Many people start working for themselves, usually purposefully, but I was an exception. I started making money by making cakes by accident.

Subsequently, this turned into a small home business, which brought me up to 30 thousand rubles a month.

My first experience was with my son's birthday. Two years is not a big and significant date, but we invited a lot of guests and it was no longer affordable to buy a cake that would be decorated with figurines of different heroes. That is why I decided to bake it myself.

After all the guests saw and tasted the cake, they immediately forgot about their son's birthday. For the rest of the evening, they only did what they praised me, and two days later, a friend suggested that I make about the same cake.

Photo, she showed her work colleague, praised my creation and thus I received the first order.

Initially, I refused, because I was somehow uncomfortable. It's one thing - when you do it for yourself at your own peril and risk, it's another thing - when for someone else, especially when you take money for it. I would never have come to this on my own.

A friend persuaded me, convinced me, and even set the price herself, having studied market demand and supply.

For my son, I prepared a cake with the characters of the cartoon "Cars", so I did not experience any difficulties, but, in my opinion, I completed the first order terribly.

But, everything worked out. The cake was successfully sold. Later, the customer admitted: the look of the LoL dolls left much to be desired (in which I completely agree with her), but the taste of the cake is amazing.

About the technology of making cakes

The cake making process is incredibly simple. It only seems to be: in order to bake such a culinary miracle, you need to be a born confectioner, have talent, patience and a lot of experience.

And before I started preparing it, I also thought so and, until the last, I doubted that I would succeed. But in fact, all you need is desire and a bit of patience.

I have no culinary education, but it took me only three hours to bake a large cake (1500 grams). Half of that time was spent decorating and making figurines.

The cake can be divided into three components:

• THE FOUNDATION . As a basis, cakes, a regular biscuit and the famous American chocolate brownie biscuit are used. 3-4 cakes are enough, depending on their thickness. Various creams, boiled or plain condensed milk are used as fillings.
• FILLING . Usually cream or chocolate is used. If it is necessary to change the fill color, make it blue, green, then a dye is added.
• FIGURINES . In my opinion, this is the most difficult process, as I have never had the pleasure of participating in art circles. The figurines are made from ordinary confectionery mastic. It's best to buy it. At least I couldn't do it myself. By its consistency, confectionery mastic resembles plasticine.

It is in this order that the cake is prepared. In order to prepare it for the evening feast, you need to start in the morning.

The shelf life of this cake is 4 days. To make the figures stand on the cakes, they are attached to toothpicks or skewers. Also, with their help, arms, legs, head and other elements are fastened.

Before giving the cake, you should warn the buyer about this so that no one gets hurt during consumption.

Demand

The image and figurines are the most important requirement of the customers. Parents give preference to the taste of the child. In fashion, popular modern toys, cartoons and animated series:

• Wheelbarrows;
• Cold heart;
• MostrHigh;
• pupae LOL;
• Ralph.

Where to buy ingredients

All products for making cakes can be bought in regular supermarkets. For cooking, eggs, flour, sugar, salt, soda, honey are needed.

Things are more complicated with confectionery mastic. This is what figurines are made of. I bought it in online confectionery stores.

Sometimes in the wholesale market. You can also buy white or dark chocolate there.

Costs associated with the preparation of one cake

All ingredients are quite cheap, with the exception of confectionery mastic. When I made the cake for the first time, I bought quite a bit, but for serious production, it is best to buy in large quantities.

It is sold in confectionery online stores and wholesale markets, in small kilogram buckets. Each bucket contains mastic of a certain color. It is very rare to find buckets with multiple colors.

The cost of one kilogram of confectionery mastic is 200 rubles, plus or minus 20 rubles.

Confectionery chocolate is not cheap. The average cost of one kilogram is 450 rubles. In order to save money, it is best to take tiles weighing 2-3 kilograms.

To bake one cake weighing 1400 - 1700 grams, you will need:

• 6-7 large eggs - 40 rubles;
• butter - 100-150 grams - 60 rubles;
• 5 glasses of flour - 15 rubles;
• 1 glass of kefir or sour milk - 20 rubles;
• boiled or plain condensed milk - 60 rubles;
• 400 grams of sour cream - 40 rubles;
• 400 grams of chocolate - 120 rubles;
• confectionery mastic - 100 rubles;
• a glass of sugar - 10 rubles;
• salt, soda, a couple of pinches of vanillin - 10 rubles.

Outcome: 475 rubles are spent on the production of one cake.

Sometimes, the costs associated with the production of one cake can be more. It is also worth adding the cost of a cardboard box - 15 rubles.

Income from the sale of one cake

I have heard that in pastry shops where cakes of this kind are made, the price is set for one hundred grams or kilograms. To this price is added the cost for each figurine.

Thus, the cake can pull out 3,000 rubles or more.

I set the price (or rather, my friend set the price at the first order, and I just continued to work on it) - 1500 rubles per cake and chose a weight category of 1500 grams.

It takes the same amount of time to make, but the benefit is less.

I spent 400 - 700 rubles on making one cake. Benefit - 800 - 1100 rubles.

Search for customers (clients)

The first three months of orders were few. If my memory serves me 3-5 per month. They were friends of friends, relatives. Word of mouth worked, but at some point I realized that with this approach you won’t earn much.

All three months I was at a crossroads: either go to work after sending the child to a private kindergarten, or wait until they provide a place in a state kindergarten and bake cakes at that time.

I don’t remember who told me to create a group on the VKontakte social network. I was advised to use all possible social networks, but I managed with only one and was very successful.
Creating a Vkontakte group, posting examples of your cakes there and indicating prices is not enough.

