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Don't throw out your split chocolate ganache! You can save it and make is 100% smooth & shiny! :D Click through for all the tips you need to fix and prevent split/oily/grainy chocolate ganache. #chocolateganache #splitganache #bakingtips #bakingtipsandtricks

Want to get that thin, super shiny crust on top of your brownies? Great news is, you don't need to drop your favourite brownie recipe in search of a shiny-top brownie recipe! You can use this simple baking tip to get a shiny crust on ANY brownie recipe that contains dairy and sugar! Click through to get the step by step method for baking brownies with a shiny crust on top... #baking #bakingtips #brownies #homebaking #bakingtipsandtricks

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Want to start a Home Bakery Business? Or maybe you have a business but you want more customers and consistent orders? Here's a free library full of resources, tips, tools, secret recipes and ideas to grow your Home Baking Business. Click through to access the free library! #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness

You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking

One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking

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Do you dream of starting a home bakery, but then thoughts of self-doubt like these start flooding your mind… “People aren’t going to think my baking is worth it. All the other bakers are better than me. I’m not good enough.” Truth is pretty much ALL home bakers get these thoughts! You’re not alone! In this post you’ll learn how to beat self doubt so you can be free to pursue your baking business goals. Click through to get the tips now… #homebaking #selfdoubt #homebakery #bakingbusiness #baking

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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← Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes Recipe Do you need a license to sell baked goods from home? →

Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes Recipe

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Recipes

Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes

The ultimate carrot cupcakes are not simply a carrot cake recipe poured into cupcake liners. It’s much more sensitive and complex than that for several reasons.

When you use a regular carrot cake recipe to bake cupcakes, the texture typically ends up being too dense for a cupcake.

Another problem is that cupcakes bake for a shorter period of time than a large cake, so that deep caramelization flavour is lost. Which is definitely not okay! That caramelised, slightly chewy top is the BEST part.

Flavour Comes First

When I speak of Carrot Cake, I’m NOT talking about those “carrot cakes” that are basically just a vanilla sponge with shredded carrot inside. That is not proper Carrot Cake. It is carrot flavoured Vanilla Cake. If it were a song, it would be “itsy bitsy spider”.

Proper Carrot Cake is much deeper and darker, with such a dynamic flavour and texture. If it were a song, it would be “O sole Mio”. EPIC. Unique. Gutsy. Excellence. (And yes, I’m listening to O sole mio as I write this post 🙂 There’s an AMAZING version where Pavarotti sings it with Bryan Adams – so stunning!)

This ultimate carrot cupcakes recipe is made with golden syrup, dark brown sugar and molasses, so it is absolutely brimming with caramel-ly depth!

The Texture

When I eat carrot cake as a slice of cake, the texture should absolutely be a bit denser than a sponge cake.

However, when I eat carrot cake in cupcake form it has to be just as moist and flavourful, BUT also LIGHT. Heavy cupcakes are just not pleasant…

So this recipe perfectly captures ALL the stunning texture of regular carrot cake, but also with a light, tender and super moist crumb – as a cupcake should be.

The way you prepare the carrots for your ultimate carrot cupcakes is key. Do not shred/grate them too finely. If you grate them too fine, they will just disappear into the batter and be less prominent in the final flavour experience.

Another reason to not grate the carrots too fine is because it leaves more surface area for the batter to react with the carrots. The batter contains sugar and salt which draws the moisture out of the carrots.

So IF you grate the carrots too fine, they react with the batter much faster, drawing moisture out of the carrots much faster and leaving you with a very runny batter in a matter of minutes.

This makes all your lovely raisins, pineapple etc. sink to the bottom when baking. So to avoid this, rather grate your carrots coarser.

As for all the extras beyond carrots, I like to use raisins, crushed pineapple plus toasted pecans.

I know that walnuts are more traditional in carrot cake, but the toasted pecans completely outshine walnuts in this instance.

These are seriously the ULTIMATE Carrot Cupcakes. Deep, gutsy, EPIC flavour, but with a light, moist and tender crumb. Topped with the best cream cheese frosting ever and toasted pecan nuts. SO YUM! #carrotcake #carrotcupcakes #carrotcakerecipe #bestcarrotcake

The Frosting

As you may know by now, I make no secret of my disdain for traditional buttercream and even cream cheese frosting as well, because they are TOO SWEET.

Frosting is supposed to CONTRIBUTE to the flavour experience, not just round off the visual presentation of cupcakes.

Philosophy of Yum Cream Cheese Frosting is balanced and DELICIOUS and it pairs perfectly with these ultimate carrot cupcakes 🙂

These are seriously the Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes. Deep, gutsy, EPIC flavour, but with a light, moist and tender crumb. Topped with the best cream cheese frosting ever and toasted pecan nuts. SO YUM!

So here we go – my recipe for the Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

45 mins

Author: Philosophy of Yum

Serves: 15

Ingredients

230 g Flour
¾ tsp Baking powder
1 ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
½ Tbsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Ginger
1 tsp Salt
130 g Eggs
½ T Vanilla Extract
65 g White Granulated Sugar
100 g Demerara Sugar
130 g Canola Oil
70 g Golden Syrup
15 g Molasses
40 g raisins
270 g grated Carrots
100 g Crushed Pineapple, scooped with juice
100 g Toasted Pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, place the eggs, oil, vanilla, white sugar, demerara sugar, golden syrup and molasses. Whisk together with a hand mixer on high speed for 90 seconds. It should be pale and almost doubled in volume.
Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a large metal spoon.
Add the grated carrot, raisins and crushed pineapple to the bowl and fold in. Be sure to mix everything together thoroughly as the fresh carrot can often hide together in little huddles in the batter.
Proceed to fill the lined cupcake tins immediately. Do not let the batter stand. Divide the batter evenly between 15 lined cupcake tin holes. I like to first fill each liner halfway, stir the remaining batter again, and then fill the liners the rest of the way so that the first 5 cupcakes don't get all the extra bits and the last few cupcakes just get batter with no raisins, pineapple, etc.
Bake at 180ᵒC/356°F for about 25 mins, rotating the tins halfway through baking. The cupcakes should be a deep golden brown. Also test the cupcakes with a toothpick – if the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done.
Leave to cool in the tins. Once completely cold, remove from tins.
Make Philosophy of Yum Cream Cheese Frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes as desired and sprinkle the remainder of the chopped pecans generously on top. Enjoy!

If you give this recipe a go, tag me on Facebook, twitter or Instagram @philosophyofyum because I would LOVE to see!

Chat soon

Aurelia 🙂

What info are you looking for?

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

What info are you looking for?

philosophyofyum

Follow on Instagram

What info are you looking for?

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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← 6 Ways to Stay Inspired & Motivated in Your Home Bakery How to Make ANY Cake/Cupcake Recipe Gluten Free →

6 Ways to Stay Inspired & Motivated in Your Home Bakery

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Home Baking Biz Tips

6 Ways to Stay Inspired & Motivated in Your Home Bakery

Ever heard that quote by Confucius: “Choose a job you love, then you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”?

Well…

He was lying.

He may have been a deep genius, but he was still lying.

Truth is that no matter what work you do, there are some days when you just won’t feel like doing it.

My high school Math teacher had this hilarious line she pulled out of her archives whenever we complained about our schoolwork: “Ons is nie in die hemel nie, ons is in Afrika.” Which translates to: “We are not in heaven, we are in Africa.”

But whether you live in Africa or not, ANY work will inevitably be difficult on some days. And some days are worse than others.

There are always random days when the inspiration is low and your pillow is just SO FLUFFY.

Then there are other days where you have energy, but just feel a bit “meh” and baking doesn’t seem so great and before you know it it’s 3 hours later and you STILL haven’t started (because you just keep scrolllling and scrolllling on Instagram – like me)!

And those days a client asks you for something new and NOTHING comes to you.

If you’re like me, you may even have had weeks where you just keep steam rolling on, FORCING yourself to keep going… Please tell me I’m not alone?

So even if you work on a rose plantation, some days just aren’t that rosy.

Today’s post is all about sharing practical tips to help you on such days to get you out of Baker’s Block and restore your baking inspiration!

Warning: Some of these tips may be quite confrontational and intense (especially the first 2), but I’m sharing what has undeniably worked for me.

Freedom and Inspiration usually involves laying down our pride in one form or another.

More often than not, baking inspiration returns after applying tips number 1 & 2, but I’ve included 4 others as well for desperate times 😉

So here we go 🙂

1. Rest and W(h)ine

Because we are bakers and we overwork ourselves (more often than not), I simply HAVE to start with this tip.

When we are tired and worn out, we can’t push ourselves to keep going for too long. It’s so weird, but over time, society has started branding REST as “laziness” or “idleness”, but that is completely false.

I read this amazing article by The Guardian about rest and productivity.

Alex Soojan-Kim Pang wrote a book about the importance of rest and its power to actually BOOST productivity beyond belief! Here’s a quote from the interview that hit me straight between the eyes!

“’More hours equal more productivity.’ This is an assumption – a mistake – that we’ve been making for a very long time. And now there’s more than a century’s worth of research that OVERWORKING ourselves is bad for people, organisations and also BAD FOR PRODUCTIVITY. It’s something that can be sustained for periods of a few weeks but after that you start creating more problems than you solve.”

When we are overworked, there is zero inspiration.

Important note: Intentional rest is not watching Netflix or playing Xbox. Stay away from screens. Research has shown that physical hobbies help our minds to recover from exhaustion much faster.

Due to my physical reality, I am not able to do any exercise, but talking a leisurely walk in our neighbourhood does WONDERS for my mind and mood! Barefoot is even better!

When I take a walk, I also try to focus on what I SEE, rather than what I think.

I’ll focus on the delightfulness of the breeze, the beautiful singing of the birds, the movement of the trees in the wind, etc.

