Last month I had the honor of meeting a home-based baker who has clearly found her niche. Diane Purkey the owner and operator of Maine’s Cakes and Cookies has done a remarkable job building her home-based bakery business and providing quality products to her community and those outside her community. Diane ships her custom cookies all over the nation and has learned by trial and error what works and what does not work as it relates to the unusual work of baking for profit.

Diane is a small business owner who loves what she does and considers herself very lucky to be doing what she loves for a living. As you browse her vast collection of custom cookies and you can’t help but be struck by the craftsmanship that goes into her products.

Recently I emailed a number of questions to Diane from both my online  and face-to-face classes and she took time out of her busy schedule to share insight into the wonderful world of home-based baking.

The questions are in black, the response from Diane in red.

1. How did you learn to decorate cookies? I am completely self taught learning by trial and error and many, many hours of reading & research. Did you take a class? No. What type of icing do you use, they look picture perfect. Thank you! I use royal icing – confectioners sugar, meringue powder, water and gel food colors. A couple of tips…keep your mixing bowl, beater and decorating tips completely grease free and use filtered non-mineral water. Both of these will keep your icing from drying with splotchy areas on them!

2. How did you learn about shipping your cookies? Again, trial and error. You learn in a hurry what works and what definitely does not work! I shipped to myself then to family and friends until I got it right. What carrier do you use? U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail. Do your cookies ever break? Very rarely – I take great care in packaging the cookies first individually cellophane bag wrapping, then each cookie is wrapped with bubble wrap, the box is lined with bubble wrap, then surrounded with styrofoam peanuts. The packaging and packing materials are very expensive but they get the job done! The packaging/packing costs are a large part in the pricing of the cookie.

3. Do you allow your customer’s to come to your home? Yes. Why or why not? I live in rural Maine so this does not happen very often but 2 or 3 times a year a client will opt to pick up an order rather then have it shipped. My kitchen is licensed and inspected by the State of Maine and Maine Cakes & Cookies carries the proper insurance coverages for this.

4. Did you always have a website? Yes. Do you think a website is really needed? Yes!!

5. Why did you put photographs of your kitchen on your website? When I first started Maine Cakes & Cookies I thought “Who would ever buy food from a home kitchen?” – you envision all kinds of images with that so I put pictures of my kitchen on the web site. Clients can see that it is neat & clean and a pretty place to work – I get many compliments on it and several phone calls a year asking where I got the granite! If you have ever watched the BBCA show “Chef Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares” you know exactly what I am talking about!

6. Do you bake everyday or certain days of the week? I bake/decorate/package everyday except Sunday, but when super busy, even Sunday. Do you bake on demand when you get an order or just certain days? I bake to order. Sometimes that is ASAP but usually clients have reserved my time by deposit several weeks or months ahead so I usually know what needs to be done each week. There are several times during the year when I am completely booked and have to turn client orders away.

7. Do you ship outside the U.S.? Rarely but yes. I use Federal Express for this and the client is responsable for all customs fees and forms. Where do you get your shipping supplies from? The boxes are supplied by U.S. Postal Service for Priority Mail shipping so currently they are free of charge. All other boxes (for FedEx) and bubble wrap I buy from ULine.com. Comparison shop your packaging supplies with shipping added – they are very expensive!

8. How long have you been operating a home-based bakery? I obtained my license as a home processor from the State of Maine 6.2.03 and started selling cookies and cakes later that summer.

9. What is the most rewarding thing about operating a home-based bakery? Happy Clients! When you get a note or phone call and the client says “WOW, the cookies are perfect, thank you so much for making my day so special!” or when setting up a wedding cake the bride runs towards you jumping and smiling saying “It is perfect, exactly what I envisioned” and then gives you a big hug! What is the biggest obstacle? Storage! There is never enough storage!

10. Do you ship cakes? I ship pound cakes in decorative boxes and tins. If so how do you get the frosting to stay perfect? I don’t ship frosted cakes.

If you have a question for Diane please email me and I will post it in the Ask the Expert Forum, post her answer so we can share it with all the home-based bakers that visit this website.