You need to attract subscribers. I started with all my friends. She asked me to repost on my pages. But even this was not enough. Then I started to climb in other subgroups of our city and spread information there.

Basically, these were communities: “mommies on maternity leave”, “my baby”, “mommies”. In general, wherever there is at least some hint of children. Invited to join the group and directly, women who have children.

Women who had children willingly joined the group. Each cake that I made and laid out in the group was vigorously discussed and praised.
The thing went.

I did not even expect that it would give a great result. Orders began to arrive almost every day. Largely due to the large population of our city.

I asked everyone who bought a cake from me to post a photo on a social network and sign under the photo: “Cakes to order: 8 – –– » . I didn’t keep track of who made such a record and who didn’t, but I guess that not everyone is ready to post photos from the holiday and sign it with such text.

Soon, I was approached to make wedding cakes. Baking a masterpiece weighing 4-5 kilograms is not an easy, but profitable business.

Income that I managed to get

After more orders, I was able to earn per month 22000 - 28000 rubles.

The production record for one month was: 29 cakes.

The most difficult day was when I had to make three cakes at once. On this day, I had to send the child to his grandmother. Like it or not, having a child complicates working from home.

Work process from order to receipt of money

Usually everything happens quite simply. The customer calls (most often the customer), and makes an order for a certain date.

Choosing a cake consists of three parts:

• Base (brownie, regular biscuit or cakes).
• Filling (condensed milk, chocolate or protein cream)
• A cartoon whose characters will sit on a cake.

On the day of readiness, they come for the cake and, taking it, make payment. In the group, I indicated that it is necessary to make an order a few days before the birthday, and pick it up after lunch. But despite this, several orders were received the day before.

Difficulties and non-standard situations that I had to face

By and large, I cannot say that there were many difficulties in the process of work, but I had to face some difficulties:

• Once I didn't complete an order because I accidentally dropped my creation off the table. Of course, the customer was dissatisfied and this case even knocked me down for a few days. I didn't take orders for two days. I just didn't pick up calls from unknown numbers.
• An unusual situation occurred when a man came for the cake and asked to see the sanitary book. Fortunately, I had it, although the last entries in it were made before maternity leave. The man leafed through it with the air of a connoisseur and, having taken his order, paid.
• Several times customers asked to bring a cake, although I always said to everyone: no delivery. I had to carry. There was nowhere to put the cake, but I didn’t want to lose money.

Making cakes at home, the work is not difficult, but you always have to get up early. After the cake is baked, it needs time to infuse.

So it will taste better. As beautiful as it is, taste matters.

Conclusion

Making cakes at home is a great income for those who are on maternity leave or simply cannot find a job.

Many people say that working from home is relaxing, but it depends on how you feel about it.

Even my capricious child did not stop me. Managed to organize myself.

Making cakes at home is not only a good income - it is interesting and very entertaining. I still do this, but I take orders exclusively on weekends, since I went to my main job, after their maternity leave, I had to think about how to reduce the number of orders.

Over the past few years, the popularity of baking at home has reached dizzying heights. It should also be taken into account that, if desired, the ability to bake cakes can bring financial benefits. In addition to home baking for fun, there are a growing number of businesses including mini-bakeries, mini patisserie shops, home makers and cake decorators. Delicious creativity is no longer considered as a women's household "duty", many men willingly try themselves in this activity. Some entrepreneurs started out as home cooks — making cupcakes, cookies, cakes and selling them to friends — and eventually opened bakeries and even franchises.

What family holiday, whether it's a child's birthday or an anniversary, is complete without a cake? A delicious dessert gives pleasure not only to the creator, it symbolizes love and affection for relatives and friends.

1. Baking is believed to have a therapeutic effect, helping to ease depression and anxiety. One in four people in today's world has mental health problems at some point and the ability to bake cakes is therefore beneficial therapy for the whole family. Any activity that involves simple and repetitive activities has a calming effect.
2. Baking stimulates the senses, which in turn increases the sensitivity of endorphins.
3. Psychologists have discovered a close relationship between creative self-expression and general well-being - experiment with recipes, ensure that your creation is original, creative, unlike any other similar one.

If we talk about professional baking, how to learn how to bake cakes to order, the conditions are completely different. A professional baker analyzes recipes as formulas and methods. Making cakes to order is chemistry, mathematics and the correct distribution of time.

Importance of baking at home

From baking lessons you will learn what a healthy diet is. There is absolute certainty that homemade cakes are always fresh and do not contain preservatives, as is often the case with commercial products.

Once a baker or cake maker has learned the techniques of preparation, the next step in mastering the craft is to understand the function of each ingredient in the recipe. Various chemical reactions take place during baking. For example, different levels of stickiness in flour can change the texture of the dough; eggs added to the dough soften its structure (and bind the components); oil with a high fat content contributes to better whipping of the cream.

This kind of information is incredibly useful because it lays down the knowledge that is essential for a professional baker. They help to correct the recipe, eliminate potential defects, manipulate various equipment, tools or ingredients.

Before you start cooking, carefully read the selected recipe. Make sure all ingredients are in sufficient quantity. In addition to the ingredients, look out for any tools you need: measuring cups and spoons, bowls, pans and molds, mixers.

Returning to the fact that baking is a kind of science. A well-thought-out recipe includes the ingredients in the prescribed amounts, the ones that produce the expected reactions. Thanks to baking powder or baking soda, pastries rise; eggs, flax flour, applesauce (in a certain amount) contribute to the binding of all components.

Quick results with simple recipes

The irony is that while cake is one of life's simple pleasures, it's often not so easy to bake. Luckily, there are plenty of recipes with easy preparation and simple steps to help you achieve perfect baking.

