Name: Vandra & Keira (mother & daughter)
Age: 20 something and not telling ;)
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Occupation: Cupcake Bakers & business entrepreneurs
URL: www.carouselscupcakes.com.au
How long have you been baking, and what made you decide to open a cupcake-only bakery? How long did the process take from coming up with the idea to opening up your own shop?
We have no professional skills in baking, we have just learnt from our mother/grandmother and had lots and lots of practise.
We had been looking for a great business idea to work on together for a while when someone suggested cupcakes as they had been following the trend over in the U.S, we did some research and wondered why there weren't already any in our town.
The whole process took about 3-4 months from idea to completion.
What makes your cupcakes unique?
We aim to compromise between amazing flavours and decorative detail. We love love love beautiful cupcakes that you see on wedding stands, but we all know they don't always taste so hot, so we strive for a middle ground where they are still really beautiful and cute, but look so yummy to eat you are almost drooling by the time it gets to your mouth!
You say on your site that now Brisbane's cupcake drought is over -- what was the scene like for cupcakes before you came along?
There really was no scene! As the buzz about cupcakes and cupcake themed everything has been hitting the stores like there is no tomorrow, along with cupcake books and cupcake baking tools, there were no actual CUPCAKES! It has started to become popular for wedding cakes (there are a lot of delivery-only cupcake businesses here), but we are generally about 5 years behind the U.S. so we are just starting to catch up now. Other 'major cities in Australia though have a few great stores that we have read about, and we suspect a few more might be opening up here in Brisbane which would be great!
Is there a typical Carousels customer? Do you find that kids and adults treat cupcakes differently, or are they each just as excited about them?
Oh, the adults are just as or even more excited than the kids! The typical Carousels customer is a happy one for sure, people come in for casual get togethers, a gossip catchup in the cosy booths or just a quite coffee and bite to eat before they head off to work.
You offer a mix of traditional flavors and some unusual ones, such as mellow yellow, a banana cupcake with passionfruit icing, a gluten free orange and almond cupcake with white chocolate ganache and chilli chilli bang bang, which you say is "not for the faint hearted," and contains chocolate & chilli topped with tia maria chocolate frosting. How did you come up with the more exotic flavors, and which flavors are most popular so far? Do you plan to add new flavors?
I think we bake what appeals to us, the possibilities of cupcakes are endless so we search high and low or make up our own recipes to suit what we are craving or what we feel we are missing. Some are seasonal such as bananas or mangos, then there are some which are holiday themed, like the Christmas pudding cupcakes.
Because our theme is the 50's sometimes we think of a famous star from back then and figure out how we can accomodate a cupcake to suit their style! We have lots of fun coming up with cupcake names.
We have so many flavours now we can't keep up, we seem to come up with a new one each week, in fact we might have to start making it a weekly special.
One of your flavors is the Ava, a special vanilla cupcake named after Ava Rosemeyer, with 10% of the profits going toward Royal Children's Hospital. Can you tell us more about both the cupcake and Ava herself?
Yes, our special girly & pink cupcake is dedicated to our niece/cousin's 3-year-old daughter Ava Rosemeyer who tragically passed away recently in a terrible accident. We wanted to honour her in some way as she was a very girly little girl who absolutely loved pink and her nickname was the "Super Princess" (aptly given by herself) and we know that if she was still here so would have loved our very pretty shop.
Her mother Sheye Rosemeyer, who is a wonderful children's photographer (and has so many beautiful images of Ava) has been wanting to spread the message about Ava's Rule regarding children and car safety and also to share with everyone how beautiful she was inside and out.
Lots of mums from all over the world read Sheye's blog also have little boys and girls and the ones that can bring them in to the shop just to try an Ava cupcake. She has become something of a legend with these beautiful portraits of her created by Belle & Boo.
Do you have any special events or cupcakes themes/flavors planned for Valentine's Day?
Of course! We love to create specially themed cupcakes. Our next focus however, is Australia Day [January 26] which is only about a week away. We are about to reveal our Australia Day cupcakes for anyone who wants to order some for their festivities.