If I stay inside my head for the whole walk, I don’t feel any better by the time I get back to our apartment.

Other options can be reading a good novel, playing cards or a board game with friends/family (laughter is the best rest!), a picnic, a nap, playing with your cat/dog, drinking a glass of wine while listening to your favourite music, a walk in nature or even just in your neighbourhood…

If you have more ideas, please share in the comments below!

2. Processor (Mind) is Overloaded

I’m busy reading a psychology book called “I’m ok, you’re ok” which deals a lot with our thought patterns about ourselves and others. (I’m quite a nerd yes, but bear with me – I promise I have a point!)

Dr Harris likens our minds to computer processors. When there’s too much for our minds to process (conflict in relationships, harsh self-criticism, bitterness, unforgiveness, overwhelm of emotions) then we LITERALLY CANNOT BE CREATIVE. It is impossible, because there’s no processing power left at all.

In fact, we can actually only be efficiently creative and inspired when there’s nothing negative and overwhelming for our minds to process.

Tips to get your creative juices flowing again in your baking and restore your inspiration!

You may have noticed that I’ve been totally absent on my Instagram Account the last 2 weeks. It was not intentional at all. I just had some conflict going on with a friend.

This conflict was occupying my mind 24/7! Constant analysis – back and forth on repeat. As soon as it was sorted out, I had the ability to start experimenting with my baking again and resuming my writing and posts 🙂

Bottom line:

Sort things out with your loved ones. Forgive.
Have grace for yourself in every area of your life – let your thoughts about yourself be kind.
Journal, take a walk, talk to a friend or do whatever you need to do to PROCESS your emotions and not ignore them.
Our emotions don’t magically disappear, we need to deal with them in order to free up our minds’ processors for creative productivity.

3. Listen to Success Stories of Other Entrepreneurs

Before I dive into this tip here’s something CRUCIAL you need to know about your inspiration & motivation…

As business owners we no longer have the luxury of WAITING for inspiration to strike. It’s our responsibility to make sure we stay inspired and motivated.

In our business journeys we need to GIVE and CREATE a lot, which drains our inspiration very fast.

The longer you carry on with your Home Bakery, the more inspiration and motivation you’ll need. And if you wait for it to “come to you”, it’s like you’re waiting for a warm day in the middle of winter! It’s just NOT going to happen.

Don’t let yourself (and your business) be at the mercy of random inspiration and motivation.

Take responsibility to keep yourself inspired and motivated – EVERY WEEK!

And here’s one of the best ways:

Now, even though I’m personally not aiming to be a millionaire or have a GIANT business, there’s so much value to glean from the successful entrepreneurs who have gone before us.

The “How I Built This” Podcast has transformed my perspective of what’s POSSIBLE for unqualified entrepreneurs like you and me.

When we see what’s POSSIBLE, we start looking at our circumstances very differently.

I’ve made a habit of listening to one episode of the How I Built This podcast one specific night per week while I cook dinner. Podcasts are cool like that because you can listen to them on the go!

Even if I think “nah, I don’t need inspiration this week”, I STILL listen to an episode and afterwards I’m ALWAYS grateful I did.

So, whenever your inspiration/motivation meter is low, listen to an episode of this podcast.

Better yet, commit to listening to an episode on a specific day and time every week. This way you’ll STAY inspired and avoid hitting a “low”!

You’ll leave with gleaming eyes and a heart BURSTING with excitement and courage for your own business journey!

4. Go Eat your Favourite Dessert

Weird little fact… I hardly ever eat anything I bake. Sure, I taste the cake scraps (which is not much since I figured out how to bake perfectly level, flat, cake layers), or a bit of left over ultimate frosting. But I sell all my goods in batches so there are never extras.

And on top of that, things just taste better when someone ELSE makes them for you, am I right? 😉

When I’m in DESPERATE need of inspiration (because I’m super frugal and don’t like spending money when I can make something myself), it does wonders to go and eat one of my favourite desserts that remind me why I’m baking in the first place…

For people to experience the euphoria of sensational FLAVOUR & QUALITY.

Struggling to stay inspired and motivated in your Home Bakery Business? You're so not alone! It honestly happens to every Home Bakery owner. Here are 6 things you can do when your motivation meter is on empty... #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #bakingtips

In general I’m more into simple bakes, done exceptionally well. Unless it’s a cinnamon doughnut… I’ll eat it ANY way I can get it. (Fresh and warm is obviously best, but fortunately I’m obsessed with them so even yesterday’s cold cinnamon doughnuts will still make me happy. I’m cheap like that and it’s fine by me!)

So my go-to favourites in Cape Town are Pasteis de Nata by Hoghouse Brewing Company (totally mentioning it first for a reason!!), Flourless Chocolate Cake by Fork Tapas & Pincho’s Bar, a fresh croissant by Woodstock Bakery or Rosetta Coffee Ice Cream by The Creamery.

Every once in a while we need to spoil ourselves with an amazing treat that makes us SMILE involuntarily. It tends to spark our inspiration back into flame!

