Hi, I am +Diann Hall , self taught baker. Let me start off with this disclaimer: I didn’t go to pastry school. I don’t proclaim to be the best baker in the world. What I do have is a love of baking and a passion for making people happy.
Ok, now that that is out of the way, (and hopefully reduce judgment on any technical mistakes I may make) I’d like to fill you in on how I got here. Right out of college, I got a job in the corporate world, the lovely world of insurance. I spent the next 11 years working long hours with an even longer commute in a high demand, high stress job. I was promoted several times, working my way up to Claims Field Unit Manager (fancy title huh?) When planning my wedding with my now husband, we were in search of the perfect wedding cake. None of the bakeries we contacted were open to trying new flavors or going beyond status-quo. In addition, those cookie cutter cakes were expensive! I always liked to bake and was a huge fan of the extreme cake shows that were on TV. I noticed a local craft store was offering cake decorating classes and I thought, why not? So I signed up and took the 4 week course that was offered. I was hooked. I continued taking every course the craft store offered. After completing all the courses I decided I would make my own wedding cake (because brides don’t have enough stress already).
After the wedding, I continued making cakes for friends and family events. I experimented with recipes, different decorations and making cake pops, bringing all my new creations to the office for “official testing”. When I became pregnant with my son, I learned he had a cleft lip & palate. My company had a limited amount of leave time available so we were limited in day care options. That paired with the fact I really wanted to stay home with him versus day care, led us to where we are today. I slowly started out of my home kitchen but the business quickly grew. I had overtaken the kitchen with all my cake, cupcake and cake pop supplies and could barely cook a meal. That’s when we decided to buy a bakery and expand the business.
It’s been a few months since I bought the bakery. I currently only sell wholesale or directly to customers by appointment only. I plan on opening a small bakery in April with limited hours. I am now the proud owner of +Frost This (www.frostthisnh.com) in Greenville, NH. We make specialty cakes, cupcakes and cakepops to order. We like to involve the customer from the beginning including design and cake flavor, setting us apart from the standard bakery, which uses frozen, cookie cutter designs and flavors. We also use local ingredients when they are available. We also try and make cakes affordable. Who really needs to spend $8-$12/slice for cake? It’s a cake not diamond!! In this blog, I hope to educate everyone who reads it on the cake buying/ordering process. Since I am a wife and mother of a young child I hope to give insight on how I balance my career and home life. How am I able to sit and complete 200 cake pops in two days with a one year old pulling at my pants calling Mama? I hope to figure that out myself! I want this to be interactive. Please don’t be shy and post comments, questions or even start a discussion on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/frostthiscakes .
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