Hey Besties! I hope you’re hungry because Rachael, of Cirasa’s Confections is baking up some big, delicious treats! And while we spend a lot of time talking about decorated cookies around here, today we’re not even going to mention royal icing! I’m so excited to feature this completely self-taught baker of some of the hottest and most popular treats! Learn how this busy stay-at-home mom of two has created a thriving bakery business in under a year!
Hobby Baker Turned Entrepreneur
When Rachael’s second baby was born in January of 2022, baking was not even on her radar. Actually, while she admits that cooking and baking shows were her “go-to”, she never envisioned baking being a part of her future. But a few months into being home with two littles, Rachael was longing for a fun hobby. She also admits she has “a crazy sweet tooth” so she started baking and creating. She started making cakes and custom cake pops in May and asked her friends and family to follow along on her baking journey on IG and FB.
Since she had no plans for a business, Rachael called her little adventure Wild Rose Homemade Bakery. A nod to her late Grandma Rose and her daughter’s middle name. She started baking and posting. And those friends and family came calling. She was quickly receiving requests for her beautiful and delicious goodies! Word of mouth traveled fast, and Rachael realized she had an opportunity for a viable business on her hands! She rebranded and Cirasa’s Confections was born!
STuffed What?
In August, Rachael stumbled upon gourmet cookies and “fell in love with the look and all the ideas” that came along with them. If you’re new to the concept of these ridiculously popular cookies, you’re in for a treat! Picture massively-sizes cookies in all kinds of fun flavors, commonly stuffed with a delicious filling or treat inside! 🤤 The size, flavors and options are endless! Here are some examples to drool over!
Popular in this gourmet cookie world is a woman by the name of Nicole Crispi, who has also built a thriving business around creating and offering her recipes to bakers. Rachael not only purchased several of Nicole’s recipes, but she fell in love with them and also quickly became friends with Nicole. These amazing recipes inspired Rachael to make all kinds of her own flavor variations along with offering some of Nicole’s signature cookies in her bakery. She credits Nicole with everything she’s learned about making incredible gourmet cookies and still utilizes Nicole’s “base recipes” when making her own variations.
To learn more about Nicole Crispi’s recipes, visit her site HERE! And as a special treat, you can use promo code RACHAEL and you’ll receive 20% off any recipe!
A Stuffed Schedule
After launching Cirasa’s Confections less than 10 months ago, Rachael’s business is booming! Her friends and family order so consistently that she’s booked three months out and she’s not taking on new clients right now! With the exception of her monthly boxes…more on that later! Her business is about a 50/50 split of custom cake pops and gourmet cookies with some macarons, cakes and cupcakes sprinkled in too. She supports 1-2 big order events every weekend and then squeezes in individual or small cookie purchases during the week while home with her kids.
In addition to custom cake pop orders, Rachael’s menu consists of 6 cookie flavors that she changes every few months with the seasons. She also offers a “Baker’s Choice” flavor that changes weekly. Customers can customize their variety box with the flavors of their choosing. Currently, her top sellers are her cinnamon roll cookies which were her creation and her lemon poppyseed cookies which are one of Nicole’s recipes. Customers can always count on something new, flavorful and exciting coming out of Cirasa’s Confections!
Monthly Goodies
Rachael has also found huge success in offering what she calls a “monthly box” to her entire local community. Rachael reserves one weekend a month dedicated to a themed box of 5-6 treats that her customers pre-order in advance. Through her private FB group specific to her local community, she shares all the monthly box weekend dates and there is always a lot of excitement around items that are not on her regular menu. It has also been a great way for additional customers to get access to her highly coveted bakery goods!
“I recommend every baker offer a monthly box,” Rachael shared. Since starting her monthly boxes last fall, her number of orders has grown every month! And this is something that any baker could offer, regardless of what kinds of treats they offer.
What Does The Future Hold?
Rachael’s life is stuffed with everything she loves by prioritizing her family and also loving her new business. She only bakes when her kids are asleep or on the weekends, so she really focuses on quality and making sure she’s offering perfect goods for her customers.
With a young family, Rachael knows she won’t be able to expand her baking business much more for several years. She does, however, have a lot of interest in content creation and hopes to start sharing video tutorials and more baking content. She’s excited about the potential of connecting with others in the baking world via TikTok and other social media platforms.
Rachael has also started a gourmet donut FB group where she offers her own recipes for over-the-top, delicious baked donuts! These are very easy to make, taking approximately 30-45 minutes per batch and are quickly gaining popularity. Rachael said these are great for bakers who sell at farmer’s markets since they are so pretty and unique. But bakers could offer these in a variety of different ways to reach their communities. You can learn more about Racheal’s baked donut recipes HERE and the RACHAEL promo code is valid on her donut recipes as well!
Words of Wisdom
When asked what advice she has for current or aspiring home bakers, Rachael encourages people to join as many relevant social media groups as possible and not to be afraid to reach out to bakers and make friends. She credits all her success and how quickly she’s grown to connecting with others and learning online before bringing it into her own kitchen.
You can really feel Rachael’s genuine gratitude for the relationships she’s made in the home baking community, including with Nicole Crispi. She has great enthusiasm and excitement for her new business; one that was never planned. It’s incredible how fast her business has grown and with no plans to stop creating new flavors and options, I’m excited to follow her journey. I’m also anxious to try out some of Nicole’s cookie recipes and Rachael’s donut recipes!
It was such a pleasure connecting with Rachael and I hope she has inspired you to try something new! Whether it’s a hobby or a business venture, she’s proven that you never know what the future holds or where a wicked sweet tooth may lead!
To follow Rachael, you can find her at the links below. You can also see some of her cookies ‘in action’ on her TikTok feed! Also enjoy this gallery of Nicole’s amazing creations below!
I hope you enjoyed this Featured Baker, of Cirasa’s Confections! Make sure you’ve subscribed to receive our weekly newsletter! Never miss out on a new recipe, technique, product recommendation or Featured Baker! Happy Baking Besties!
Best view i have ever seen !