Wake up to Tammy’s desserts

Wake and Bake Desserts is the newest business catering to satisfying sweet tooths with delicious baked items. Although not officially registered, Alfred has been advertising and taking orders via social networking website Facebook and through word of mouth for the past few months.

“I have been doing it for two years for family and friends and they have always urged me to do it officially. This year, I have been looking for a job and what made me start taking it seriously is that I have been getting real problems getting a job so I decided to make money with my cakes to get by. Now that I am doing it, I want to try to further it to see how it goes,” she said.

Deciding on a catchy name was also something that kept Tammy from opening her own business sooner. “I wanted something to catch people’s attention, something that would stand out. Thinking of a name for so long is what literally made me stop myself from coming out sooner. One day it just came to me and I was really happy about it,” she said.

Tammy learnt about baking on her own but her mother was the one who taught her how to make cheesecakes. “She would make for the family and we all loved her cheesecakes so I learnt to make it from her and then I began experimenting with different flavours and toppings on my own,” she said.

So far the business has been a moderate success with people coming from all over Trinidad to purchase Tammy’s cakes.

“Sometimes business is slow. It goes up and down so many times in a month but it balances out in the end. I’ve had a really good reception so far and I’m wondering if it is a sign to stick to this business and see where it goes. Probably this is what God is trying to tell me,” she said.

Her training and education at Roytec where she earned her degree has not gone in vain as she is using skills gained to shape her dessert business. “At the time when I was doing my degree, I would question why I was doing some of the courses because I thought it made no sense. It is only now that I am running my own business, I realised how useful it is in real life. Right now I am focussed on marketing my desserts and trying to get my name out there,” she said.

Her desserts include cakes, cupcakes, trifles, cookies, brownies and mostly anything that could be made in an oven.

Tammy is not limiting herself to what she already knows but is learning to make other desserts which are in demand. “I am going to learn to make macaroons, bread and anything else bake-wise. I makes desserts of all kinds but I am limited in my selections now because I want to make sure my desserts are good enough for the public. I would not sell someone something if I am not comfortable with how it comes out,” she said.

She is also teaching herself to decorate her cakes and desserts which she makes all from scratch.

Tammy is looking at completing a few courses to boost her raw talent.

“I want to learn to do the intricate things. I want to continue to learn about decorating. People see first before they taste so I want to make sure everything looks as good as it tastes,” she said.