I want to learn how to bake cakes, where do I start? A decadent chocolate cake from celebrity British chef Marcus Waring. The cake is flour-free, so it retains a buttery and moist texture after cooking.

Step by step recipe

Ingredients

for the test:

• 300 g dark chocolate
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 5 medium eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 g powdered sugar
• oil for lubrication

to cover:

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 ml heavy cream

Cooking:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Lubricate the inside of the mold with a little oil. Lay a cut out circle of greaseproof paper on the bottom.
3. Break the chocolate into pieces and place it with the butter in a warm bowl. Fill a small saucepan with water (3 cm high), bring it to a boil. We reduce the fire. We put a bowl on the pan (the bottom should not touch the water). Stir gently to melt the ingredients evenly. Remove the chocolate-butter mixture from the water bath, stir and set aside.
4. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, adding the vanilla extract.
5. Add the sugar and continue beating at high speed until the mixture becomes a thick, mousse-like consistency with plenty of air, and a pale color - about 5 times the volume of the original mixture.
6. The chocolate-butter mixture is combined with mousse, without whipping, but gently and thoroughly mixing with a metal spoon or spatula.
7. Pour the prepared dough into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes until it is firm and the center is slightly moist under the crust.
8. Take out of the oven and put the mold on the wire rack. We remove the cooled cake from the mold by turning it upside down on a flat plate or cake stand, remove the greaseproof paper.
9. To cover, in a large heatproof bowl, pour the cream and add the chocolate pieces. Melt in a water bath. Once the mixture is half melted, remove from heat and beat until smooth.
10. Pour the chocolate-cream mixture evenly over the cake.

How to learn how to make cakes? Simple recipes for popular cakes:

Selection of equipment and tools

The equipment needed for a home bakery depends on the type of product being baked and the volume of sales.

In order to make large batches, the home baker may need a commercial mixer (for mixing dough, making icing for cakes). Commercial mixers work in the same way as kitchen mixers, but vary in size, from countertop models to floor standing models capable of mixing up to 200 kilograms or more of dough. Prices for commercial mixers vary by brand.

Mobile cooling racks can be stored anywhere in the kitchen and used for temporary storage of baked goods. Commercial racks tend to be expensive. But at first, you can buy a small wire rack with rollers in a home improvement store until you can buy a commercial model.

The ingredients must be stored properly. A home refrigerator is not able to accommodate family products and “business” components, and according to the norms of Rospotrebnadzor, the purchase of a separate refrigerator is required. This may be a standard refrigerator, but the internal temperature will need to be monitored with additional thermometers to meet refrigeration recommendations.

A home stove oven will not be able to handle the volume of production. Depending on budgetary possibilities, you can install an additional stove, but the best choice is a convection oven with a countertop. Convection ovens use fans to circulate hot air inside the oven, resulting in even baking. In addition, new generation convection ovens use significantly less energy than commercial ovens.

Tools:

• detachable baking molds, baking sheets;
• measuring utensils: measuring spoons, cups, jugs;
• mixing bowls: made of plastic, metal or glass depending on preference, but it is worth having heat-resistant ones, for example, for melting chocolate in a water bath. It's helpful to have at least two large bowls, given that most recipes call for more than one bowl;
• strainers for sifting flour, sugar;
• palette knife blades;
• confectionery spatulas, scrapers;
• confectionery brushes;
• rolling pins;
• beaters; hand mixer;
• wooden spoons;
• metal skewers for checking the readiness of the baked product;
• pastry bags with nozzles;
• cake decorating kits;
• rotating cake stand;
• parchment paper;
• marzipan coasters;
• tweezers with a long handle;
• scales;
• oven thermometers.

How to choose products?

The baker needs a large list of ingredients that can be stored in the refrigerator, freezer, cupboard. But if you're a beginner pastry chef and you're just setting up your workspace, it can be reduced to just a few essentials.

The building blocks of your bakery pantry:

1. All-purpose flour (from a mixture of durum wheat with a high gluten content and soft wheat with a low gluten content). As needed, we add various types of flour to the "pantry", which we store in airtight and moisture-proof containers on a cool dark shelf or in the refrigerator: whole grain, baking, confectionery, cake flour, corn, cornstarch, rice, oatmeal, gluten-free flour and others .
2. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is an alkaline chemical starter that works when combined with acid and heat. Acidic ingredients that activate baking soda are fermented milk products, molasses, brown sugar, cocoa powder, citrus juice, and vinegar. Baking soda is mixed with tartrate and cornstarch to make baking powder. Yeast is a biological starter that works much slower than chemical starters because it takes time for the yeast cells to naturally metabolize and produce carbon dioxide. Active dry yeast or instant yeast can be stored under appropriate conditions for several months.
3. Granulated sugar is what is always meant in recipes when sugar is listed as an ingredient. Other types of sugar needed by the baker: confectionery (or icing sugar) used for icing and sprinkling, brown (refined with molasses), possibly granulated (for decoration). Brown sugar, if stored improperly, can clump into crystallized lumps (due to molasses). Other sugars and sweeteners - date, coconut, maple sugar, honey, molasses, agave syrup, maple syrup, cane syrup.
4. Salt (granulated table salt, sea salt, kosher).
5. Milk products. Unsalted butter is the default choice for baking. As an alternative - margarine for baking. Powdered buttermilk, plant-based milk (from soy, coconut, nuts, almonds). Cream cheese and sour cream.
6. base fats. Neutral-flavored vegetable oil and confectionery fat (confectionery fat has a higher melting point than butter, so baked goods hold their shape better).
7. Large eggs.
8. Extracts and flavors (vanilla, almond, lemon, mint, rum, brandy…); add them to the collection gradually, starting with vanilla.
9. Spices (ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg…).

