I am Grand Re-Opening my home business after several years of the same website,logos and boring cake offerings...business is down so trying to attract new/more clientelle.
I am in the process of creating a new website,new business cards NEW look everything...I want a new fresh look as to what I am going to offer...In the past it has always been kids custom cakes with House WBH icing..In the middle of the cakes as well..nothing fancy...To be honest I am scared to use Jams/fruit fillings/puddings/custards etc as I don't know how they are going to react..meaning...leaking,bulging...I've always just gone with what I know and works ...
I feel that now I need to offer more....At least jam fillings.....I also want to offer more than cakes,cupcakes and sugar cookies but am not sure what will be popular with customers and relatively easy to make and the ingredients not hugely expensive..I am in a market where people won't pay $5.00 for a cakepop but I can't afford to make them for $1.50 either..they are time consuming.
should I offer Tarts...squares....cakepops....mini cupcakes....corporate deals like cookie trays etc?
I would really appreciate it if some of you could offer weigh in and offer suggestions..I live in a large city..there is a few cupcake shops here (their product is not that great from my opinion)...There is also quite a few HOME bakeries where people are advertising in Kijiji and such but you know they aren't licensed...there is lots of business to go around but attracting it is another thing...People are still stuck on the grocery store cakes..Uuggghhhh and it's hard to get them to pay more than $50.00 for a simple slab cake...
Thanks 
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...To be honest I am scared to use Jams/fruit fillings/puddings/custards etc as I don't know how they are going to react..meaning...leaking,bulging...I've always just gone with what I know and works ...
I feel that now I need to offer more....At least jam fillings....
should I offer Tarts...squares....cakepops....mini cupcakes....corporate deals like cookie trays etc?
Thanks
a grand re-opening--very cool idea
a fellow caker uses straight up polaner all fruit right out of the jar for her cakes--a thin layer then buttercream filling too--
i think corporate cookie trays are a great idea--i'd work out recipes that I can toss together in a flash--they are often need last minute things--you might do very well with that--
i'd recommend doing swiss meringue buttercream--to me it's more user friendly than italian and will set you more apart from the 'crowd'
best of the best to you and great good success with your new re-do
Thanks K8....Will the jam seep into the cake and make it mushy?Or should I put a thin layer of BC on first...I would use SMBC but I find both the SMBC and IMBC are hard to color because of the butter content...I can't seem to get the vivid colors because the butter makes the icing slightly pale yellow...
if you go with a meringue icing--consider making pastry cream with the leftover egg yolks for filling cakes & also make eclairs for the corporate trays--
but i mean that gets you having to keep things fridged too--
homemade eclairs are the bombshabomb with all those fresh ingredients and the shells keep for days
Hmmmm Elairs.......refridgeration is no problem.....my Mom used to make killer cream puffs....
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Thanks K8....Will the jam seep into the cake and make it mushy?Or should I put a thin layer of BC on first...I would use SMBC but I find both the SMBC and IMBC are hard to color because of the butter content...I can't seem to get the vivid colors because the butter makes the icing slightly pale yellow...
hers did not suffer with mushiness--it was just slathered on--if you sandwich it between buttercreams it will increase the slip & slide factor--
yes coloring smbc is more challenging than pure white bc--you're not gonna get pale pink or pale blue for sure but-- i have air brushed smbc no problem--and i don't see why a neon air brush color would not work--i never use neon so i can't test it but it probably will still retain the water color look but it's worth a test if you're wanting to try out some new things and you have the stuff on hand
if i have a bride who wants pure white icing i just go with shortening american icing--i can usually talk them into the butter icings
some peeps use a dab of purple color in the butter icings to whiten it plus beating it more lessens the yellow--
If you know how to work with chocolate, you could offer some of these https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&q=cioccolatini+ripieni&revid=860737816
I have an old french pastry chef training me for the last week and the next 2, he showed me how to work with chocolate, it's not hard after all! it just need some practice!
AIf your goal is to make more money, selling little things that cost a lot to make but people don't want to pay a lot for is going down the wrong path IMO.
You're better off trying to find a way to appeal to the higher end market, who will pay more and want bigger cakes. You might also consider trying to get more into the wedding side.
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