5. Watch Unique Sweets

I’ve mentioned Unique Sweets a hundred times before and I’ll mention it another hundred times! You seriously cannot be an Artisan Baker without watching this show at least every 2 weeks.

There are few things that make me as excited about baking as Unique Sweets does.

Every episode inspires me so much! There are always such unique eateries on the show with the most amazing passion, ideas and creativity.

I always keep my notebook handy when I’m watching an episode because I know that I’ll be inspired with at least 10 new ideas – without a doubt!

Of course it’s also inspirational to watch bakers that are inspired themselves. It’s so contagious!

6. Go Buy Amazing Seasonal Ingredients

We all have our best-selling bakes. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but baking the same things over and over and over again can definitely throw a wet towel on our inspiration.

I bake for 3 local coffee shops every week, so I play brownie-brownie quite a lot in my kitchen. Needless to say, it does become a bit monotonous at times.

The best antidote for this inspiration sucker is to go out and buy amazing, fresh, seasonal ingredients. Go to the grocery store; take a good look at all the seasonal fresh produce. Pick one type of vegetable/fruit and commit to baking something with it.

An even better idea is to go to a local farmer’s market (WAY more inspirational than a grocery store!) and chat with the vendor.

They’re SO passionate about their fresh produce! By the end of the conversation you’ll be excited off your rocker to bake something with the fresh blackberries you just purchased.

New, fresh ingredients bring back the wonder of baking in moments.

7. Bonus Tip! Stop & Smell the Cookies (Gratitude)

This is a tip I try to apply every single day – even when I’m not lacking inspiration.

It’s quite shocking how many days you can just carry on, on auto-pilot, without appreciating the incredible BEAUTY of BAKING. And when that happens, our joy and inspiration quickly flies out the window.

Fellow Home Bakers, let us never forget how profoundly blessed we are to be ABLE to bake.

Let’s not take it for granted; whether we bake full time, part time or just as a hobby. We are BLESSED to be able to enjoy the wonder of baking.

Whenever I forget this and start complaining about the long list of things I have to bake on a particular day, I try to intentionally focus on the beauty of baking.

Like that moment you pour the thick, gloopy, shiny brownie batter into the pan.

Or the moment that chocolate ganache comes together and you realize that there isn’t anything else this luscious on earth!!

Another favourite is the sound that baked goods make when they come out the oven.

And the aromas we get to inhale… All day… Come on… WE ARE SO BLESSED!!

Name another job that satisfies all of our 5 senses on a daily basis? We get satisfied on every level: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.

Whenever I turn into a spoiled, ungrateful brat in my head, I just remind myself of these facts and focus on them throughout the day.

It doesn’t take long at all for the inspiration to return when I start paying attention and being grateful.

Those are my favourite tips for maintaining my Inspiration & Motivation in Home Bakery 🙂

Let me know in a comment if you have a favourite tip or any other tips that have helped to restore your baking inspiration!

Chat soon

Aurelia

What info are you looking for?

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

What info are you looking for?

philosophyofyum

Follow on Instagram

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

POPULAR BAKING TIPS

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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← How to Plan your Home Bakery's Weekly Work Schedule Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes Recipe →

How to Plan your Home Bakery’s Weekly Work Schedule

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Home Baking Biz Tips

How to Plan your Home Bakery’s Weekly Work Schedule

A few of my students have asked me for tips on how to plan your home bakery’s work schedule to prevent burn-out, but still make a substantial income AND spend time with my family.

As humans, we can’t speak about our work schedule without including our family responsibilities in the conversation!

There’s one struggle that EVERY home baker faces more often that we would like to… This struggle is none other than overworking ourselves.

The struggle gets especially hard to micromanage when you are baking part time on top of a normal day job, right?

To be more thorough and provide more perspective, I realized that I need to hear how other home bakers schedule THEIR work week because I can only speak as a full-time baker & wife, but not a part-time baker and mother!

So I’ve asked some of my amazing Instagram friends (7 of them), who also bake from home, how they plan their home bakery’s work schedule.

Some are single, some only bake part-time, and some have up to 4 kids ranging from infants to college students!

I’ll first share what they had to say and then lastly include my own schedule, plus a summary of key points that I’ve picked up across the board.

And to help you plan better and be more efficient, I’ve created a free Weekly Planner for you to download and use in your own business! Here’s how to get it:

1. Join my free Resource Library for Home Bakers,
2. download the planner and
3. print it out 😀 Simple.

Lindsay from Freckle & Flora Home Bakery:

Check out Freckle & Flora Home Bakery on Instagram!

“I use my baby girl’s nap times for any admin during the day (and to shower 😂) but that gives me about an hour to reply to emails etc. And then my ‘work’ day starts at 18:30 once she is in bed for the night.

As most of my orders are due for the weekend, lately I’ve been trying to have Mondays – Thursdays as my actual baking days. Fridays are decorating and detailing days.