A professional baker's pantry should contain:

• chocolate of various types, including chocolate chips, unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch cocoa powder for frosting;
• dried fruits (raisins, cranberries);
• oat flakes;
• nuts;
• jams, jellies, fruit preserves;
• peanut or almond butter;
• food colorings;
• crystallized ginger;
• matcha (powdered green tea);
• chia seeds;
• coconut (shredded or in flakes).

Buy ingredients in bulk at farmers markets or wholesale stores.

How to learn how to make beautiful cakes

Decorating (or designing) a cake is a type of culinary art that uses sugar paste, icing, and other edible decorative elements to make the product visually appealing and interesting. In addition, as an alternative, the cakes or pastries themselves are modeled and cut in such a way that they resemble sculpted figures, places, objects.

How to learn to decorate cakes? Decorating a cake is a painstaking and long process that requires patience, creativity and ingenuity. There are several forms of cake decorating that use different techniques to create sugar "patterns". The most famous are the Wilton method and the Lambert method.

The Lambert Method is one of the most ingenious techniques, named after Joseph Lambert, who popularized the refined style in his book The Lambert Method in 1934.

Types of jewelry

One of the most famous and used ingredients is sugar paste or fudge. It is prepared from sugar, gelatin, vegetable fat or confectionery fat, glycerin. By consistency, it can be liquid, viscous, solid. With the help of food coloring, fondant is given any color. A range of flavors (natural and artificial) are also available and are mixed with fudge.

Liquid fondant is used both for filling and coating cakes, baked goods, sweets or candies. In its simplest form, it is sugar and water stabilized with gelatin and glycerin. The prepared fondant is slightly cooled and whipped until a creamy consistency is formed.

Pettinice is a sugar paste or fondant commonly used to cover wedding cakes. Pettinice includes gelatin (or agar), a food grade glycerin that helps create a pasty consistency. Commercial mastic consists of sugar and hydrogenated oil, although other formulations are available (such as sugar, cellulose gum, and water).

Marshmallow fudge, popular with home bakers, is made from melted marshmallows, water, sugar, and vegetable oil.

Sculpting fondant is similar to fondant but has a harder consistency, making it an excellent sculpting material.

Sugar dough is sometimes referred to as sugar paste, although it should not be confused with fudge. It is a fragile material that dries quickly and can be molded into large cake decorations. Sugar dough consists mainly of egg white, powdered sugar and cooking oil. Tylose can be added to make it more malleable for detailed work.

The French call fondant, "fondant", - sugar icing, based on sugar, water, sometimes glucose, which is applied hot on pastries, as for "napoleon" (mille-feuille), while fondant icing "pâte â sucre" - "sugar dough" (sugar paste).

Royal icing is made from fresh egg whites (or meringue powder is used), beaten until firm and adding enough powdered sugar. Royal icing is especially relevant for decorating wedding cakes when you want to create exquisite wicker patterns.

Marzipan and parzipan (persipan) - a confectionery mixture of sugar or honey, almond flour (ground almonds), sometimes with the addition of almond oil or extract. In the case of parzipan, ground peach/apricot kernels are used instead of almonds.

Modeling chocolate is a chocolate paste made from white, milk or dark chocolate. The chocolate is melted and treated with corn syrup or glucose. This material is extremely popular with high-end professional confectioners.

Assembly order

Popular types and modern cakes

Professional courses

Books

How to learn to bake from scratch

How to learn to bake cakes at home? Cakes, soft cupcakes, cookies, fudge... there is no shortage of recipes that can be found on the Internet, as well as in television shows, baking books. "Grandmother's advice" also does not lose relevance. Learning how to bake cakes is primarily a matter of practice and perseverance. First, of course, you need to learn the basics before moving on to experiments.

Stages of baking sponge cake with cream and berries

Biscuit cake - the basis for the cake. Probably every housewife knows how to cook and bake a classic biscuit made from eggs, sugar and flour. For those who are just learning the basics of baking art, we remind you that it is enough to follow a few simple tips to make the cake rise and turn out to be as airy as a feather.

Ingredients and Tools

As a rule, a classic biscuit does not contain fat, but its taste is enhanced by butter cream, impregnation, icing, various fillings, berries and fruits. Some recipes contain a small amount of butter (chiffon biscuit, genoise or genoese biscuit), but not so much that the dough does not rise.

Depending on the size of the mold and the pan in which we will bake the biscuit, it uses the following ratios:

• 12 cm wide: 2 eggs, 60 g all-purpose flour, 60 g sugar;
• 15 cm: 3 eggs, 90 g flour, 90 g sugar;
• 18/20 cm: 4 eggs, 120 g flour, 120 g sugar;
• 23 cm: 5-6 eggs, 150 g flour, 150 g sugar;
• 27 cm: 7 eggs, 210 g flour, 210 g sugar;
• 28 cm: 8 eggs, 240 g flour, 240 g sugar;
• 30 cm: 9 eggs, 270 g flour, 270 g sugar;
• 32 cm: 10 eggs, 300 g flour, 300 g sugar.

Use only large eggs (each egg weighing approximately 70 grams). Eggs should be at room temperature; if they are cold, then you need to immerse them for a few minutes in a bowl of warm water.

Separate the whites from the yolks. Then beat the whites in a thick foam, 2-4 minutes. Without ceasing to beat, gradually add sugar and introduce the yolks, one by one. It is very important that the mixer (or whisk) rotates in one direction when whipping, otherwise the mass may settle. Beat eggs and sugar for at least 15-20 minutes on high/medium speed. The finished mixture should be pale yellow in color. Gradually add the sifted flour, slowly slowing down the speed to a minimum.

