My First Referral Order!

I know I have been talking about this referral order A LOT and not giving any details, so here you go (or at least I would like to hope some of you were biting your nails in anticipation of this moment - no?). A couple weeks ago, my coworker Eileen last-minute ordered some carrot cupcakes to take to a friend's party (see story here). The next day at work, she told me they were a hit, and that I shouldn't be surprised if I received some order interest afterward. The next day, I noticed an email in my Dolce + Decadence inbox from a woman's name I did not recognize. The email lauded my carrot cake and asked if I would be interested in providing dessert for her upcoming baby shower. My response: YES!

Milestone #1: First Referral Order  - COMPLETE

This was a moment I had been dreaming of for awhile: the day a person that I did not know placed an order. And this was it - Friday, July 29, 2011, exactly 75 days after starting my blog/business. Not too shabby!

The woman said she was interested in a cake, most likely carrot, and possibly some favors. I offered to throw together a proposal of some ideas for both. For cakes, I suggested various varieties, including carrot, red velvet, flourless chocolate, or baby-themed (blueberry, strawberry, etc.). For favors, I suggested cake truffles, mini pies, and mini flourless chocolate cakes. After some back-and-forth discussion, the shower honoree and her sister (the shower host) decided upon a carrot cake for the shower, and dark chocolate hazelnut cake truffles for the favors. Time for me to get to work!

The carrot cake was easy, as I have made a lot of them lately, if you hadn't noticed. I think I may be digging myself into a carrot cake hole (which isn't a bad one to have to eat your way out of, I guess). Oh well - nothing wrong with having a specialty, especially if it brings in orders! Maybe my niche could be carrot cake, and my bakery can specialize in carrot cake in all its glorious forms: cake, cupcakes, truffles, cookies, whoopie pies, cheesecakes, bars, etc. (now I'm just making myself drool...). Anyways, I digress. So I made another three-layer carrot cake. And here are more pictures of it. 'Nuff said.

Anyways, the more interesting, newer item: the dark chocolate hazelnut cake truffles. After receiving feedback that the wedding favor brownie truffles had great flavor but were a bit too crumbly, as brownies typically are, I decided to make these chocolate truffles with cake instead, since cake lends a moister texture to truffles. I baked up a dense, dark chocolate cake, promptly destroyed it (oh!, the baker's dilemma!), mixed in some hazelnuts and rich chocolate frosting to bind into a dough, and shaped the truffles. I then dipped them into melted dark chocolate to coat and then sprinkled crushed hazelnuts over top. Basically, a dark chocolate lover's dream. They wanted boxes for the order as well, so I ordered little truffle boxes, which I sealed with my label.

I delivered them to the shower site as the party throwers were setting up. The sister seemed really pleased, so I hoped the shower honoree would be as well. I emailed them afterward to check in, and they said the desserts were delicious and well-received. If anyone that attended the shower happens to read this post,

1. Thanks for paying attention to my cards and packaging!
2. Leave a comment telling us what you thought!