Unfortunately, I often end up working the day away on Saturday and Sunday while my husband is home and able to take care of my daughter. But we are trying to get it done during the week so those can be family days.

I love focusing on macarons and cookies because they have a longer shelf life.

Macarons I can prep up to 3 months in advance so they are perfect to work on when I have extra time or really allow getting ahead and managing my time as I please.

Decorative cookies are definitely the most time consuming but they are my Home Bakery’s biggest attraction.”

Nicole from Bake Toujours:

Check out Bake Toujours on Instagram!

“I have two days a week where my kiddos go to school. I usually try to fit all production into those days. I have a production sheet and inventory sheet and just see what’s low and plan for the week accordingly.

I try to do my bakery shopping when I grocery shop for the house, but sometimes I need to run errands and do production that same day. Then I’m usually pressed for time and map out a plan to do a few things each night once the kids go down.”

Candice from Eat More Cake:

Check out Eat More Cake by Candice on Instagram!

“I’m married, but don’t have any kids yet. I do an inventory check and shop on Sundays. Mondays – Wednesdays I prep ingredients and make frosting. Thursdays – Fridays I bake.

Saturdays I decorate and do deliveries. I do everything in the evenings since I work full time during the day.”

Dusty from Dusty Rose Cakes:

Check out Dusty Rose Cakes on Instagram!

“It’s a very hard balancing act, for sure!! I’m a mom to not only an 18 month old, but also a teenage son and a daughter in college. I also run a cleaning service for two hours every morning.

I write out my baking list on Monday mornings and make sure I have everything for the week. Then I get baking and planning the week’s orders.

I can do 4 bakes per day and I try to be done by Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays I make buttercream and start decorating.

I try to get all my prep work done before bed time. Then after I get my daughter down, I decorate. I usually have everything done by 21h30, then I can chill and watch Netflix, do yoga, or spend time with my boyfriend.”

Tam from Sweetly Sifted:

Check out Sweetly Sifted on Instagram!

I am married! At the moment I work out of our apartment. My husband wears noise-cancelling headphones when the mixer is on and I keep him sane with cake scraps and Netflix ✌🏻

As I work full time as well, I usually have a week-long work plan with baking on Mondays usually, prepping any décor on Tuesday and Wednesday buttercream and fillings on Thursdays and decorating anytime.

I rest in between, whenever I can! Sometimes I think I am crazy for taking so much on but I love it!

I always make sure that I limit pickups on Fridays and Saturdays only, leaving some of Saturday and all of Sunday for me and husband to have together.

I have Mondays off work so I usually spend the whole day prepping planning answering emails and baking cakes, cupcakes, making cookie doughs, macaron shells, etc…

Astrid from Astrid’s Home Bakery:

Check out Astrid’s Bakery on Instagram!

“For me, it’s easier… I’m single! Hehe, so I have a pretty flexible schedule. I tell my clients that orders need to be placed a week in advance, so that gives me the chance to plan ahead, buy any supplies and try out recipes (if I am doing something new).

I also like to bake one day and decorate the next day. I usually rest on Sundays as I’m very involved with my church.

So, that’s pretty much how I manage my time. I do take last-minute orders but only if I know I have the time.”

Learn how to plan your Home Bakery's weekly work schedule for optimal efficiency and profit, without burning out or neglecting your family :) Includes input from 8 different Home Bakery owners! #cakebusiness #homebakery #bakingbusiness

Amie from Hot Hands Bakery:

Check out Hot Hands Bakery on Instagram!

“I split my time between freelance digital marketing and baking. Mondays – Fridays I usually work on the computer for the first half of the day and bake in the afternoon.

Usually I end up baking one night during the week and one day during the weekend.

My husband mostly works at home when he’s not traveling, so we just coordinate schedules. Sometimes we’ll take a day off during the week together and work Saturday, etc.”

Aurelia from Philosophy of Yum:

Check out Philosophy of Yum on Instagram!

Yep, so I’m married and a full time Home Baker! Over the past 6 years of baking full time at home, I have come to realize a sobering truth:

If I’m overworked, it is MY fault and no one else’s.

I used to bake for every day of the week because I was afraid my clients would move on to another bakery if I turned them down. And the biggest motivation for baking every day is obviously that I didn’t want to lose out on money.

I baked this way for 3 years and completely exhausted myself… It was not pretty.

If I had to list all the family and friends I turned down for BBQ’s, picnics, birthdays, dinners, etc., this post would be like 10 000 words long. It’s so bad and sad.

My husband played a KEY role in this area. I was so mad at him for not understanding my obligation to bake every day.

By God’s grace, He often surrounds us with people who love us more than we love ourselves.

I decided to stop baking for Sundays and eventually for Mondays as well. This meant that I was off the whole weekend. The exact days my husband is off as well.

What happened to my clients? They just started planning ahead. In fact, my new work week made my bakes appear more exclusive! So rad!

What happened to my profit? Well, after I learned how to stop undercharging for my bakes, my profit is seriously almost exactly the same as when I worked 7 days a week.

What happened to my quality of life? It’s a million times better!!! I now actually have ENERGY and HEALTHY relationships and TIME. I finally have a LIFE.

So guys, don’t fall for it. YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE. You are your own boss, so you need to learn to be a KIND one.

I now have a timetable (which I HAVE to stick to ALWAYS). I bake for 2 coffee shops for Tuesdays and Fridays. I bake for a local deli for Wednesdays. And the rest of my business comes from direct clients. I bake for Saturday mornings, but by noon it’s all done.

With direct clients, it works great for me to do all my baking the day before clients collect. And then I decorate everything the morning of their collection. But I do take care to prep all the decorations the day before, i.e. making sauces or jams, making chocolate decorations, chopping nuts etc.

So I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday mornings, Thursdays, Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. So I basically work 4,5 full days a week and from noon on Saturdays I am (very intentionally) free the whole weekend!

I permit an exception at the end of each month, since folks over here love spending money on bakes when they get their pay checks!

During such a week I will work the whole Wednesday & Friday as well, but not on the weekend.

Resting on weekends with my husband, friends and family has increased my quality of life DRASTICALLY!! In fact, it has also helped me to recover from my work week better so now I bake with a LOT more speed and precision during the week.

And yes, I have thanked my husband and apologized repeatedly for being such a near sighted workaholic.

The Most Important Thing in Home Bakery Time Management:

Let’s be honest here. We LOVE baking. We gravitate towards it and it’s not going to stop any time soon.

My first step towards a balanced, healthy work life was to ACKNOWLEDGE that I can’t just carry on and hope that my work life and family life magically holds together. It doesn’t work.

I get it, there’s always stuff that NEEDS to be done. But taking at least 1 day where I have NOTHING to do with baking, has increased my passion & work performance drastically.

>> Don’t abuse your passion, rather set rules in place to maintain it.

You NEED to set up a schedule for your work week (including at least 1 day of TOTAL REST) and stick to it NO MATTER WHAT.

If YOU don’t respect your rules, then no one else will. Don’t make exceptions. It’s never “just this once”. If you allow clients to twist your arm once, they will do it again.

Just last week someone phoned me last minute and asked me to bake a gluten free cake for them for the next day.

My policy is that orders need to be placed at least 3 business days in advance. It is plastered all over my website. These folks were too late, so I politely said no, but then they even offered to pay me more!

PAUSE and digest for a minute, no matter how nice and persuasive they are!

By now I’ve learned how to politely decline, but in the beginning I had to spell out the consequences for myself:

# Aurelia, if you do this, then you will be working till 10pm and start working again at 6am.

# If you do this, then you won’t be able to spend any time with your husband tonight.

# If you do this then you will be teaching the client that it is totally okay for them to bribe you! You will be teaching them that you can be won over when they wave an extra $10 bill in your face.

# Do you really want to be someone who is manipulated by sweet speeches and money?

And what was my conclusion (in my mind)?

NO! I don’t want all those things to be my reality!

Spelling out the consequences for myself gave me the perspective I needed to politely decline orders that cross my boundaries.

A few of my students have asked me how I plan my home bakery's work schedule to prevent burn-out, but still make a substantial income AND spend time with my family! For a more thorough post & perspective I've included the work week schedules of 7 additional home bakery owners, as well as my own. #homebakery #cakebusiness #bakingbusiness

So once again, here’s the most important thing:

If YOU don’t respect your rules, then no one else will.

Don’t make exceptions. It’s never “just this once”. If you allow clients to twist your arm once, they will do it again.

In the end, something will suffer. And if YOU suffer, your husband, kids and friends will also suffer.

I sincerely hope that this post has given you some clarity and perspective on how to plan your Home Bakery’s work schedule!

If you have any questions or concerns, just comment below and then we can chat about it.

Chat soon

Aurelia

What info are you looking for?

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

What info are you looking for?

philosophyofyum

In this YouTube video you’ll learn exactly how to start your own Home Bakery Business – even if you don’t have time, a large kitchen, or starting capital!

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← Piping Frosting 101 - The Frosting Piping Manual! 6 Ways to Stay Inspired & Motivated in Your Home Bakery →

Piping Frosting 101 – The Frosting Piping Manual!

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Baking Tips and Tricks

Piping Frosting 101 – The Frosting Piping Manual!

Piping frosting was something I overthought for about a year.

I must have watched 50 videos on YouTube before I actually picked up a piping bag for the first time.

But even after watching ALL those videos I still felt like I had NO IDEA what I was doing! During my first year of more serious baking, I resorted to rather spooning frosting onto cupcakes just to be safe.

Since my last post was my ultimate Vanilla Frosting Recipe and I have shared my ultimate Chocolate Frosting Recipe with you before, I thought I should complete the circle and write this post on PIPING Frosting.

Over the last 5 years I’ve become, thankfully, super comfortable with piping frosting. But I’ve also realized that there are some practical tips and methods that can help a beginner understand more clearly what they need to do.

