Stratford cake maker donating boxes of cupcakes to winners to Stratford Christmas trail

Sarah with some beautiful Christmas-themed cupcakes she baked and iced. Photo / Ilona Hanne

Sarah Rielly's business may be sassy in name, but it's certainly sweet in nature.

Sarah registered her business, Sarah's Sassy Cakes, in May this year, and since then she has baked and iced hundreds of cakes and cupcakes for many happy customers.

While Sarah registered her business just seven months ago, she has been baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes for over six years as a hobby.

"I love doing it, it is so nice to be able to give someone a nice cake for their birthday."

She is mainly self-taught, having attended just one class in Christchurch some years ago.,

'We learned to make fondant roses there, but that was it."

Sarah made the decision to turn her hobby into a job this year after a torn tendon in her wrist left her unable to continue in her job as a caregiver in a rest home.

Rather than stay at home and do nothing, she took the leap into turning her skills in cake decorating into a viable business, getting her kitchen registered with the council in order to be able to sell her cakes and cupcakes.

She says the process was smoother and easier than she had expected, having first looked into it some years ago in Christchurch and been put off by what seemed to be a very complicated process.

Since registering her kitchen the orders have been coming in thick and fast, she says, with many of her customers coming back for more.

"I had one order this week from someone who had only just collected her last order, and people often message me saying they had seen one of my cakes or some cupcakes I had done at a party and now they want to make an order."

Making around three cakes or boxes of cupcakes on an average weekend, Sarah is kept busy baking and icing as well as working with clients to build a picture of what they want.

"Some are very specific and show me a picture asking if I can do the same, while others will just have an idea of what colours they want. I work with Nellie of Za-Nel's Handmade Crafts a lot as she creates cake toppers and edible icing prints."

Her cupcakes and cakes come in a range of flavours, and she's always happy to work with clients to make sure the cakes meet any specific dietary requirements, such as being gluten-free.

"I think the most popular flavours though are the chocolate and vanilla ones. Everyone likes them and they are probably the two flavours I make the most of."

Her vanilla cake recipe is one she has honed over time, she says.

"It's all about the balance between having a light cake that isn't dry and keeps the flavour."

Sarah has donated five boxes of a dozen cupcakes to be part of the prize package on offer for the winners of the Stratford Christmas trail organised by Kylee Lawrence and Shannan Young and sponsored by Stratford Rotary.

"I'm really excited to get involved, I was gutted all the Christmas events had been cancelled this year because of Covid-19, and I loved what Kylee was doing to make sure people still can enjoy some Christmas cheer, so was happy to donate cupcakes to be part of the prize package."

The Details:
Sarah's Sassy Cakes:
Contact: 027 856 3765
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahssassycakes