Your date is the only fixed thing about a cake.
Tracy bakes every one to order, on her own, for the day it is for. Put your date in and see the eight stages that have to fit between now and then.
THE MEASURE
Eight stages, however much room you give them.
The stages do not change. The time they have to happen in does. Move the date and watch the measure close up — the first three are yours, and they are the ones people leave.
Today on the left, your date on the right, ruled in weeks.
AN ORDER, STAGE BY STAGE
In the order they actually happen.
Most people ringing Tracy have never ordered a cake before. If yours does not look like this, ring her and say so.
STAGE ONE, IN FULL
Three things get you an answer fastest.
You do not need any of this settled to ring. Plenty of first phone calls are somebody saying they know the date and nothing else, and that is a perfectly normal place to start.
And bring a photograph. Off a phone, off Facebook, off a friend's table — it says more in two seconds than a paragraph does, and it is the thing that makes stage two easy.
WHAT SHE MAKES
All of it from scratch, for one particular day.
Baked fresh for your date, with no additives. Nothing is made weeks ahead and put away, which is exactly why the diary matters as much as it does.
Occasion cakes
Built for the day it is for, rather than picked off a list.
Crêpe cakes, the speciality
Dozens of thin crêpes stacked with cream between every layer, then cut like a cake. Lighter than sponge, and most guests will never have had one. Say so at stage three, because it changes what the decoration can do.
Beyond the cake
For a dessert table, or when a whole cake is more than the day needs.
Vegan, and other diets
Vegan cakes are made regularly and other requirements are catered for. It belongs at stage three, not in a message the day before. The sooner she knows, the more freedom she has.
Gift balloons and hampers
Both can go with the cake so everything is handed over together. Ask when you book the date rather than after.
On price
Every cake is different, so Tracy works one out once she knows the size, the design and the date. That is stage four, and it cannot be done without all three. Asking commits you to nothing.
START THE FIRST STAGE
Send her the date and she will tell you.
Ring on 07123 456789, message the Facebook page, or send the form. Give her the date, roughly how many people, and what it is for. That is stage one done.
She bakes from home in Illingworth, so there is no shop to call in at. Arrange collection or drop-off with her rather than setting off.
| Monday | 08:00–18:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 08:00–18:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:00–18:00 |
| Thursday | Closed |
| Friday | 08:00–18:00 |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | 10:00–18:00 |
Please ring to check, as a home baker's times can shift. Baking hours are another matter entirely.