Cupcake Revelations

Last Saturday Das Cupcake had a photoshoot and it was awesome. Actually last week was all around awesome for Das Cupcake. On Monday, I had my final exam and passed! So now I am officially official to sell my cupcakes anywhere in Germany because I’m qualified man! I am a Konditorin. I just love the way that spills off my tongue. This is a huge deal!

Last Saturday was also huge because a new friend I made came all the way from Stuttgart with all her photography equipment and we had a cupcake photoshoot.

I prepared the cupcakes a day ahead and styled them for each set-change. It was my very very very first time being a Director on a shoot and I didn’t really know what to do. Luckily for the first two thirds of the shoot, Jen took charge and set up the photos and finally during the last third of the shoot I started styling the shots a bit more and looking over Jen’s shoulder into her Canon’s viewfinder. When I did that, I felt truly like a creative Director and it brought me back to watching America’s Next Top Model episodes with Jay Manual directing the shoots! Halfway through the shoot, as I prepped a cupcake and saw my living room transformed into a mini set, I got this immense surge of joy. Here is an excerpt of what I wrote during this time (so as not to forget exactly where my whole being was at that time):

“I feel it! I feel IT! I have this constant sense of well-being and joy flowing through my body. I know that I am doing what I love. I can’t get this grin off of my face. My heart is so happy. We are listening to a compilation of my old soundtracks I compiled online and listening to this music has somehow connected me to my past and present. On a subconscious level it has brought me back to my past when I was unhappy with my career and spontaneously triggered a reaction in me in response to how happy I feel in this moment of time. I’m soaring. It feels like I’ve come full circle. Like I’ve come home. What is that called when the past and present combine and it’s just perfect harmony? An incredible feeling. I feel so connected to myself.”

Now brace yourself for some cheesiness, but it has to be said. I really believe that this feeling I get when making cupcakes gets passed onto the customer. It’s not just ‘x’ amount of hours spent on a cupcake order, but my love of the cupcake coming from THE ultimate place of self-fulfillment in my soul right to you!

I really had a wonderful day (and week!) and I thank Jen with my whole heart for making the huge effort and sharing her huge “Photographerin” talent with me!

A sneak peak at the goodies we photographed!

The Creative Soul of a Cupcake Bakestress

I recently returned to corporate world as a great opportunity showed up on my doorstep and it is only part-time and temporary. It lets me flex the skills I already have (corporate world related) to help out a good team and an interesting project and at the same time give me some side money while I get my business going as well.  I have to say, that I am absolutely fascinated by how my perspective has changed. My values are different, my needs are different and my expectations are different. This side job gives me a direct view into how my life could be in Germany if I head back into the world of large corporations with large projects. Multi-nationals with multi-digit budgets have their advantages, but they certainly do not foster any creativity or self-expression.

Donated these for the winners of a charity auction held at my Frankfurt language school, A-viva.

A friend of mine recently told me that creative people need input as well as output. Now I never really considered myself a creative person, i.e I can’t draw to save my life! but I never realized how important creative input was until I didn’t have it. As I say in my About section, I have been debating for a long time what I want to be when I grow up…dolphin trainer, interpreter, millionaire’s wife and I was continuously on my search for another job in spite of always being employed. And now I think I have really found the secret ingredients I need to make me thrive at work. Creativity, self-expression and the immediate gratification I get when I see something come to life with my hands and have people enjoy it.

I donated 12 altogether, there were 6 chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate ganache and strawberries and 6 chocolate cupcakes with bourbon vanilla buttercream and little strawberries cut into small flowers.

My cupcake dream has been long in the making. Thanks to German laws, I have learned what it is to be a business woman and an entrepreneur. Whereas before, I had my focus dead centre on creating and experimenting with ingredients, that has recently taken a bit of a backseat (proof in the lack of pics and entries on my blog!). And although my creativity has suffered a little, it’s nothing compared to dissatisfaction I felt before. There was always something lacking in the corporate world and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Now I can really see and feel the difference. My soul gets fed and brightens up when I make and decorate cupcake creations. But when I have to rush to a 9-7 job, exerting my energy into that, I feel low and ‘blah’.

It’s my goal now to really keep the balance. I see that there needs to be one kept as long as I have this side job and it’s of paramount importance that I don’t lose myself in the rush and in doing so lose the fire in my heart for baking.

Chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate ganache and strawberries with a small fondant primrose.