To determine the readiness of the dough, you need to lift the whisk and draw a figure eight with the flowing dough. We count to 10, if the eight remains on top of the dough, then the consistency is correct. If the figure eight sinks after 10 seconds, then you need to whip for some more time.

How to bake a biscuit

We line the bottom of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper, aligning it on the sides so that it creates a collar that is 3-5 cm above the form. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with oil to prevent parchment paper from sticking.

Biscuits can also be baked in ungreased pans. It is believed that this way the dough rises better; the batter sticks and "climbs" up the sides of the pan.

Biscuit is placed in a preheated oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Place the mold in the center of the oven.

Do not open the oven door while the biscuit is baking, for at least 30 minutes, otherwise the dough will settle. We bake for about 35-40 minutes.

After the biscuit is baked, turn off the oven and leave it inside, opening the door with a wooden spoon, for 5-10 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool for another 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and turn upside down on a wire rack.

Wrap the completely cooled biscuit in cling film and leave in the refrigerator overnight.

Cooking cream and berries

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 220 g cream cheese (curd cheese)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 350 g strawberries (blackberries, raspberries), divided into three cups
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For impregnation (lemon syrup)

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with one serving of berries in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for about 7 minutes, until the berries can be mashed with a fork. We filter through a sieve, pushing the berry with a spatula, until only seeds remain in the sieve. Let the berry puree cool to room temperature.

Mix butter, powdered sugar and salt; beat with a mixer to an airy consistency, increasing the speed.

Add a piece of cream cheese, mix thoroughly and continue to beat until a fluffy mass forms. Add the berry puree by a tablespoon, continuing to beat until smooth.

Cut the second portion of the berry.

Prepare lemon syrup by mixing granulated sugar and lemon juice in warm water.

Assembling and decorating the cake

Place the first layer of cake on the turntable with the sliced ​​side up. Soak with 1/4 of the lemon syrup. Cover with cream and sprinkle with 1/3 of the chopped berries.

We do the same actions with the remaining layers. Lay the last layer cut side down, cover the top and sides with cream.

Decorate the cake with roses using a pastry bag with a tip to create a rose. Decorate with the remaining portion of the berries, sprinkle with crystallized sugar.

The cream whips more effectively when cold. Shake it in a stainless steel bowl set in a large bowl filled with ice and a little water.

The importance of salt cannot be overestimated. It can be added to almost any dessert, even if it is not indicated in the recipe. Salt enhances the taste - chocolate will be even more chocolatey, vanilla - more vanilla, strawberries - more strawberry. For baked goods, kosher or fine sea salt is used.

If you need buttermilk and don’t have it on hand, you can add a drop of lemon juice or vinegar to whole milk and leave for ten minutes. Almost any dairy product can be replaced with another (dairy) product. Just remember, the higher the fat content in a dairy product, the more tender the finished product.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment so there is no need to add extra flour - this makes the dough more tender.

Flavorings (salt, vanilla, citrus peel, other extracts) are added to the butter at the beginning of the dough preparation process. Fat absorbs flavors better than other ingredients.

Professional advice from David Lebowitz

Features of a custom cake business

The most important step before opening a mini-confectionery is to conduct research regarding the legal aspects of such a business.

Benefits of working from home

You do what you like, unless, of course, baking is your favorite activity.

The ability to bake cakes is, first of all, creative self-expression.

Everything is relatively easy to start. You don't need a space to open a bakery or pastry shop. It is enough to create a website where you can post photos of cakes created in your home kitchen, teach the basics of baking, and choose ways to place orders.

There is always a market for delicious and beautiful cakes. Although the competition among cake makers can be fierce and you will have to try to stand out from the crowd.

Once you're successful with your customers, you may eventually outgrow home cooking.

Market analysis

The first decision is the type of bakery or patisserie you are going to open. To do this, a novice entrepreneur himself must evaluate his creative and budgetary capabilities, and set goals. It is very important to do local market research to find out which currents will affect a particular location. Market analysis should include information about the demographics in your bakery area, average income level, competitor prices.

How to register a business

Business licensing is a necessary condition. It can be registered as a limited liability company or file a notice of business activity with the appropriate department. Rospotrebnadzor permission is required. SES issues a permit on the basis of regulations governing activities.

The target market you are targeting is the most important aspect of a business plan. You need to find your niche among the various types of bakeries and pastry shops. You have to be original.

Even if you've been baking delicious cakes for the family for years, designing the range you're going to offer to potential customers can be a challenge. There are quite a number of businesses specializing in baking and creating cakes, and it is important to think about how to stand out among them. Given the competition, try to find a "gap" in the market. For example, you can specialize in gluten-free baked goods made with organic ingredients, or focus on wedding/anniversary cakes, children's cakes that any child will love.

Organization of a mini-confectionery

A business plan is an integral part of a new establishment, as it outlines what type of business you plan to open, how it will be structured, what products you intend to sell, marketing strategies and financial projections.

The Importance of Advertising and Marketing

Stick to realistic goals in your marketing and advertising campaign. For example, the goal is the maximum number of followers in social media accounts; the number of sales planned per month.

• use of index signs;
• advertisements in newspapers, leaflets;
• social media marketing: generating buzz, promoting grand opening and other events;
• word of mouth radio.

Search for customers

Your business needs to grow, and without good marketing, it won't get better. Before you begin, it is important to figure out what kind of people you are going to attract, who are likely to be constantly ordering. If you can get this right, the whole marketing process will be much more efficient.

As part of the business plan, you will dive into finance. The amount that will have to be generated is the cost of starting the business.

