It's June!

And that means wedding and graduation party season are upon us.

Business is still pretty slow, and I appreciate every job and referral. (For every referral that leads to a job, I'm offering a dozen free cupcakes as a way to say "thanks!")

I have had a few jobs in the past few weeks and I wanted to share pictures and tell some stories.

Graduations of any kind are a big deal. Even a Kindergarten graduation deserves some celebration. That year is significant for early childhood development, both intellectual and emotional. There's usually a lot of emotional growth that happens for parents during that year.

But I didn't bake for a Kindergarten graduation.

Tim and Kristin have been around my life for a long time. They were my youth leaders when I was in middle and high school. Tim was in one of my classes at Bethel College. Kristin's parents are in my parents' small group. They have been together forever (although I do actually remember when they were dating other people, and that's a very strange thing to think about). They were great examples of faith and faithfulness. As we all got older, especially over the past several years, they have shown incredible perseverance as they worked to complete their degrees, build their marriage, and serve the Lord. I am so proud to have known them through this and I look forward to seeing what is next for them!
For their graduation open house, they asked for chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and confetti cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I found some graduation-themed decorations on Pinterest, and had fun!

Lots of sprinkles. Lots of eggs.

Lots of marshmallows and powdered sugar.

 Congratulations, little cupcake!

I got a message from a former choir mom who I've known since middle school. (I was in the Fort Wayne Children's Choir for 6th-12th grades.) Her church was having a high school graduation celebration for students from Wayne, Homestead, and Northrop high school in Fort Wayne. She asked for red velvet, vanilla, and lemon cupcakes. The frosting for the lemon did not turn out well, so I'm not sharing a picture. I discovered that 7-minute frosting does not refrigerate well and is works best when made on the day of the event. Here are the Generally Vanilla and Red Spartan Velvet.

The same family called about a wedding the next weekend, and I was thrilled to oblige. We went with the lemon (with vanilla buttercream, thanks to learning my lesson), and vanilla (also with vanilla). The colors for the wedding were turquoise and coral, and they asked for the bow tie and mustache cupcakes I made for the baby shower. The lemon cupcakes got "groom" decorations, and the vanilla became "bridal" with flowers. These were super fun to make, and I was able to be creative and teach myself and grow as a decorator.

These events were such a pleasure to bake for, and I'd love the opportunity to bake for your next gathering.

My schedule is filling up with lots of things other than baking, but I can be flexible and have had good results with freezing cupcakes for a few days. Unless your event is in the first three weeks of August, we can work something out. Wedding prep will completely take over my time at that point.


That's right. I'm getting married August 15.

This is Dan. He's my favorite and I cannot wait to be his wife and have him as my husband.

A Strange Request and a Stranger Request

The Stranger Request

The Monday after I started all of this, I got a call. I didn't recognize the number, and it was from Ohio. I almost didn't answer, but I had been applying for jobs (and, of course, there was a chance someone wanted cupcakes).
Me: This is Hope.
Her: Is this the girl who does the cupcakes?
Me: Yes!

She needed two dozen for a baby shower the following Sunday. The mother-to-be likes chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, but we agreed that not everyone likes chocolate. Some people are wrong.

(I actually hate it when people say things like that, but I'm going for crowd appeal here.)

We decided on a dozen chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream filling, and half a dozen each of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes without filling. I'd use the same frosting on all of them and decorate them to make it clear that a baby BOY would soon be joining us.

My go-to chocolate cake recipe is no longer available online, but because I was wonderfully smart a few years ago, I wrote it down. The vanilla cupcakes were these vanilla bean cupcakes with chocolate cream filling. The instructions don't include putting in the vanilla bean paste, but I add it with the eggs.

My frosting recipe varies. Sometimes weather is a factor, sometimes my personal preference is a factor. The basic ingredients are butter (I usually use salted and unsalted so I don't have to add salt), powdered sugar, vanilla, and shortening. I'm not usually brand loyal, but I prefer Crisco.

I made fondant for the first time, because it's nice to control ingredients. Homemade marshmallow fondant is just marshmallows, a little bit of water, and as much powdered sugar as it takes to make a workable, elastic, non-sticky dough. Make sure you have some shortening nearby in order to keep the mixture from covering your hands. Melt the marshmallows in the microwave with a tiny bit of water, add some powered sugar, and start mixing.

I used the fondant to make little bow ties.

Here are the finished cupcakes. 

The mustaches are Wilton. I used a large open star tip to make the swirls. (affiliate link)

The customer was pleased, and I felt good about my first paid baking job in over two years.

(I found out later that she works with a woman from my church.)

The Strange Request

On Monday of this week, I got a message through my THE Facebook page. It was my friend Dan asking whether I could make bearded cupcakes for the next night. He gave me some flavor preferences. I told him I'd make two dozen in a couple flavors.

I made chocolate cupcakes that afternoon because they're easy, they're better the next day, and they work with filling and peanut butter frosting (things he likes).

I also added some pumpkin to my chai cupcake recipe (and added a little extra flour), and topped them with cream cheese frosting.

Boyfriend Dan helped me with the decorations, since a paying gig got in the way of spending gas money looking at apartments. My original plan was to braid strips of frosting to make Viking-style beards. I made two of them, realized how long it would take, and decided we needed to find something different. Dan did a quick Google search, and we adjusted the plan.

This is what we ended up with. If I'd had more time, they'd be a little more finessed, but everyone seemed pleased.  (I forgot to take a picture, so this is from Dan's FB post.)

I really enjoyed these baking projects. It's not a high-paying job and I'm not getting many gigs, but it's fun. I'm sharing this thing that I love doing. I'm just getting started here and I'm teaching myself. I'm using pictures, recipes, and tutorials. I'm spending a lot of time on Pinterest. 

Thanks for your support so far!

And we have lift off!

Welcome to The Hopeful Epicurean!

I'm Hope.

This is where I'll share photos, recipes, and stories as I start a tiny little "business." I mostly do cupcakes, but I can do any cupcake you want. I charge reasonable prices, I accommodate dietary restrictions, and I can deliver!

All the way to Kenosha, WI for a wedding! Three hundred cupcakes, six different flavors. I loved the opportunity to be creative, to work hard, and to participate in this special day with some dear friends from college.

Stay tuned for updates as I start baking for events!