BUTTERcream

I wanted to do a post on buttercream for a few reasons:
1. I get alot of random comments from people all over the internet complaining that my blog is not a blog. That's true- it's not much of a "blog"! It's primary use is to show pictures of the cakes we have done. I used to go into more detail about the decor and involvement of each cake, but since my storefront has opened I don't have the time for that... But there are certain subjects that deserve a blog post! I also say all the time that I am going to start "blogging" more, but never seem to get to it.
2. I got my degree in Communication. Can't let that sucker go to waste!! :) Hi Dad. Using my college degree as we speak.

Okay so onto the buttercream!! We really, really, really, super duper, REALLY, take alot of pride in our buttercream. We only do three types of frostings here: Buttercream, chocolate buttercream, and cream cheese frosting. This means we are putting buttercream on almost ALL of our cupcakes. That means it has to taste good and look good! So now I am going to spill some of our not so secret secrets with you: our buttercream has 3 ingredients: butter, sugar, and pure vanilla extract. We absolutely do not ever use any shortening or oil. You won't even find shortening or oils in the building! Shortening is used in buttercream/cakes for 2 reasons: 1. stability 2. it's cheap. I mean really cheap. We don't use for it two reasons 1. it's terrible for you 2. it's gross. I mean really gross. Have you ever accidentally got shortening on your hands? It's impossible to get off right!?! Imagine that going into your stomach! Talk about tummy ache!! It makes me cringe just thinking about it. I have to admit though- it is most definitely harder to frost a cake with all butter buttercream. But that's why I'm so proud of what Nicole and I can do here! We have mastered the smooth buttercream frosting technique, and I think it's pretty awesome. We never cover our cakes in fondant (unless requested) because our buttercream looks just as smooth.
So how do you know if you are eating "shorteningcream"? I'll give you some hints: 1. the cupcake costs $1.00. How can anyone possibly be making any money if their cupcakes are shockingly cheap? We use all butter, no oils, fresh fruit etc etc etc-- there would be no way to make money on a cupcake like that unless it is cake mix, oil, and shortening. (tummy ache) 2. The frosting is "crusty" or "hard". This can be either because of the shortening or an inordinate amount of powdered sugar. (or both) You shouldn't be able to touch a swirl of frosting and have a clean finger. If you accidentally swipe your finger in our buttercream you're going to have a delicious mess on your hands. (literally). And speaking of the inordinate amounts of powdered sugar- we also really pride ourselves on our "sweentess" level. The complaint I hear most about cupcakes in general is either that they are too dry or too sweet. We like to think that our buttercream compliments our cakes perfectly. It is "mildly" sweet, fluffy, and smooth!
Come in and try our buttercream, let us know what YOU think!

Nicole: my FAVORITE employee!

If you are a frequent fan of our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Leahs.Sweet.Treats , you have surely seen me mention my most favorite (and only) employee Nicole. If you have come in to the shop you have most likely met Nicole! But if you haven't done either-- it's time to get to know my most valued employee: Nicole! 

DISCLAIMER:::::::::::::::::::::::::: Although we are ALWAYS "Camera Ready" and soooo ready for our close ups! (((yeah right!!!!!))) We almost never wear makeup to work. We don't mean to scare you (or your pure innocent children for that matter) but let's face it: We wake up at 4, are baking by 6, and get a full blown shower every time we do the dishes. Not to mention covered in buttercream probably every 20 min on the hour, a nice coat of food coloring all over the hands, and sprinkles in the hair. So we gave up pretty quick on the whole "gotta look super cute in this super cute cake shop" idea. So Nicole was nottttttt so thrilled when I told her to SMILE for the camera this morning! (And she tells me there will be some payback for this pic......... so everyone be on your toes!) But this is my awesome Nicole, cracking up like she normally does at 6 AM--- life would be SO BORING without her here, manning the ovens like a champ!!

Nicole helps me do absolutely everything around here- she bakes, she decorates, she frosts, she fills, she does dishes, answers phones, mops the floors, checks you out when you come in to buy your sweet treats, and she's my part time personal therapist and life coach. We want you to feel like you KNOW us at Leah's Sweet Treats!! We have the most awesome regular customers that we feel like are our friends and that we know so well after only being open for 4 months, and we want you to feel the same about us!

Here is a little Q&A for my Nicole:

Hi Nicole, my most favorite employee. Tell us a little bit about yourself:

Well, let's see... I'm a mother of two talented and beautiful teenage girls. They keep me cooking, cleaning, driving, texting, tweeting, spending, and listening to their crazy teenage happenings! I'm also married to a wonderful man, who embraces my (sometimes outrageous) demands and epiphanies with an open mind. I'm so lucky in love, family, and most recently, with my job.

