When the 'Frosting to Cake ratio' is life..
When I was pulling together a list of local wedding vendors I love, Laura, owner-baker of Koru Cakery, was on the top of that list. A truly wonderful person, I can't imagine anyone not loving Laura.. but her cakes.. they are AMAZING! Often, when you're ordering your cake, you go off recommendations and how beautiful the cakes look on their social media page, but it's likely you won't actually taste the cake until your wedding day, unless you've tried one from that particular baker before. When I was thinking of businesses whose cakes taste incredible, are aesthetically pleasing, and the owner is a delight to deal with, I genuinely couldn't think of anyone other than Koru Cakery, here in Tauranga. Having trained as a chef, Laura knows her stuff! Her flavour pairings are incomparable and her frosting to cake ratio is perfection. John, myself, and the kids, all love her Swiss meringue buttercream! I had a chat with Laura earlier this week about her business, her training, and her dreams, and by the end of our chat, I knew you would all love her as well.
Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me for my very first New Zealand edition of 'Vendor Interviews'! I'll dive right in.. How are you dealing with all the Covid-19 crazy at the moment? Are you finding that people are still keen to order? Or have you noticed a bit of a decline?
Thank you for choosing to include me! Well, it’s a very frightening time, that’s for sure! In terms of business, I haven’t been hugely affected by it as it’s not my main source of income as yet. This is a relatively new venture for me, so I’ve just been using the time spent at home to focus on getting this off the ground. I have had more orders than ever, strangely enough! In part, I feel, because of the fact that I am actually advertising myself now unlike before. That could also perhaps be due to people looking to support small and local during these trying times, especially. Either way, I feel very grateful for the support that I am receiving.
That's awesome that you've had an increase in orders! You mentioned this is a relatively new venture for you; I know you trained as a chef, have you always had this kind of business in the back of your mind or is the whole idea around cakes quite new as well?
Yeah, it’s a nice slow start so I can get the hang of things! I’ve been wanting to do this for a long while now! I did train as a chef, but found working restaurant hours just wasn’t bringing me the joy that I thought it would. I learned a lot and it was a very eye opening experience, and I’ll always have a deep respect for the talented chefs that I had the pleasure of working alongside. I’m not really sure where the passion for cake started, but I grew up baking a whole lot with my māmā. I would always be baking the whānau birthday cakes, and I figured why not turn this into my mahi? You know that saying ‘if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life’. I feel as though dedication and passion will always get you further than pure skill alone, so doing something I love and seeing my progress is really inspiring and motivates me to keep doing better! I know exactly where you're coming from! I definitely have moments in business when I wonder what the heck I'm doing, but then it just comes down to the dedication and passion I have for the work I do; it's enough to push you through anything! Growing up with those experiences though, baking for your whānau, it definitely has the ability to make you feel as though this venture has just always been a part of you. I love seeing te reo Māori being represented in the business world and your business name definitely caught my eye. What made you choose 'Koru Cakery' as your business name?
I feel the same! Yeah, growing up with it has definitely shaped not only my career aspirations, but me as a person! It was a fun way of learning as a youngster. I love seeing and hearing reo Māori in every day life! It's so refreshing and so very welcomed. The name Koru Cakery resonates with me because the Māori part of the name represents my Māori heritage. As well as this, in te ao Māori, the Koru symbolises new growth and new life, and for me this is just that; a new beginning!
As a fellow Māori, I can certainly appreciate that name and what it represents. I think it's something really special when a business owner has a deeper connection with what they do and how their business is represented. Mīharo! You mentioned that this venture is still very new to you, but as I've mentioned to you before, your knack for flavour combinations is absolutely unreal! Does that come from your experience as a chef or have you always had a skill for combining flavours that work so well together?
Yeah, personally I think it’s really important that everything I do is purposeful and passionate! Haha, I’m flattered, but I don’t think my flavour combinations are anything special! If anything, they’re probably just classic. I do love to experiment though!
I think it's the way you incorporate them; every mouthful is so perfectly balanced! What would you say is your favourite kind of cake to make, at the moment? I'm noticing the 'drip' cakes and the 'semi naked' cakes have stayed around through a number of wedding seasons, do you think those trends with continue into next wedding season?
I appreciate that so much! I’m really loving the rough/rustic/abstract style at the minute! As you can probably tell from my Instagram, I’m also loving gold leaf! Hahaha. I personally feel that semi naked cakes have a timeless elegance and will always be on trend, however I think the drip has had its day with weddings. Unless you’re going with something semi naked and fresh florals with a gorgeous deep caramel drip, then I think that’s still a lovely wedding cake option, and probably will be for a while. I’m also finding that having multiple cakes, or splitting up the tiers is a neat way of doing it!
If I could redo my wedding, I think I'd definitely have the split tiers, but I really love the white and gold leaf cake you did recently; absolutely gorgeous!
I'm actually noticing that fondant seems to be becoming a thing of the past and it's mostly buttercream or ganache covered cakes instead. Do you have a preference when it comes to covering cakes? And, particularly for Summer weddings, would you have any recommendations for couples who don't want a melted mess when they arrive at their reception?
Yeah, I think it’s a really neat way to go! Thank you, it was a nice and simple one, simple can be so classy! Fondant has long been a a thing of the past in my books haha, but just because it can be quite tricky to work with and it doesn’t taste very nice. What’s the point in having a beautiful cake if it doesn’t taste any good, right? Ganache is a really good option for summer weddings as it’s a lot more hardy than buttercream and it would have to be super hot for it to actually lose its shape. So, although it’s a bit more expensive, it’s a great option for warmer weather and if you’re a chocolate lover!
I definitely have to agree with you on that one! It's like adding marzipan to a cake; unless you like the taste, it's not going to do your cake any favours! I think we've definitely come a long way with ganache and buttercream! Laura, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me for this series. I'm really looking forward to showcasing some really great Tauranga businesses within the wedding industry and I'm so glad you were able to help me kick it off! Where is the best place for people to find you? Exactly, we certainly have! The pleasure was all mine, I was very excited to get behind such a wonderful kaupapa! Looking forward to seeing the final outcome! If you’re wanting to see my mahi, my Instagram page @koru_cakery_ is probably the best option, otherwise flick me an email at koru.cakery@gmail.com to get in touch! Ngā mihi nui ki a koe!
Erin Michele Thomson ∙ Tauranga Photographer ∙ info@erinmichele.co.nz
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