When opening a mini-confectionery, you will have to take into account a lot of costs:

• rent of commercial premises;
• insurance;
• equipping the premises with equipment;
• recruitment and training of personnel;
• Payment of utility services.

Also, profits don't come overnight. It will take several months before the establishment breaks even, and during this time the money will be needed to cover the costs.

Profitability

Success depends on how much sales increase to a breakeven point based on fixed costs, then variable costs, so that they fit into something like this structure:

• 25% on the cost of goods (ingredients, packaging);
• 35% for labor;
• 30% overhead;
• 10% on profit.

franchise business

Franchising is a business in which owners or "franchisors" sell the rights to the trademark, name and model of their business to third party outlets owned by independent operators or "franchisees". Franchises are an extremely common way of doing business. In fact, in most cities, it's hard to drive more than a few blocks without coming across a franchise business.

A mini bakery, like any other business, is subject to ups and downs. But there are a few points that will definitely affect the success. Desire and strive for high quality products. The location of the institution and how many people know about it is important. Also, whether the prices of products correspond to both your profit and the budgetary possibilities of customers.

In contact with

The cake will decorate the table for any occasion. Sometimes you want to surprise guests with unusual pastries that are not bought in a store. In this article we will tell you how to learn how to bake cakes at home. Consider all the subtleties of cooking. But first, we will tell you how to get started as a beginner.

Sometimes a person has different desires. For example, one day the thought may come to mind: I want to learn how to bake cakes. Before you start learning the basics, you need to be tuned in that the process is long, requires skill, patience and imagination. Also, don't be afraid to experiment. But this is already when classic cakes for a solid five will already be obtained.

room

How to learn to bake cakes? What do you need for baking? Of course, that every master will need a room to work. The kitchen should be spacious (preferably), fully equipped with quality appliances. When there are problems with the oven, it will take much longer to learn how to bake good cakes. After all, it is important that the base is baked and not burned. You can also use a multicooker.

Tools

You will also need tools:

• Be sure to have a mixer with different attachments, and a whisk will not hurt. At first, he will be a lifesaver. If there is no mixer and you need to buy it, then it is better to take a stationary one. Whipping egg whites sometimes takes time. And while the mixer is doing this, at this time you can prepare other ingredients.
• Bowls of different sizes made of plastic, stainless steel and enamelled.
• Different sizes of spoons, forks and spatulas.
• cakes. It is advisable to purchase detachable metal and silicone, in different sizes. The shape can be varied, it is not necessary to buy only round.
• be sure to have a kitchen scale that indicates the accuracy in grams. Sometimes just 1 extra gram can ruin a masterpiece.
• Do not interfere with measuring cups and spoons.
• Pastry bag with nozzles. It is much more convenient and easier to use than a syringe.
• Stencils for drawing patterns.
• Brushes for smudging and cream-based drawings.
• Devices for rolling dough. For example, a rock.
• Food film.
• Apron and head scarf/cap.

Ingredients

It is important to check the recipe more than once to see if all the necessary products are available. Before you start cooking, be sure to have everything at hand or within easy reach. There is a basic list of products that is used for almost every baked goods. It is desirable to have them in the house constantly. In the process of work, each cook has his own list of necessary products.

Books needed!

To learn how to bake cakes professionally, you need to buy more than one cookbook about baking cakes and cake layers for them. After all, the recipe for one baking in different books varies. You can take into account all the nuances, choose the most useful chips, then the cake will turn out incredibly tasty.

Think about the design of future products

You need to work on decorating the cake in advance.

• A beginner is recommended to start with mastic. This is a rather elastic mass, reminiscent of unleavened pastry dough, sweet to taste. You can just cover the whole cake with it. And put an inscription or a kind of drawing on it. You can cut out decorative elements from it.
• You can buy a spray (confectionery) and cover the cakes with it both separately and on top of the mastic.
• Or buy ready-made figurines to decorate the cake. All of them are edible. They can be both in the form of flowers and with inscriptions.
• There is also just a colored topping that will decorate any pastry, not just a cake.

Sometimes it is recommended to start making cakes from purchased cakes in order to master the process of assembling and impregnating the base with creams well. Moreover, the purchased cake is always even and perfectly round. Initially, the most simple design cakes are selected.

How to learn to bake cakes from scratch

Before you start practicing, it is recommended to watch a few videos on making simple cakes. Then start learning how to cook cakes. Ideally smooth and well-baked and lush (sometimes not lush is required) cake is the basis of a beautiful cake.

Description of making a cake from scratch:

1. Purchase special confectionery flour. It contains less gluten, so the dough is not as fluffy as in buns. It is sold in any grocery store. If it happens that it is not on the shelves, then you can cook it yourself.
2. To do this, take 1 empty glass with a volume of 250 ml. Pour 60 g of corn starch into it and add wheat flour (highest grade) to the top of the glass. Pour the mixture from the glass into a bowl of the required size and mix thoroughly. After that, the resulting flour must be sifted. For splendor of the dough, it is recommended to sift 2-3 times.
3. Before you start kneading the dough, you need to prepare all the necessary ingredients. You need to start by mixing all the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly so that you can use it immediately later.
4. Recipes often call for the use of milk, and even list its fat content. At first, it is not recommended to deviate from the recipe. But you need to know that whole milk can be replaced with its analogues.
5. Be sure to follow which oil is required in the recipe: butter or vegetable. If creamy, then it must first be melted in a water bath. Sometimes it also needs to be whipped. If the oil is mixed up, then the taste of the cake will be completely different, and this will also affect the appearance.
6. Use the mixer only for beating egg whites. Otherwise, use a whisk or spatula.