Why did you want to get into baking/pastry/cakes?

I have always been the creative type. I always have a project going (or two, or three...) at any given time, whether home improvement, art project, or vegetable garden. I was an office manager for several years in the commercial flooring industry. I just decided one day that I needed to get out from behind the desk and do something that makes me happy, though I wasn't quite sure what that was yet!

One day soon after, I had a whim to try my hand at a two tiered birthday cake. It seemed I had a knack for it! The reaction from everyone was so positive that I went for it! A few months later I found Leah, and well, here I am! 

What is your FAVORITE part of this job?

There are so many great things about this place! First and foremost, I have THE best boss!!! (I'd give her a 10, but I'll have to deduct a 1/2 point for that surprise picture this morning!) I love Fort Worth! It's a great city, and I'm proud to be a part of the Camp Bowie family of small businesses.

I know some people might think this is crazy, but the hours are wonderful! Up at 4am and baking by 6am may sound like torture to some, but it makes for lots of day left over when the work day is done!

More so than anything, it means so much to me to be a part of a brand new company; not just any company, but our Leah has got something special here!! She's so super talented! I think anyone would be crazy not to want to be a part of what is happening here!

What do you love most about our sweet customers?

I love that everyone who comes in with an idea, brings something different each time! No cake is ever the same as the one before. Our customers are pretty creative! It's always fun to see what they come up with next!!

What is your favorite flavor of cupcake we make and why?

That's a question that people ask me pretty often and I think my answer changes every day! I LOVE the Peanut Butter Chip. One bite and breakfast is out the window! The strawberry is the best on the planet! Who else makes them like we do? I've never been a big fan of nuts, but our Almond cupcake is a game changer! Just today, we made up a Chocolate Coconut flavor that immediately made my favorites list! I could go on... and on... and on!!

Isn't she awesome?!? And just to be fair:::: 

Update on the Storefront!

Sign is up!

Hi everyone! I wanted to give an update on the progress of the storefront since there has actually been *GASP* progress!! :) I am so excited and literally CANNOT wait to get open!

As for the actual construction, we have walls up, plumbing installed, electric done, and are getting close to working on the more exciting stuff- aka paint and decor :) I was realllly, really hoping to be open by the end of October but it is looking more like Mid- November. Once we get an actual date of completion I will be promoting our grand opening which will fall on a Saturday! Stay tuned for that announcement because it's going to be an awesome event!!

I also wanted to explain to everyone my vision and what you can expect when you come in once we are open! There will be retail cupcakes for sale every day. There will be one case where you can walk in and purchase one cupcake to eat on the spot, or as many as you would like! But there will also be the refrigerated case where there will be a variety of "Grab and Go" pre-boxed cupcakes. I am so excited for this! They will be a variety of flavors, and also decorated with custom fondant decor! So for instance when the holidays come up if you are in a crunch you can stop in on the fly and pick up one dozen or two dozen amazingly cute, ready to go, already decorated cupcakes! I think it's going to be a hit and like nothing else you can find in Fort Worth!! If you like what I do with my custom cupcake orders, you will definitely like this! These "Grab and Go's" will be available every day (first come, first serve) and the themes will change according to seasons/holidays/events etc!

The closer we get to opening the closer we are getting to having an actual LAND LINE phone (woohoo!!!!!) And we can all communicate via phone, or better yet in person! So please stay tuned for the new number!

I also wanted to encourage everyone to place their orders for Halloween ASAP (how the heck is it already mid October?!?!) I have sooo many cute ideas for Halloween cupcakes-- shoot me an email Leah@SugarPieHoneyBuns.com if you would like to place an order!!

Thank you again everyone for your constant support and patience! Can't wait to share my vision with all of you!! :)

Oh, and one last thing!! I have been working with my amazing graphic designer/photographer team on an entirely new website for literally months now! (Same domain- www.sugarpiehoneybuns.com) But it is literally soooo CAAAA-YUUUUUTE and unique and ME- I cannot wait to reveal it to you guys!! It really conveys what Leah's Sweet Treats is to me and my actual aesthetic so it's going to be awesome! We have been waiting until we get the new contact info so please be sure to check my facebook www.facebook.com/Leahs.Sweet.Treats for updates and the announcement of new website!!  

