I realize that my blogging has sort of been put on the back burner lately and mostly because I've been incredibly busy with my baking business here in Accra. When I got back from vacation in the US, I figured it would be a while before any new cake orders would come in but to my surprise, I quickly started to receive phone calls for orders. And what was wonderful is that some of these new orders were simply by word of mouth which of course is the best sort of advertising. And on top of these new orders, I've been working with a local Ghanaian woman here and her coffee shop to develop some sweets for the shop. Currently, they only serve sandwiches and salads with their coffee beverages and in my opinion could really use some sweets. I don't know about you, but salad is not what I crave with my espresso. This woman is also in the beginning stages of starting a bakery so she's asked me to help them come up with some ideas for their bakery menu. And in the meantime, I've been baking her biscotti every week to provide to customers with their coffee beverages.
So I figured I'd show off some of the newest creations and challenges given to me by the clientele here in Ghana. It seems that everyone lately wants a little something that I've never done before so in the last few weeks I've done everything from creating spider cupcakes for Halloween, gecko's for a furniture shop owner's cakes, and most recently a cake for the Marine Corps' 235th birthday. It's been a lot of fun to teach myself new tricks with fondant, gumpaste, and icing and learn a little about business along the way. I've had to figure out pricing, deal with 1 slightly unsatisfied customer (apparently bright orange icing can taste a little funny and can be a disaster for a kids' party), and even create invoices for one customer. And now, I've recently been propositioned to work with a Nigerian woman here and her Ghanaian husband as they are planning to open a Latin American restaurant in 2 weeks. She heard about my cakes and I'll be meeting with her today to see if I can be of help with their dessert menu.
Of course all this baking has led to countless hours cleaning and shopping for ingredients which I daydream about hiring someone else to do as it is backbreaking work on top of hours baking and decorating. And there has been no shortage of trials and tribulations like particularly when it comes to finding quality ingredients. For example, the chocolate factory here that produces chocolate from local Ghanaian cocoa beans has been under renovations since the summer which has made finding reasonably priced chocolate like a scavenger hunt. And just this week, I found a little hole in the wall grocery store that still has some chocolate from the factory in stock so I bought almost all of it!. Recently, I learned a bit about false advertising as I've been struggling to make buttercream successfully here despite having made it back home dozens of times with no problem. I finally decided to switch brands of butter and voila...buttercream was a success. Then, when I looked at the packaging that is clearly labeled "Butter," I come to find out that it has vegetable solids mixed in. No wonder it didn't work! But the butter saga doesn't end there. Just this week, I bought butter that clearly had gone rancid and ruined a whole batch of buttercream. That's what happens when there are regular power outages I suppose. I guess from now on I will have to open each package of butter before I buy it to make sure all is ok.
Now off to the next project...50 carrot cake cupcakes for a baby shower.
So I figured I'd show off some of the newest creations and challenges given to me by the clientele here in Ghana. It seems that everyone lately wants a little something that I've never done before so in the last few weeks I've done everything from creating spider cupcakes for Halloween, gecko's for a furniture shop owner's cakes, and most recently a cake for the Marine Corps' 235th birthday. It's been a lot of fun to teach myself new tricks with fondant, gumpaste, and icing and learn a little about business along the way. I've had to figure out pricing, deal with 1 slightly unsatisfied customer (apparently bright orange icing can taste a little funny and can be a disaster for a kids' party), and even create invoices for one customer. And now, I've recently been propositioned to work with a Nigerian woman here and her Ghanaian husband as they are planning to open a Latin American restaurant in 2 weeks. She heard about my cakes and I'll be meeting with her today to see if I can be of help with their dessert menu.
Of course all this baking has led to countless hours cleaning and shopping for ingredients which I daydream about hiring someone else to do as it is backbreaking work on top of hours baking and decorating. And there has been no shortage of trials and tribulations like particularly when it comes to finding quality ingredients. For example, the chocolate factory here that produces chocolate from local Ghanaian cocoa beans has been under renovations since the summer which has made finding reasonably priced chocolate like a scavenger hunt. And just this week, I found a little hole in the wall grocery store that still has some chocolate from the factory in stock so I bought almost all of it!. Recently, I learned a bit about false advertising as I've been struggling to make buttercream successfully here despite having made it back home dozens of times with no problem. I finally decided to switch brands of butter and voila...buttercream was a success. Then, when I looked at the packaging that is clearly labeled "Butter," I come to find out that it has vegetable solids mixed in. No wonder it didn't work! But the butter saga doesn't end there. Just this week, I bought butter that clearly had gone rancid and ruined a whole batch of buttercream. That's what happens when there are regular power outages I suppose. I guess from now on I will have to open each package of butter before I buy it to make sure all is ok.
Now off to the next project...50 carrot cake cupcakes for a baby shower.
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