More than Baking

1 cup gluten free Bob’s Red Mill Baking Flour

1 cup sugar

6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

12 salt

1 large egg

12 cup milk (or oatmilk)

12 vegetable oil

34 tsp vanilla extract

12 cup hot water

Here lies my tried and true chocolate cake recipe. My most popular recipe by far. Especially paired with my chocolate icing. If you like extreme sweet things, this might be for you. It is certainly my personal favorite to both eat and make. 

Outside of being a math teacher, I run my small bakery out of my house. I officially opened my small business, Buttercup Bakery, in February of 2023. While I grew up in the kitchen baking with my grandmother, I never thought about selling what I made until I was in college. I started making cakes for professors’ birthdays and class parties, but it was not until a classmate asked me to make a cake for his daughter’s first birthday in March of 2021 that I thought about turning it into a business. Almost a year later, that is exactly what I did. While I run my business mainly on social media, a lot of my customers come from referrals from previous customers and/or family members. 

For my business specifically, it is so reassuring to hear that they enjoyed their order because everything I make is gluten free. Most people do not know what gluten is, and neither did I before I had to go gluten free. Gluten is found in most flours, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pasta, bread, gummy bears, and anything that contains wheat. Gluten is a family of proteins found in grains, including wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. Glutenin and gliadin are the two main proteins in gluten. (1) Some people have celiac disease, while some others, like me, developed an intolerance to it. It was not until my sophomore year of college that I developed a gluten intolerance. I did not know why until this month when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto Thyroiditis (you can read more about it here) after being gluten intolerant for over 4 years. I spent so long looking for good gluten free options that would substitute for the things that I had eaten for years. I am still looking for some things like a loaf of bread, but I was fortunate enough with my extensive baking experience to not have to give up cake, cookies, and things of that nature. 

Not everyone that orders from me is gluten free. Actually many of them are not. The main question I get after they try what they have ordered is, “was that really gluten free?” I love that question more than anything because I know that I have skillfully mastered a gluten free dessert that has the normal flavor of a non gluten free dessert. If you are gluten free, or have tried something that is gluten free, you know a lot of gluten free things taste like cardboard. I can proudly say that this is NOT that. 

I love getting to make cakes for birthdays, cupcakes for parties, cookies for Christmas, and much more. Having the opportunity to be a small part in someone’s big life event is such an honor. I feel so lucky that people trust me with events like that in their life. I strive to meet their expectations, hoping to exceed their vision. 

Owning a small business has taught me how important it is to effectively communicate with others, how to make a profit off of my work, how to properly price something that I have made, how much my time is worth, how to package my goods in a visually appealing way, and how to produce a good in the most efficient way possible. Communicating and interacting with strangers is not always easy, but it has gotten so much easier for my introverted self the more I have done it. Now, I love getting to interact with them and getting to know them on some level. I especially love when they remember to send me pictures. 

My dream is to someday open up my own store front so that I am able to do this on a larger scale. I know that time is not soon, so until then, I will remain the sole employee of Buttercup Bakery and making things for others out of my kitchen. I have had to take a huge step back from accepting many orders since having a spinal fusion to correct major scoliosis in my back this previous August, but I hope to be back to normal making good for people soon.