OK, I’m on the dole and I cant find work anywhere. Im armed with a bachelors degree and 3 years work in a related role yet nothing is working out for me on the job front. Its been a month of fruitless job searching. I cant even get work at the warehouse in the nearest town to me. Its probably not helped that i live in the middle of nowhere and dont really know many people. All i know is i need money. I need to raise about $5k this summer for my travel costs next year if i want to get my post grad diploma in teaching. A friend of mine that I’ve meet through a meditation group runs a stall at the local markets and is keen to show me the ropes.
Alright what can I sell?
My mission: bake cakes for the saturday markets and SAVE this money. Otherwise, without this money saved this study aint happening.
Problem: I’m no good at baking (or any of the housewife of a sort arts) and havent really baked anything well since i was a wee one with a talent for chocolate and banana cakes.
Solution: Trial and error.
First week.
Monday: grabbed the Edmonds cookbook and wrote down the ingredients needed for chocolate cake, date loaf (which ive never attempted) and banana loaf. My sweetheart then tells me that no one likes date loaf apart from me and my unusual tastes. He says chocolate cakes are whats going to sell.
Figured I would need to make around 20 cakes and charge around $5 a cake to make any real profit. Went to the local New World and purchased $70 worth of baking goods. My cupboards were empty so I figured buying the baking powder, baking soda and cocoa were going to to go far for the next round of baking. You got to spend money to make money right?
Tuesday: Started my baking and what a mission. Although, how fun juggling the dates soaking in the butter, water and baking soda, the chocolate cake mix on the go. The one egg chocolate cake mix used the least ingredients. Only one egg and 50grams of butter per cake, half a cup of sugar and a couple of tablespoons of golden syrup. I could continue to mix the cake in the pot that i had melted the butter and the syrup in. With my limited supply of bowls, cake tins, wooden spoons and small oven I thought i was onto a good system.
I got the bananas out of the freezer and squeezed out of their black skins into the bowl for mixing.
The cake mixes are delicious and im reminded i shouldnt be eatting these as im on my diet thats just begun this week. But how else is a baker to know if their food is any good if they havent tried these recipes themselves. My boyfriend tried it the finished products and being my most honest and fussy subject let me know that the cakes were good so far. Ok so im not cutting into any more otherwise i’ll end up with bits of cakes and nothing for sale.
I swapped the chocolate cakes from the sponge tin to a loaf tin and added half the ingredients again to the mix. The first chocolate cake that come out of the sponge cake tin (the only cake tine I have) was a little on the flat and dry side. My aunty had told me to use baking paper which i forgot to get from the supermarket to stop the cake from going dry and burning from the butter used to grease the tin on the outside. I can see what she means now.
Wednesday: Its a real pain when you’ve double or added half again to the mix when your baking do you bake them longer? I went to tip out one of my chocolate cakes and a whole lot of goo came oozing out of the top crack. I whipped it back into the oven for a further ten minutes at a lower heat. Fingers crossed its not too dry. How am i too know if i want to sell these i dont want to be sampling all the stock? Lovely boyfriend tells me to cut up the a cake to give everyone samples. He says the kids will love it. Get the kids roped in so the adults buy. Hrmm sneaky but i like it.
Thursday: My cakes are in the freezer. I have double wrapped them in gladwrap and stacked in the cleaned out freezer. I take out a banana loaf to thaw and sample to make sure this freezing foods is such a good idea. I try the cake in the evening and its gross. My lovely boyfriend tells me its yuk too. Maybe its just not defrosted enough? Oh god I’ve got about 13 cakes in the freezer there is no turning back now. I head off to the supermarket and with a twirl of my blonde hair in my fingers weasel about 20-30 cake containers from the bakery manager.
These containers are perfect. This way i can cut off the end of the loaf – sample it. With a thick layer of icing on top of the cake and the clear lid on top they will look fantastic.
Friday the cakes are all out and defrosting for tomorrows market. Heres hoping they sell.