As we transition from the hot days of summer to the cool autumn weather, it’s time to usher in holiday promotions and winning cake ideas for the fall season.
Due to popular demand, SusieCakes’ famous Southern Red Velvet Cake, will be joining the beloved Vanilla Celebration Cake and classic Old-Fashion Chocolate Cake, and is available to ship nationally, and is perfect for any upcoming event or to gift a loved one. The 6-inch Southern Red Velvet is a deep red, moist cake lightly flavored with cocoa, filled and topped with traditional cream cheese frosting.
Built on the foundations of simplicity, tradition, and inspiration of Grandma Mildred and Madeline’s 3x5 recipe cards, SusieCakes continues to grow their community of cake-lovers, empowered women, and alike. Since its founding in 2006, SusieCakes has expanded to 26 bakeries across California and Texas and now offers nationwide shipping of their two most popular cakes.
“We started shipping nationwide this year,” notes Susan "Susie" Sarich, founder and chief executive officer.
Sarich grew up in Chicago, where she was called Susie by her two beloved grandmothers, Mildred and Madeline. Every day, Susie would come home from school to enjoy her grandmothers’ company over a glass of milk and a fresh baked treat. This daily baking ritual and special time together in the kitchen left a lasting impression. When Susie grew up to become Susan and moved to the West Coast, she brought along her grandmothers’ carefully recorded recipes on handwritten 3×5 cards. The pure and simple connection those recipes fostered helped Susan form SusieCakes bakeries to share her experience with others. Through SusieCakes, Susan honors Mildred and Madeline: both in her dedication to their baking traditions, and her commitment to providing women with progressive careers in the food and hospitality industry
“You most likely recall a cake as part of your life’s milestone celebrations. Cake has the unique ability to connect us with the people and events of our past. However, cake should not be reserved only for these special occasions. A delicious slice of cake can immediately bring a bit of celebration to an ordinary day,” Sarich points out.
Featured flavors
The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley exhibited for the first time at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), the western hemisphere’s largest baking industry trade show Sept. 18-21 in Las Vegas.
As the leading U.S. provider of premium fresh frozen fruit purées, zests and blends, The Perfect Purée showcased its range of 40 flavors and featured celebrity chefs including specialty Hawaiian baker Maria Short of Kipuka Mills. Attendees also learned about The Perfect Purée’s complimentary sample program for foodservice professionals and manufacturers.
Featured flavors include ever-popular Red Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Blood Orange, plus Prickly Pear and Pink Guava and the newest releases: Mango Passion Fruit, Red Jalapeño and Peach Ginger.
Jaime Schick, associate professor at Johnson & Wales University International Baking & Pastry Institute and owner and consultant at Vanilla Bean Chef in Providence, Rhode Island, says, “Ginger Purée is a great option for saving time and money. Fresh ginger becomes time consuming to grate and shrivels up so quickly in the walk-in. The purée is easy to have on hand when fresh ginger is needed.”
First Avenue Coffee in Spokane, Washington, uses The Perfect Purée in its donut frosting. Manager Aaron Jordan says, “The ability to mix a couple of ounces of purée into a recipe saves insane amounts of time without garbage ingredients and results in a frosting with vibrant color and true-to-fruit flavor.”
Among the products bakers rely on most for labor saving are orange zest and lemon zest, the base ingredient that’s every baker's best friend. Both flavors along with blood orange, mango, passion fruit, red raspberry and strawberry are available in 30-pound manufacturing pails.
Chief executive officer Michele Lex says The Perfect Purée is excited to attend IBIE for the first time. With labor shortages and supply chain issues, she says more bakers are finding its products provide cost and labor savings without sacrificing quality. “We want to continue helping our baking industry colleagues learn how our flavors can elevate their offerings with real fruit instead of artificially flavored syrups in pastries and baked goods from tarts and pies to cakes, cookies, meringues and much more,” Lex says. “We hope to grow our community and give baking professionals an opportunity to save time and money and continue innovating during this unprecedented period.”
Along with serving daily samples at its booth, The Perfect Purée is leveraging its appeal to the growing CBD baked edibles category by sponsoring CBD baking expert Hilary Brown’s educational presentation, “Cannabis Ingredients for Baked Goods: Safety, Quality, and Usage.”
Halloween promotions
BakeMeAWish.com, the leading national online gourmet gifting company, is offering no tricks, just treats this Halloween season. Every monstrous treat is assured to put a spell on you! The spooktacular BakeMeAWish.com Halloween lineup includes a Trick or Treat Cake, festive mini cupcakes, and a brand new Day of the Dead Cake. Each fresh-baked gift is guaranteed to arrive on time with scary-fast next-day delivery.
The Halloween theme cake displays a “Trick or Treat” message surrounded by creepy cobwebs and spine-chilling black icing, and the frighteningly delicious mini cupcakes are topped with orange, black, or white frosting decorated with sprinkles and ghoulish characters.
At the start of November, celebrate the return of the dead with the new Day of the Dead Cake in either chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, or strawberry. This cake is sure to bring life to any party with a brightly colored skull design, orange frosting, and sprinkles, with the display of “Dia de Los Muertos” written in the center.
Each Halloween treat comes with a spellbinding greeting card. The Day of the Dead Cake will arrive with its own special celebration card.
Other BakeMeAWish.com Halloween treats include:
- Trick or Treat Boo Box $42
- Jumbo Halloween Cupcakes $50
- Hocus Pocus Cake $65
Bake Me A Wish! was founded in 2005 with the mission to deliver divinely crafted birthday cakes and gourmet baked goods to anyone across the United States, wherever they are. BakeMeAWish.com features delicious gourmet dessert options including sumptuous recipes, personalized greeting cards and elegant packaging. 17 years later, Bake Me A Wish! offers a magnificent lineup of other mouthwatering bakery treats including cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and pies. They have expanded their offering even further with gorgeous snacks and fruit baskets. Bake Me A Wish! has become the go-to source for people in need of high-quality baked goods, and is excited to help make your gifting dreams come true. Bake Me A Wish! is located in New York, New York and delivers throughout the country.