You've set up your bakery with a 50's style theme and decor, with books and artwork on the tables harkening back to that earlier time. How much of the appeal of cupcakes do you think is a nostalgic throwback, and what about the 50's have you drawn inspiration from?
Oh that's what cupcakes are all about, aren't they? Everything today is so fast paced and there is no service at all, cupcakes are from a time where everything was home baked and there was time and effort put into making things look nice. We pride ourselves on old fashioned service with a smile!
You offer a special children's party package including not just mini cupcakes, but snacks, punch, decorations and games. What's the ideal number of guests at such a party, and what else happens at them? What's the ideal age range for such a party?
Our decor is just perfect for a children’s party! The ideal age for this type of party is probably from 0 up until 7 or 8. After that older kids might like to have a more informal affair minus the games and more of a grown up menu. The ideal number of guests is about 5-10 kids, this makes it a little more intimate for the birthday girl or boy. What else happens depends on the individual, if the parents want us to include something a little different or special, we are happy to accommodate them.
You also do custom cupcakes for special events. How long in advance should someone call to book you for custom catering, and should they know exactly what they want on their cupcakes, or do you brainstorm/work with your clients? What's been the most fun event you've catered so far?
A few weeks is a good timeline but if that can't be done then 3-4 days should be sufficient. They can tell us what they want, or it they have no idea, we can help them come up with some ideas. We are both very creative ladies and love the decorating side of the custom cupcakes so we have some good ideas when it comes to that. The funnest ones to cater for are kids' parties, especially the look on the child’s face when they see how special their birthday cakes are!
I understand that cupcakes are as popular in Australia as they are in the United States. Is there a cupcake tradition in Australia? Do people tend to buy or make them for birthday parties and the like?
It might just be where I'm from in Australia but we tended to call them "Patty Cakes" until this new cupcake trend took over. They are a bit of a staple item at little children's parties and are preferred over full cakes at day care and kindy as nobody needs to cut anything up!!!
As we said earlier, there aren't many places to buy this sort of thing off the shelf, most people tend to make up the packet mixes from the supermarket. We have a lot of people that come in on the day and pick out an assorted 12 for a birthday dinner or just a casual get together with friends.
What are the busiest times of the day or week?
We are still trying to figure that one out! It's been a bit topsy turvy as we opened just before the holidays so we are not quite sure yet what 'normal' is. We still haven't had a chance to do any marketing properly so not many people know we are here besides from word of mouth.
What's the best and worst parts of your job running Carousels Cupcakes?
The best part is making everyone happy with a special cupcake and coffee. We meet the best people and it is a fun environment to work in. The worst part is when we go home we realise just how many more cupcakes we have to make that night and we can work long into the night baking and icing. That is the only downside.
And now for some personal questions…
How often do you eat cupcakes?
We use our husbands and friends to test our cakes. Occasionally we can't resist one at the shop but we thought we would be eating them all of the time but not so. We do love to test the new ones though.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
The fact that they are such a wicked little package. Cake with a fix of sugar, just enough to satisfy that sweet craving.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Mine is "The Archie" - a choc orange with jaffas and Vandra's is the Wascilly Wabbit - the carrot cake.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
The fact that they are completely homemade with all natural ingredients and fresh butters and eggs make them special. Often cakes bought at supermarkets have a lot of preservatives etc. in them.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
Just would love to have a lot more paper cup varieties and colours. You seem to have a lot more to chose from in America than we do here in Australia. We have imported a few from there to have the variety. Also maybe a yummier alternative to the hard icing that looks so nice but tastes like plastic!
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
Yes, we bake every night. It is a big job but we are getting it down to a fine art now.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
Vandra's is remembering her mum cooking patty cakes for one of her birthday parties when she was about 7.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
We enjoy making the orders for birthday parties with the little animals etc. on them. They do come to life when added to the cake.
Do you have anything else to add?
Thank you for talking to us! We are thrilled at all the interest in our little shop and hope that everybody who can will get a chance to come in and enjoy it for themselves.
Comments