Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sheetal Bueche and Rhonda Weeks have made hundreds of dozens of cupcakes. Some have been duds. Others have been perfect.
“We’re going for that ‘wow’ factor,” Bueche says. “We want ours to stand out.”
Bueche and Weeks, social workers and friends, are reintroducing Baton Rouge to the cupcake. The two friends’ Sweet Wishes bakery, scheduled to open this month at 10889 Perkins Rd., features homemade, gourmet cupcakes in classic and offbeat flavors. They expect kids to come in droves, but not exclusively. “Cupcakes and candlelight” is aimed at singles and a signature line of “pupcakes” is for dog lovers.
A new class of cupcakes, diminutive and glam, is selling like mad nationwide. Cupcake shops are everywhere. The western chain, Sprinkles, just opened its fourth location, with 15 more in the works in spots like Atlanta and Houston. Bueche was inspired after she saw a story on the Food Network about the Washington, D.C.-based bakery, Cakelove. She picked up the phone immediately and called Weeks.
“Everyone thought it was just another one of my cockamamie ideas,” Bueche says, but Weeks bit. The two had talked for years about opening a business together and this felt right. Weeks, 39, loved to bake and had a good decorating hand. Bueche, 35, loved to sell. Sweet Wishes was born.
It took months of planning. The partners found a spot in the former retail side of a salon and installed a commercial kitchen. They decided on a color scheme of warm red, cream and chocolate brown. And from the beginning, they tested recipes night after night at home.
Butterscotch was easy to nail. Peanut butter was not. Carrot cake was improved by freshly grated carrots. Heavy-duty chocolate, spiked with dark chocolate pieces, was converted from a favorite cake recipe Weeks made growing up. The classic Plain Jane was kept moist and distinct by a secret blend of ingredients. The homespun banana featured pureed fruit in the batter, giving it the tender texture of an old fashioned, church supper cake.
“We both like a cupcake that’s moist and airy,” Bueche says. Taste-testing became an interactive sport. They took batches to friends, colleagues and family members for feedback.
“They were really popular,” says Bueche. Taste-testers began asking for duds to stay in full supply. One of their burliest samplers fantasized about dainty flavors like raspberries and cream, a Plain Jane filled with tangy gelled fruit and topped with signature cream frosting, she says.
Sweet Wishes’ menu features eight rotating flavors out of a possible 21, along with LSU Dairy Store ice cream. The store plans to offer wireless access, coffees, teas and a room for small business meetings.
Birthday parties, Weeks says, will give children the chance to confect their own designs and take home novelty cupcakes featuring images “printed” with special equipment. “We can do children’s artwork or messages like ‘Happy Birthday’ in the frosting,” she says.
As for the name, Sweet Wishes connotes the women’s desire to stay connected to social work by supporting charitable organizations. “We want to be community oriented and help these groups realize their wishes,” Bueche says.
Sweet.
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