Most of those 50 videos didn’t help me at all.

The bakers just said: “Pipe the frosting around… Like that!”

That doesn’t do it for me. I need WORDS to explain to me what I need to do.

Just watching someone isn’t enough. And no one can really afford to frost 1000 guinea pig cupcakes before being able to pipe frosting well enough to sell them!

I’ll start by explaining all the natural MISTAKES beginners tend to make when piping frosting…

FROSTING PIPING MISTAKES:

1. Piping Nozzle is too Small

Tiny star tips are so 1990’s. Stay away from them. The finish looks so bad and it’s also much harder to get the frosting to come out with a consistent thickness all the way through. So use a larger nozzle – it makes the frosting look way more generous and voluptuous!

2. Open Star Nozzles aren’t Ideal

Open star nozzles (except for the French tip) do not create a finish as beautiful as CLOSED star nozzles. Closed star nozzles make DEEPER grooves in the frosting, making the finished effect way more dramatic and shapely.

Definitely go for a large, closed star nozzle. If you can only find open star ones, then bend the spikes into the open center to create a closed star shape. I did this 5 years ago with my first ever stainless steel nozzle (13mm diameter opening) – it’s still my favourite one for piping frosting onto cupcakes 🙂 I highly recommend the Wilton 2D or Wilton 1M tip!

Make sure that the spikes are long enough to bend in all the way to the center. Do leave about 1 mm open in the center though.

Another perk of closed star nozzles is that they SAVE FROSTING! The frosting is more defined when it comes out, but the deeper grooves also mean that less frosting comes out overall. Win-win my friend!

Frosting Piping Manual: This thorough post breaks down all the DO's and DON'TS of piping frosting. Includes step by step instructions for piping frosting perfectly every time! #pipingfrosting #cakedecorating #bakingforbeginners

3. Plastic Nozzles – No Go!

You still have plastic nozzles in your house? Whaaaat?! NO! Throw those things away or give it to your kids to play with.

The biggest problem with plastic nozzles is that they fray and decay over time. This fraying creates jagged edges on your frosting – not cool.

Stainless steel nozzles basically have a lifetime warranty. As I’ve said, I’ve used 1 piping nozzle for 5 years and for THOUSANDS of cupcakes.

The finish on my frosting is defined and beautifully smooth every time. I highly recommend the Wilton 2D or Wilton 1M tip!

4. Frosting is too Stiff

Frosting needs a form of “elasticity” to be piped beautifully. If your frosting is too stiff, it will behave as if it’s “brittle”. This means it will break off before you get to pipe around the cupcake.

What you want is ONE, long frosting sausage from beginning to end with no breakage whatsoever.

If you only realize that your frosting is too stiff when you are busy piping, remove all the frosting from the piping bag and fix the consistency first.

Yes, it is more effort, but a shabby finish on your cupcakes is way more exhausting on an emotional level.

5. Frosting is too Runny/Slack

If your frosting is too runny/slack, the grooves in your piped frosting will totally disappear and ruin the cupcake’s aesthetics completely.

If you only realize that your frosting is too runny when you are busy piping, remove all the frosting from the piping bag and fix the consistency first.

Yes, it is more effort, but a shabby finish on your cupcakes is way more exhausting on an emotional level.

6. Holding Nozzle too Close to Cupcake

I’ve realized that piping frosting beautifully onto cupcakes is rather about GUIDING the frosting to gracefully rest in the right position than “putting it on” the cupcakes.

When you have the approach of “putting frosting on” cupcakes, then you tend to hold the nozzle way too close to the cupcake while piping. Any sudden movement then causes you to push the nozzle into the frosting on the cupcake, ruining the finish and clean groove lines.

7. Wrong Angle When Piping Frosting

When you are piping frosting, don’t hold the piping bag diagonal to the cupcake. If you do this then every side of the finished cupcake will look different.

Hold the piping bag perfectly perpendicular to the top of cupcake’s surface. This ensures a consistent frosting pattern all the way around.

👉 Want to SELL your home baked goods so you can make more income?

So now that we know the DON’TS of piping frosting, what are the DOS?

HOW TO PIPE FROSTING PERFECTLY

1. Perfect Piping Consistency

This is quite a sensitive one. We already know that the frosting shouldn’t be too stiff because it will break off when piping. We also know that it shouldn’t be too runny because then our beautifully defined grooves will disappear.

Piping consistency is different from spreading consistency – which is used for layering cakes. To test whether your frosting is piping consistency, you will need a large spoon.

The spoon is handy for 2 reasons. First of all, use it to stir your frosting vigorously for 15 seconds to break any large air pockets and get your frosting smooth.

Secondly you need the spoon for the “plop test”. Yes, this is a term I totally made up just now.

Piping frosting | piping tips | piping frosting on cupcakes

Scoop up a generous spoonful of frosting and hold it up. Now turn your wrist 90 degrees so that the frosting is exposed to gravity, heading towards dropping back into the bowl. Ideally, you want the frosting to linger on the spoon for 3 – 5 seconds before it drops off, back into the bowl.