Step by step cooking biscuit cake

Ingredients are designed for one large cake or two medium ones. Would need:

• 4 chicken eggs (elite);
• 450 g of confectionery flour;
• up to 7 g of salt;
• 17 g baking powder;
• 350 g of granulated sugar;
• 250 ml of milk (whole or its analogues);
• 25 g vanilla sugar;
• 180 g butter (pre-melt).

Start preparing the dough by mixing: flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Be sure to mix everything very carefully.

Add milk, melted and cooled butter, eggs and vanilla to the dry mixture. Stir until the mass becomes homogeneous. It is better to use a spatula to mix the dough.

While the dough is cooking, you need to preheat the oven. The temperature should be 180 degrees. It is better to cover the form with baking paper, do not grease with oil. If one cake is baked, then the baking time is 45 minutes. And if there are two cakes, then bake for 30 minutes. Until the baking time is up, it is better not to open the oven. Otherwise, the cake will lose splendor. When it is ready, it will be covered with a brown crust on top.

The cakes should stay in shape for about 15 minutes after they are taken out of the oven. This will make it easier for them to peel off the paper. And they do not deform much when shifting to a plate. The advantage of the cooked cake is that it is not necessary to beat the whites separately, the dough is prepared without difficulties. Plus, the finished product can be consumed immediately. And you can also grease: boiled condensed milk with butter (200 g of butter per jar of condensed milk); can be soaked with regular yogurt and so on.

An additional advantage of the cake is that it can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 days, before serving it must warm to room temperature, it will take up to 4 hours.

It is better to start mastering the culinary art of making cakes with such recipes. You can also experiment with decorations on them. Then you can complicate the recipe for cakes and diversify with creams.

One of the simplest is the honey cake. Although there are nuances in the preparation of the test. You can try to make cakes, the basis of which is dry cookies.

Now let's figure out how to learn how to bake cakes according to the advice of experienced chefs. You always need to follow the recipe exactly, take the exact amount of all the ingredients. They are calculated by trial and error. Be sure to use scales. You need to put the components in a strict sequence. Any, even a slight deviation from the recipe can turn into a failure. Experiment and put other components only when experience has already come. There it will be possible to determine the required number of components by eye.

Be sure to observe the temperature regime. If you set a little less (for fear that the cakes will burn), then there is a great chance that they will not bake and settle when they are taken out of the oven. If you hurry and increase the temperature, then the cake will most likely burn, and the inside of the dough will remain raw.

For cooking, use only clean and dry dishes and tools. Even a small drop of water can ruin everything. This is one of the important rules of how to learn how to bake cakes.

When mixing the components with a mixer, sometimes it should be turned off and mixed with a spoon. It is good to scrape the contents from the walls. There may be lumps left.

If the cakes were baked in advance, then they should be stored only in the freezer. In the refrigerator, they lose moisture and become stale. To prepare a cake from a frozen cake, it should be taken out in advance so that it comes to room temperature.

You can decorate only completely cooled cakes. Otherwise, the oil decoration may melt or strongly soak the cake. And he himself can become dry from this and begin to crumble. Don't overdo it with sugar. Of course, it will sweeten the product, but because of it, the cake can burn, and the dough will not be the right consistency.

If the recipe does not specify what the recipe product should be (warm or cold), then all the ingredients should be removed from the refrigerator in advance so that they become at room temperature. This is especially true for eggs. Otherwise, they will not beat well.

The dough should fill the form only halfway, since during baking it rises almost 2 times. And as a result, the edges will be uneven, plus the runaway dough will fill the entire apartment with a burnt aroma.

If the cake is made from several cakes, you should not simplify your work and bake one, and then cut it. It's better to bake a few. Then the chance that they will be baked will be 100%. Allow the cakes to cool in the form, and only then take them out of it. So they will keep their shape better. The cream is applied in two stages. At the beginning to soak the cakes. Then for decoration. Between them you need to withstand at least 15 minutes.

The taste and shape of the product is important!

Those who are interested in how to learn how to bake cakes to order should definitely follow the taste of the product. His beautiful form is a secondary thing to strive for. Even the most beautiful cake, if tasteless and dry, will not be in demand.

At first, you need to experiment on only one recipe, until it tastes and looks like it should, without any flaws.

Where can I learn how to bake beautiful cakes?

When it turns out to cook cakes without jambs, you want to know where you can learn how to bake products. There are several options here:

1. Attend one-day courses. They often talk about all the latest in cooking, without knowing which you can start to lose even regular customers. It is these courses that are important for those who want to learn how to bake cakes to order at home.
2. You can just watch online video tutorials on the Internet, but there is a minus. Mostly simple recipes are considered and the most important chips are not disclosed, without which masterpieces will not work.
3. A good option to learn how to bake cakes to order at home is to attend paid courses. The so-called from A to Z. All the subtleties of cooking will be told there. There will be feedback from the confectioner and you can figure out why the dough sagged after baking, or why the cake crumbles a lot, and so on.

Conclusion

Homemade cakes are gaining popularity these days. Learning how to bake cakes at home is not difficult. In this case, the main thing is patience and the desire to achieve results. Then your favorite business will also bring financial stability. Here you need not only to know how to learn how to bake cakes, but also to be able to look for customers, and even advertise yourself.

Cake is an essential attribute of almost any holiday, be it a birthday, wedding or Easter. At the same time, a sweet treat can be both the main gift for children and adults, and an addition to it. Despite the wide variety of factory-made products, home-cooked products have always remained the most popular. If you know how to bake and decide to open a custom cake business, we suggest that you read this article.

Where to begin?

