My Kahlua cakes are by far my best seller. I think it’s a new take on a traditional chocolate bundt cake and people have really enjoyed them. They have their own sort of cult following and it is really kind of amusing. Especially during the holidays when orders are non-stop, it’s all about the Kahlua cakes. Although it is my most sought after dessert, I’ve recently been expanding to other cakes, primarily because people have asked me to.
When people ask me for a certain type of cake, I really try my best to make it happen. Over the years I have been asked for a variety of cakes, so I figured out how to make them. The demands of this small business have grown organically and so has the types of cakes I offer. In addition to the Kahlua and rum cakes, I make layered cakes….really started as the birthday cakes I made for my children. There’s a whole separate post if you want to know how that happened. However, expanding the flavors has also been a result of what people have asked me for. A couple months back I was being asked for a carrot cake. So, carrot cake is what I learned to make. In only a short time, I would say my carrot cake has become my second most popular cake, behind the Kahlua. I was also recently asked for a Red Velvet cake, so I now make those as well.
This past weekend I decided to try to recreate some flavor profiles that remind me of our time living in Miami. Tropical flavors such as guava are not the most common in South Georgia but are found in a variety of foods all over Miami and the surrounding areas. My children love guava pastries, guava croissants and even guava BBQ sauce, they were clearly born and raised in Miami. So, I decided time to bring that flavor up the coast. I tried to adapt my cheesecake recipe and created a guava cheesecake and it was SO good. Add that to the list of cakes that I now make.
Basically, deciding to expand flavors has to be determined by two main things. What people are asking you for and what you’re missing and think you can introduce to an area. Living in the south, I was definitely being asked for carrot cake and red velvet cake. But like I said, missing a little of the flavors of home, guava cheesecake was next on the list. Sometimes you don’t have to rack your brain trying to come up with what to do next. Many times it just works itself out for you. Hope this inspires you to pay attention to what you’re being asked and to look at what you think you can bring to the area. The rest will just work itself out.