Mix of hard work and husband’s sweet tooth saw Toni rise to cake business challenge
SHE’S NOW PRODUCING FABULOUS CREATIONS EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR
WHEN Toni Adam began sending her sweet-toothed husband into work with her latest cakes, it changed her life.
A request to make birthday cupcakes for the boss’s daughter led to her founding Mickleover-based Red Velvet Bakery.
Now she provides fabulous celebration cakes every week of the year.
Toni, who was born in Ireland, started out with jobs in IT and the conference and banqueting industry, but was always a keen cook – although her cake-baking skills were nonexistent.
“I’d been made redundant from a sales role and was really struggling to find a new job. I decided to bake a cake for my lovely new husband, Stuart, and it was a total disaster!” she says.
“I’m a decent cook, so I thought I could bake. I was horrified that I couldn’t make a simple Victoria sponge.
“I kept trying and my husband was taking treats into work almost daily. Eventually his boss asked me to make some cupcakes for his daughter’s birthday and that was kind of where my cake business journey began.
“The more I baked, the more I learnt, and the more I learnt, the more I loved what I was doing. I signed up for some cake decorating courses and a cake business course to see if I had what it took to make it work.”
Toni established Red Velvet Bakery – named after her favourite cake – in 2016 and “officially took the plunge” into professional baking the following year. It’s proved a huge success.
“Almost all my orders come from repeat customers, personal recommendations or via my social media,” she says.
From themed party cakes to gorgeous wedding cakes, it seems Toni can rise to any challenge set for her.
“I have made castles, cars, and even a highland cow! The only limit is imagination. I’m a big fan of colour and love it when I get to play with really strong or bright colours.
I get so excited when someone is brave enough to say: ‘Let’s just go for it!’
“Some clients know exactly what they are looking for, some need help pulling their ideas together, and others have no idea where to start. “The trick is to ask the right questions. Sometimes we get an idea straight away, and sometimes it takes several conversations to get it right. It’s all about listening to the client and making sure no detail is missed out.” Seventy per cent of Red Velvet Bakery’s business is now in creating stunning bespoke wedding cakes. Modern brides eschew the dense fruit cakes favoured in the past , opting instead for vanilla, lemon and, of course, chocolate sponges, as well as what Toni calls “more fun and interesting” new flavours like lemon and raspberry, salted caramel, banoffee, cherry Bakewell, and rum and ginger.
“A few years ago, I was asked for a sponge that tasted like chai tea. It took a while to get the spices right, but it was worth the effort. Think of all the flavours of a fruit cake – but without the fruit.
“The semi-naked style is still very popular, along with having fresh flowers rather than Sugarcraft on fondant finished cakes.”
The past 18 months have proved tricky for businesses relying on special occasions: “Lockdown and the restrictions on numbers at weddings meant over 90 per cent of my 2020 wedding bookings had to rearrange. It was a very stressful time, not only for couples but also for the wedding industry.
“The big challenge was making sure I could accommodate all new dates for my clients. My 2021 diary was pretty full before Covid-19, so moving all bookings back by 12 months has meant that this year is extremely busy.
“My business wasn’t affected as badly as some others. I dug my heels in and just kept working hard. During lockdown, many customers were happy to spend a little more on a birthday cake because they couldn’t have a party, and I worked all the way through both lockdowns” Toni is now dreaming of working on a collaboration with some of her cake heroes: “Something that is large scale, unique, a one-off in design. One of those commissions that is a total showstopper and would have people talking about it for a long time afterwards.”
I have made castles, cars, and even a highland cow! The only limit is imagination.
Toni Adam