed and there was nothing fast enough to salvage that. “Oh God, we have cakes to sell here, help us please!”



Suggested to T that I should just take some of the cakes to the food store nearby and ask for a favor to use their refrigerator briefly. I was desperate, alright? When I was about to do just that, customers started to come non-stop. T stressed that my cakes should stay put right where they were because apparently people were buying regardless of the deformed butter cream frosting. I almost couldn’t believe it.



We were both amazed by it and kept reminding the customers to refrigerate the cake as soon as they arrived home and all! And while we did all that, we never for once forgot to give away name cards! And some people stayed to chat about their prospective needs of cakes for events and birthdays. They were pleased to know that I basically stay in their neighborhood and the delivery would be so convenient. I was glad too.



It ended about 2:30 in the afternoon. We sold 75% of our cakes in less than 3 hours. My coffee kiwi cake sold the fastest. We were happy about it and with a smile in our faces, we concluded that we should be doing this again, maybe somewhere else pretty soon when next opportunity knocked.And next thing in our mind was reaching home as soon as possible and having a nap. It was a good day!

17 comments:

  1. I'm so glad it went wonderfully =D. The cakes are absolutely stunning, and the speedbump just made for a better story ;D.

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  2. I don't know how the melted cakes looked but the ones in the photos look gorgeous! No wonder they sold so quickly!

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  3. WOW! So happy that everything ended up so well!
    I can see why everyone wanted your cakes/cupcakes...They're gorgeous! Picture Perfect (melting or not)!

    Congrats on a successful venture! Cheers to the future:)

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  4. Your cakes are so beautiful. I am glad the day worked out for you.
    Mimi

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  5. Congratulations on your first market and selling your cakes!

    I know how warm weather can make selling desserts a tricky thing. This past July it was almost 100 degrees on the Farmer's Market day and I had fresh fruit tarts with pastry cream that couldn't sit out. I had to purchase a HUGE cooler and put them on ice--and luckily that worked well.

    Your desserts look beautiful and it sounds like everything went well, despite the weather. :)

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  6. Just gorgeous! I love both the small and large cakes and the design and coloring.

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  7. Lauren: Thanks, this event built confidence to take part in future venues!

    Junglefrog: Ha ha you don't want to see the melted ones, I almost bursted in tears....

    Sue: Thanks for the encouragement!

    Mimi: Thanks, I am so glad I have learnt something from the event!

    Jill: I have thought about getting a simple cooler made from stereoform filled with ice for next round. I have to beat Bangkok's weather.

    Heather: Thanks, hope to do more interesting ones next time :-)

    Regards
    Kris

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  8. Congrats, Kris..!!! wooow... read your story my heart melted too , GOSH.. I could imagine, you've been run and run to save the melted icing ^_^ Your cake so stunning, good luck and much better preparation for next event Kris..

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  9. Thanks, Fit! It is actually rainy season here in Bangkok, but still the weather is hot when there is no rain.... Well, it is a good experience anyway, I would have planned better next time :-)

    Regards
    Kris

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  10. Just discovered your site. I love your creations and I love the photos. I wish I could be in the neighborhood to get a cake a week from you!

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  11. Congrats on the success of your cake and cupcake selling experience! It was fun reading about your day, melty or not :) I would have bought every single one, so thank god I wasn't there..lol They not only sound delicious, but they all look stunning..works of art!

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  12. Your cakes and cupcakes look beauuuuutiful!

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  13. Oh wow, Kris. This is a great move. I didn't know you were planning to have your own business. Congrats!

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  14. What a delicious selection. I would have snaffled them all up if I could!

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  15. wow, you are so talented with the cakes! I'm glad the sale went superbly despite the melting buttercream incident. You should seriously consider setting up a real store!

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  16. This looks so good. I agree that it's easy to see why your customers were so eager to try these cakes.

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  17. This is something that I dream of doing, and the first picture is exactly how I imagine it!! Beautiful.

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