Pretty Baked is a small Tauranga cake business specialising in buttercream cake decorating and cupcakes. Learn more about its founder, Ari Schou!
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START PRETTY BAKED?
I was a young single mother and for my daughter’s first birthday I couldn’t afford to buy her a nice cake so I decided to make it myself. When it turned out not too badly, I carried on making cakes for friends and family and just built it up from there.
WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF BAKING?
Definitely with my mum; we used to make and demolish her chocolate cake and afghan biscuits.
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL WORK DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
That’s a hard one because every day is so different! But a typical day starts at 4am – I bake all the food for my other business Ivy + Co, which is a food caravan. If I’ve got a lot of cakes ordered that week I try and get back to the kitchen by 10am to spend the day baking and decorating. Otherwise I work in the caravan all day and end up working all evening on cakes so it can get a little full-on sometimes.
WE’VE ALL HAD A BAKING FAIL, OR IN OUR CASE, SEVERAL. CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORST BAKING DISASTER?
Making any recipe vegan seems to fail most first tries so I’ve had some pretty epic fails with that.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU’VE HAD WITH YOUR BUSINESS?
Motivation. Working for yourself has so many pros and cons but self-motivation can be hard some days especially when you’re tired or already so busy.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF CAKE TO MAKE AT THE MOMENT?
My cookies and cream cake has been a big hit recently but in terms of decorating, I love wedding cakes. I think they’ll always be a favourite of mine.
WHAT’S CURRENTLY TRENDING WITH WEDDING AND BIRTHDAY CAKES?
Dried florals are a big hit right now, which is something I want to play around with a lot more, and textured cakes.
HOW DO YOU HOPE TO SEE YOUR BUSINESS GROW WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR?
My biggest goal is to keep pushing myself and my creativity to new levels, expand my knowledge and just try new things.
