Meet the founder of Rosebud Bakery: Q&A

I remember at the start of lockdown trying to buy self-raising flour and being greeted with empty shelves everywhere I went, that combined with quite frankly the best programme to ever grace our screens in the Great British Bake Off, Baking has well and truly become the trend of 2020.

But there is the type of baking I can do (let’s not even talk about the baking disasters I have had) and then there is someone like Rosie.

Rosie has the talent and attention to detail I could only dream of.

On maternity leave after having her first baby Rosie has created her own thriving business aptly named Rosebud Bakery, offering everything from Birthday cakes right through to 3 tier wedding cakes.

I caught up with Rosie to see what advice she would give to anyone looking to start Baking and to see what’s next for her.

Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you end up with the concept behind your business?

My name is Rose and I am the owner of Rosebud Bakery, you can probably see where my business name came from! 🙂

I have always enjoyed cooking and baking and a couple of years ago decided to set up an Instagram account to share photos of cakes I was making. I started baking for friends and family and it’s only really this year I’ve become serious about trying to make this into a proper business.

What do you offer?

I offer bespoke celebration cakes at Rosebud Bakery: birthdays, weddings, Christenings – you name it! I only work with buttercream as opposed to fondant. Partly because fondant just isn’t my style, but also because I don’t think I would be very good at it!

I also make seasonal bakes such as Halloween cupcakes and Christmas cakes.

What are your key tips for anyone starting out in baking?

To those new to baking, I would suggest just having some fun with it and baking the sort of things you like to eat yourself. Don’t be disheartened if something doesn’t work first time (I have had plenty of my own disasters in the kitchen, believe me!). It’s all about experimenting and trying what works for you.

I would also say be prepared for your kitchen to look a mess most of the time! There’s so much you don’t see behind the scenes when someone posts a pretty picture of a cake 😉

What advice would you give anyone looking to start their own business?

The main advice I would give is to do your research. I am forever watching tutorials on Youtube to learn new decorating techniques, reading recipes and googling where to buy the best equipment! There’s always new trends in the cake world- last year it was drip cakes, this year textured cakes, so it helps to be up to date with things like that. Instagram and Pinterest are great sources of inspiration!

You also need to complete food hygiene training (I did mine online), register your business with the local Council and get business insurance too.

How do you feel about baking being on trend? With shows like The Great British Bake off suddenly becoming fashionable.

I think it’s great for bakers as it shows people the amount of work that goes into creating their bakes, although how they manage to achieve what they do in such a short amount of time is amazing…I guess they have all the equipment they could possibly need, washer-uppers on standby and no interruptions!

Baking can be really therapeutic; you can just switch off from the world and focus all your attention on the task at hand. I suppose that’s why people were baking so much during lockdown, it’s a great distraction from your worries!

What is your greatest achievement? What are you most proud of?

The thing I’m most proud of is a wedding cake I made at the beginning of this year. It was the first three-tiered cake I had made for Rosebud bakery and I was so nervous at the time. I was so happy with the result: it didn’t fall over (which was my main concern!) and I also got amazing feedback about the look and taste of the cake!

I also feel proud that I have finally taken the step to do something that makes me happy work-wise. It can be stressful at times but it gives me a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.

What is the biggest challenge you have found within baking/your business?

Probably learning to juggle it with other things! I am a new Mum with a 3.5 month old baby so I often find myself in the middle of a crucial part of decorating a cake when she starts crying and wanting to be fed. It can be frustrating at times and obviously means that making and decorating a cake takes much longer than it used to! But I’m lucky to have a supportive husband working at home so he can look after her too.

What is your favourite thing to make?

I love to make all those elements of a cake that could easily be shop-bought – I make my own jam and curd fillings, meringue kisses and other decorations too. I like to think this is what sets my cakes apart and takes them to the next level.

What are your ‘daily struggles’ and how do you overcome them?

I sometimes worry that people will think my cakes are too expensive.

To overcome this, I think about all the time and effort that goes into planning each cake, buying ingredients, hunting down the perfect sprinkles online, making the cakes, decorating them and all the cleaning up in between and at the end.

Also, I would say I suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’ and a lack of confidence. It can be so hard not to compare myself to all the people on Instagram making amazing cakes. When I’m feeling like this I try to remember that you only tend to see the ‘good stuff’ on instagram – people won’t post a photo of the ganache that kept splitting and that they had to make four times (this happened to me just a couple of weeks ago!).  

What is next for you?

I’m really hoping to continue to grow the Rosebud Bakery and keep learning new techniques. In an ideal world I’d love to have a little café one day but that would be way down the line!

2020 has been a bit of a funny year for everyone but hopefully next year there will be a lot more to celebrate…although I don’t really think you need a reason to eat cake 😊

Check out Rosie’s amazing bakes via her Instagram: @rosebud__bakery