By Crystal Harrell
Spring is the time for so many beginning hallmarks, such as the arrival of Easter and the growth of fresh flower patches. One holiday that also comes during the time for spring beginnings is Mother’s Day in May. A go-to staple for this day includes gifting your mother with a colorful bouquet of arranged flowers, but those floral surprises only last for so long. Imagine if you can gift your mother edible flower bouquets on Mother’s Day. Baked Blossoms by Steph provides ornately gorgeous cupcakes that are frosted to look like realistic flowers and succulents, making a memorable and creative gift opportunity for your mother.
Stephanie Valencia began Baked Blossoms by Steph as a way to fully engage in her passion during the pandemic, as she normally loves being active and spending time with her family.
“Baked Blossoms by Steph allowed me to just focus my creativity into something that brought other people joy and that also tasted good. There are other bakers all around the world that offer tutorials for people to learn how to make cupcake bouquets. It was something I gravitated toward and truly had seen nothing like it before,” explained Valencia.
Stephanie has always enjoyed baking, but it was a slow burn getting to the level of expertise she possesses now. She started off in the beginning stages, burning a few cakes, and struggling to even bake something edible. Over time, she grew to master her own recipes and put her own spin on it. She enjoys making cupcakes for her family or just for special occasions, and Valencia originally intended on keeping it just as a hobby and not a business.
“I am grateful for the support of friends and family for encouraging me to start a business. Baking has always been a creative outlet for myself and while I never thought of myself as an incredibly creative person, cupcakes and the various things that I bake really did spark something in me. The eye-opening moment for me was when I got my first piping set and spent several hours that day trying to make something even remotely appealing. Flowers take time and practice and a lot of trial and error,” said Valencia.
Baked Blossoms by Steph currently offers cupcake bouquets for the holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, and custom cupcake bouquets for any kind of occasion. Every flower is edible and made from buttercream. The flower varieties range from peonies, roses, hydrangeas, succulents, or even dahlias. All the cupcakes are individually piped and placed in a bouquet wrapped to look like a flower bouquet.
All the cupcakes are baked from scratch and made with a vanilla American buttercream. Each cupcake takes time, as each petal is individually hand piped onto the cupcake. When it comes to decorating, Stephanie takes inspiration from the flower bouquets around her or even the desert plants in the Coachella Valley for her succulent cupcakes. She also lets customers send her their favorite Pinterest pictures or just the color scheme they would like, and she can take it from there. For any of the special occasion bouquets, such as Valentine’s Day and Easter, Stephanie comes up with the design so she can make as many as possible.
“I have hopes of branching out in the future and I have even started making various cookies, pies, and cheesecakes for fun! My family has been kind enough to be my guinea pigs for any new recipe I come up with. I come from a huge family who loves to eat desserts. My fiancé and family have always been super supportive of everything I have done, especially my baking. Whether it is helping me set up for pop-up events or teaching me how to tie a bow properly, they are always there for me,” stated Valencia.
Stephanie balances her day job with her culinary passion. During the day, she is a Healthcare Recruiter for a local home healthcare agency, and she is very thankful that her job allows the flexibility to engage in her passion. She would eventually love to be able to teach others and offer personalized classes on how to pipe, as she herself has never gone to culinary arts school and had to rely on watching hours’ worth of YouTube tutorials to learn.
“My favorite part is seeing the reaction of people once they receive their bouquet. The smiles and just awe from seeing my bouquets and being asked ‘wait, that’s a cupcake?’ During this time of isolation, I really enjoyed recording decorating videos to share my passion with other people maybe in hopes that they would enjoy baking as much as I do,” said Valencia.
Baked Blossoms by Steph is currently taking orders for Mother’s Day. For questions or to place an order, email Stephanie at bakedblossomsbysteph@gmail.com. You can also reach out on the Instagram page, @bakedblossomsbysteph.