So how do you start your custom cake business? First of all, you should do advertising. The most common option for selling sweet products will be the Internet and the dissemination of information through acquaintances. Let's look at everything step by step:

1. Tell your friends and acquaintances about your business idea of ​​making money on cakes, ask them to spread this information if possible.
2. Bake some culinary masterpieces for the holidays to friends and family. Before you give sweet presents, be sure to take beautiful photos of your cakes for the future catalog.
3. When there are enough photos, create your group on social networks and place them in special photo albums. For each photo, write a description with the composition, name and any information that you consider necessary.
4. Invite people from your city to your community and constantly update your photo album.

To quickly promote a group on the network and attract subscribers, you can resort to smmbox services, which will save you a lot of time. Social networks are a good opportunity to attract customers.

To start, such actions are quite enough to get the first income from making cakes to order. Remember that in order for your business to become successful and profitable, you need to stand out from other chefs. Constantly improve, use new materials and study numerous recipes on the Internet. For example, it is now very fashionable to prepare confectionery products using mastic, because thanks to this substance you can give the product any shape, as well as decorate it beautifully.

As you have already noticed, there is nothing particularly complicated in this type of cake business. However, there are some special points that you need to be aware of. We offer you to get acquainted with useful tricks to be fully equipped:

Any family or corporate celebration without a cake is considered incomplete. It's a tradition, there's no getting away from it. But it is also an idea for a great business, if "hands grow from where it is needed." Let's figure it out. Let's start with who this business is for - cakes to order.

Do not think that you absolutely need to understand cooking. This is a desirable quality, but not required at all. The fact is that to start any business, you need “seed capital”. One will have talent, the other can invest money and organizational skills in the production of cakes. But both need to understand where to start.

How to start baking custom cakes

The first step, as any marketer will tell you, is selecting a team. Let's say you yourself are very good at baking and decorating your products. This means that your small team will for the time being consist of one person - yourself. To let the world know about your talents, you need to prepare promotional materials. For this you will have to work hard. You need to prepare a whole catalog of photos of your own products.

The "cakes to order" business will have to start with a "charity event." And where else will you put dozens of products that you will need for the first photos? It is recommended to turn this preparation into a kind of advertising. Cooked masterpieces can be presented to potential buyers, whom you can easily find at school, kindergarten, at your husband's work, and so on. People will see your talent and at the same time hold a tasting. The first clients will be provided to you.

Advertising

Next, you will need to develop. Customer acquisition can be expanded by searching for ads on the Internet or by publishing your own. Be sure to use photos, distributing them by “topic”. That is, make separate texts for children's cakes, holiday, anniversary and other products. This will expand the audience of interested persons. In addition, you will demonstrate the versatility of your skills.

Feel free to choose epithets to describe your masterpieces. The business of "cakes to order" is a very delicate sphere. Firstly, the product can be sold in a specific, well-defined territory (it is not profitable to transport it to another city). Secondly, you may have competitors. Most likely, you will also find their advertising on the network. Therefore, colorful photographs should be accompanied by colorful descriptions. If you do not have a literary talent, then "delicious advertising" can be ordered from an experienced copywriter.

Organization of the first production

Naturally, at first there will be few orders. For their implementation, the area of ​​\u200b\u200btheir own kitchen is enough. Of course, it makes sense to find a comfortable room in advance. Just renting it until you know if the cake-to-order business is right for you is not recommended. Spend money, but there will be a little profit.

If you initially assigned yourself to the role of manager, then the first orders can be made in the kitchen of your “chef”. Shipping will have to be handled on your own. Although this issue is resolved individually with each client. Someone can call in for an order. Feel free to ask about what is more convenient.

Procurement of products

Baking cakes is a rather expensive and material-intensive process. In order to master a wide "menu", you need a variety of products, decorations.

Do not forget that some of the products will have to be sent to the buyer in their own dishes. It will be necessary to purchase a variety of various products and materials.

Naturally, you will have to think about special equipment. Nobody whips creams or biscuits by hand anymore. For this, specialized devices have been invented.

You need to make sure that your equipment is reliable, powerful, and does not fail at the most crucial moment. Products can be stored at home for the time being. Moreover, for the most part, fresh ones are used in the confectionery industry. Therefore, they will have to be replenished daily.

Cake Making Business Plan

When you have approximately imagined how and what you will do, proceed to boring calculations. This must be done before the first sale. The fact is that you must know exactly how much a particular product costs. For this, a calculation is made. Enterprises strictly calculate how much one kilogram of a particular product costs.

Do not forget that other costs, in addition to products, must be included in the calculation. These include electricity, water, and most importantly - labor, that is, wages. Let at first you will not receive it, but it must be included in the price of the product. In addition, you need to calculate the cost of boxes, stickers and other design. You can order them in the nearest topography.

Naturally, the total figure will greatly depend on the region. But it can be assumed on average that you will need about one hundred and eighty thousand rubles for products, six thousand for advertising and design. It should be noted that profit is included in the calculations - at least twenty-five percent. Otherwise, the "company" will burn out.

How to win in the competition

In order to overtake "colleagues" in business from the start, it is recommended to immediately think over the "highlights" of your products. To do this, you should wander around the pastry shops and study the assortment. The client can be attracted by originality and specificity. So, every time before the official holidays, offer people new ideas for cakes.

For men, it is worth coming up with something grandiose. Please note that the stronger sex loves scope and volume. This woman will be tempted by miniature cakes with small details (protects her figure). An ordinary man will look at a three-tiered masterpiece,
embellished with large appliqués. This is, so to speak, a "classic of the genre."

It makes sense to work on a children's theme. You understand that parents buy sweets for their offspring with great pleasure. Therefore, it is advisable to come up with a cartoon, fabulous and other decor for your products.