Update on Storefront

Woohoo! Progress has been made at the storefront!! The carpet (and tiles that were underneath) have been pulled up and the paint colors have been chosen. Pfffh you thought I could narrow it down to one or two colors??? Try 6! It's going to be super cute, retro chic! The plans were finally finalized and should be submitted this week. If all goes well everything should move forward smoothly and swiftly so let's all hope so!!

Update on the Storefront and other misc. info!

Hello all! I now have some opportunity to actually write on my “blog”, so I hope you guys don’t mind reading my rambling. I gotta put that Communication degree to good use………. Right Dad? So here a few updates for everyone!

Today I decided to go “spruce up” my window, and hopefully catch some people’s attention off the street!! Last weekend I had put up my 2 hand painted signs, but then I had the idea to paint the windows… Side note/True story: I have always had a dream of being a window painter, especially the awesomeness that usually comes with Wendy’s windows. It is everything I love: Neon colors, block letters, and exclamation points!!! (!!!) Today I was finally able to get a taste of that dream I had since I was a tiny girl, dipping my chicken nuggets in my frosty (ewww, no YUM!! You gotta try it!) I headed over to Party Warehouse and picked up a variety of car window paints, the kind you use at Homecoming etc, and decided to see what I could come up with. Well let me tell you- it’s not that easy to use those darn things for details because the end is just a nub, and you can’t really control the flow, but I think it turned out super cute! Next time, I think I will investigate buying different paint, and using brushes! Also, might I add, *very* proud that I was able to spell everything correctly and have all the letters turned the right direction since I had to do it backwards. Also, I’m sure some of you might be wondering- Geez, what she doesn’t want to fork over the 20 bucks for a legit sign?? Well noooo, thank you very much, I’d rather spend 5 times as much at the craft and party store, hours out of my day, yellow paint all over my favorite shoes (and good thing we are pulling the carpet because there is a giant yellow puddle right by the window!) and do it myself! Because I love doing stuff like that! It’s the reason I’m a cake artist! I have always considered myself an “artistic” person, but more than that- I have always loved to MAKE things and DECORATE things. I’m a definite crafter! So although my signage may not be the most “professional” thing in the world, it definitely reflects who I am, and what I love.

On another note- I know everyone (including MYSELF!) has been asking when Leah’s Sweet Treats will be officially open. It’s hard to tell, but we are hoping hoping hoping for a May date. It all depends on getting things approved by the city more than it does actual renovations. So let’s all send good vibes that our plans get approved ASAP and we don’t have any major road blocks!!

Today I also met with Candice from FW Weekly- You guys have to pick up next week’s issue, which has their big “EATS” publication within the regular weekly publication. Tons and tons of Fort Worth restaurants and eateries, reviews, ads, and info! Look for my blurb and ad, very exciting!! And the best part: It's free!

And lastly my final note, which people have been asking me about since, well forever: I do not do any kind of gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, or any other kind of dietary needs sweet treats. I hate to turn down any kind of clientele, but I just would hate to put out a product that is sub- standard. I know what I am good at, and I like to only stick to things that I know will be totally satisfying to the customer. That also goes for why I don’t do cookies, cake balls, other pastries, etc. I don’t want to put out a million different products just because I can. When you get a cupcake or a cake from me, I can guarantee it is going to be moist, delicious, and fresh! 

Well I think that is all for now, thank you for reading, and have a SWEET day!

Exciting News!!!!!!!!!!

I am so very, very, very excited, happy, ecstatic, and elated to share that as of today, I have signed a lease, and Leah's Sweet Treats will soon be open as a storefront!! We will be located at 4910 Camp Bowie- directly across from Kincaid's Hamburgers, on the bricks!! It is an AWESOME location and space- and I couldn't be more excited!!

 Soon you will be able to come in and buy cupcakes on a daily basis, and pick up your custom cakes & cupcake orders at your convenience! I also wanted to take to my blog to thank EACH AND EVERY ONE of you who took a chance on me, came back for repeat orders, and referred me to your friends and family- without you all this wouldn't be possible. Most importantly this wouldn't be possible without the unfaltering and continuous support of my PARENTS- Mom and Dad, thank you soooo much for all of your help, your patience, your support, and of course- your amazing P.R. skills ;) 

I will keep everyone updated as we begin renovations of the space, and hopefully will be open for business sometime during the month of May. In the mean time, I will still be doing all my custom orders, and delivering them to you- so please don't hesitate to call!!

Leah's Sweet Treats will be located between the Locksmith and Pompeii Salon

Here is a view looking out from inside the shop.

Will keep everyone posted, and again THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU everyone for your support of Leah's Sweet Treats!!