Another test is the “peak test”. Yet another term I made up just now 🙂

Tap a spoon on top of the frosting and push down gently. Next, lift the spoon up vertically to create a perky peak on the frosting. If the peak bends over and flops down, your frosting is too runny.

If this test doesn’t create one, tall peak but rather a few shorter peaks in an oval arrangement, then your frosting is too stiff.

2. Perfectly Shaped Cupcakes

A “do” that we can’t ignore is that piping frosting perfectly becomes SO much easier when you’ve got perfect cupcakes!

Cupcakes with pointy tops are very difficult to pipe onto because the angle brings gravity into the mix as well, causing your frosting to sag down and ruining your beautiful frosting grooves.

Cupcakes with perfectly smooth and level tops make a world of difference! Fortunately I’ve written a super thorough post on How to Bake Perfect Cupcakes 🙂

3. Holding the Piping Bag

When you’ve filled your piping bag with frosting, twist the end a few times to prevent the frosting from escaping.

Wrap your dominant hand around the filled piping bag. Hold the twisted end securely in the gap between your thumb and index finger.

Piping frosting | piping tips | piping frosting on cupcakes

The frosting will be squeezed out with your dominant hand ONLY! Your other hand is merely there to guide the tip in the right direction. Never apply pressure with both hands.

When piping frosting, apply pressure using the outer part of your palm along with your pinky, ring finger and middle finger. You can also use your thumb’s palm to assist in applying pressure. Let your thumb and index finger focus on keeping the piping bag’s twist from unraveling.

4. Piping Frosting – Basic Swirl

The biggest mistake I made as a beginner was to keep my eye on the frosting while I was piping. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE CUPCAKE while piping frosting. The aim is to follow the shape of the cupcake – that is your constant reference/guide.

Before you start piping frosting, keep in mind that you are merely GUIDING the frosting into place and not “putting it on”.

Decide beforehand how big your border of exposed cupcake will be (more or less). Your frosting’s first contact point should be another 5 mm inside that border so that the frosting’s blunt starting point will be hidden at the end.

Hold the piping bag as perpendicular as possible to the cupcake’s surface.

Hold the piping nozzle’s end point a good half inch away from the surface of the cupcake. Apply careful, even pressure and make your first contact point.

While still applying consistent pressure, squeeze the frosting so that it gracefully leaves the piping bag and guide it into place. Keep your eye on the outer edge of the cupcake all the time!! That is your guide.

Go all the way around till you reach your starting point. Just before your starting point, curve in slightly, allow your second circle to overlap slightly with your first circle of frosting.

Piping frosting | piping tips | piping frosting on cupcakes

When you have spiraled to the center, push down slightly and then release. This last, slight push secures your last spiral of frosting in place so that it doesn’t lift off into a slim, awkward, angled peak when you remove your piping nozzle.

Also, when you lift off the nozzle at the end, don’t do it 100% straightly upwards. Try to incorporate a bit of the swirl’s direction as you end off.

5. Piping Frosting in a “Rose”

Before you start, keep in mind that you are GUIDING the frosting into place and not “putting it on”.

Decide beforehand how big your border of exposed cupcake will be (more or less).

Hold the piping bag as perpendicular as possible to the cupcake’s surface.

Start in the center of the cupcake.

Hold the piping nozzle’s end point a good half inch away from the surface of the cupcake. Apply careful, even pressure and make your first contact point. Hold your position for another second so that more frosting comes out. (The center of a rose always has more petals)

After this you can proceed to start piping frosting in a spiral, around the contact point.

While still applying consistent pressure, squeeze the frosting so that it gracefully leaves the piping bag and guide it into place.

Keep your eye on the outer edge of the cupcake all the time so that you get a symmetrical rose.

As you approach the end of your cupcake’s outer surface, gradually apply less pressure, till you seamlessly stop (while guiding the last bit of frosting to adhere to the frosting on the cupcake).

A step by step tutorial with thorough explanations on hand movements, frosting consistency, piping nozzles, different piping techniques and more. You'll be piping frosting like a pro in not time! #cupcakedecorating #cakedecorating #perfectcupcakes #pipingfrosting

6. Piping Frosting – Tall Swirl

If you want your frosting a mile high on top of your cupcakes, I’m going to recommend something quite controversial.

Rather start with the rose technique and then go over directly into the basic swirl ON TOP of the rose. Doing this creates more frosting structure below your high swirl as well as some additional frosting support in the center.

That’s it my friend! Easy peasy frosting squeezy! 😉

The frosting in all my pics is my Ultimate Vanilla Frosting and Ultimate Chocolate Frosting. They are both SENSATIONALLY delicious!! They’ll turn you into a frosting snob… Seriously… you’ll shun buttercream forever after tasting them.

Chat soon

Aurelia

What info are you looking for?

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

What info are you looking for?

philosophyofyum