It's a cultural thing...

Where I came from, Easter Eggs are such a huge thing. It's like, if you don't buy one, either for yourself or someone else, you are completely out.

That's not a very nice thing, specially when you realise that the pricing is more than the majority of the population can afford. However, this did create a good opportunity for those people who like making things at home, and so, homemade chocolates became very popular.

I find them way more special than the ones that you buy at the shops. You can customise them to your taste or to the taste of the person you want to give them to.

Trying to bring this concept to Sydney has been a bit of a struggle. It was really hard to find supplies and most of my stuff I had to bring it from Brazil, and in the end, you don't see the same enthusiasm that you see there.

Supermarket in Brazil

This is not all bad, but it does make it hard for people to enjoy to the fullest the pleasures of the homemade chocolates.

You see, buying Easter Eggs at a supermarket may seem like a good deal, however, the effort and love put into a beautiful homemade Easter Egg elevates the value far beyond "value for money". Not to mention quality and freshness. I believe food should be more than just practical, it should be fully enjoyable.

Maybe, with time, people will begin to appreciate more the small businesses instead of the large corporations that don't care about your experience and quality as much as they care for the cash getting in.

Anyways, for all those who enjoy freshness, here are some of my creations for Easter.

These are Milk and Dark chocolate with Nutella and Chocolate truffle filling.

Have a great Holiday everyone.

Catch you later.

Cheers.

Get Ready for Easter!

Hey everyone.

Welcome back!

As some of you may know, I love working with chocolate! It's such a delicious and exciting work.

This is why Dee's Sweet Shop is expanding it's range of products to now include chocolate products.

Since Easter is coming, I've decided to kick start this new endeavour making delicious homemade

Easter eggs like you've never seen before. :)

I'll be making them filled with coconut, brigadeiro, chocolate truffle (white, milk and dark) and mousse.

For more information, please contact me on Facebook. If you have any special requests, feel free to comment below.

Thank you and enjoy.

Cheers,

MnM Pitch Competition

Dee's Sweet Shop is at MnM's Pitch Competition. Happening right now!!

Cheers.

Lots of News!!

Hey everyone.

Sorry I haven't stopped by for a while.

So much stuff has happened so I've got a lot to share with you.

So, after the Better Business Partnership event I went last month, I went to our local council to ask about what was required for me to have a home-based food business. Thankfully they said it was possible, as long as I complied with the Food Authority and council's standards. No worries on that part. I've studied the Food Standards code a few times in the past year and complying with their requirements will not be hard.

That was such a great relief, the place I was living before didn't allow this type of business, so having received a positive answer, made me very happy.

So now I could finally "press start". I created my ABN, and notified the government about the activity, so now I can happily say: WE ARE IN BUSINESS!!

Happy days!

But this is not all, to get things really started: I've got my first contract! I'm supplying my college (MnM Institute) with cakes for the morning and afternoon tea. How cool is that?

It's a great experience and I'm learning a lot (the right packaging, the best recipes, storage, etc).

But now, the school year is over and planning next year is what I'll be moving on to next.

Because of the Holidays, this school break is quite long, so I've decided to go to Brazil and spend the Holidays with my family.

But I couldn't just leave my business alone, could I? No. This is why I have my capable sister and associate taking care of it while I'm away. :)

However, I don't want this trip to be a waste of time (for the business I mean), so I've made plans to talk to my favourite businesses in the area and ask a bit about their work and learn more about the industry.

I have been looking for inspiration for new flavours and products and I actually already found some new stuff to experiment with, when I return.

I have big plans for Easter as well. :)

As you can see, I've been busy, but this is all part of the process.

Hopefully when I go back everything will go smoothly because of my planning ahead.

As I always say: great things are coming.

Have a good day everyone.

Catch you later,

Dee.

Networking

Dee's Sweet Shop went to their first "BetterBusiness Talks" hosted by the Better Business Partnership. It was a great event with lots of information that will definitely help us move forward!

On tonight's event the focus was on getting the local edge - knowing more about your local village and how they can influence your decisions. Who are your customers? What do they want from their local businesses?

The conclusion is: It's all about connections. Belonging. And this is something I absolutely love about Lane Cove and why I think Dee's Sweet Shop will fit nicely in this area. We want to connect and allow you to have great experiences that you can share with your loved ones.

How great is that?

Can't wait for the next one!

Cheers,

Dee.

http://www.betterbusinesspartnership.com.au/

Quindim - Recipe

Hey everyone!

I'm here today with a quick and delicious recipe to you!

As a baker, I always keep a stock of eggs in my place - you never know when inspiration may come :) - but since it's a product that can easily go bad, I don't like to keep them for too long.

This past week I didn't bake anything so I decided it was time to use the eggs fast! For that reason I looked for a delicious recipe that would require the use of heaps of eggs. :)

If you feel like making this dessert but, either don't have the full amount of the ingredients or you just think it's too many eggs, I suggest you proportion the recipe to what you have.

Well, without further a due, I bring to you "Quindim" - a Brazilian baked dessert, sort of like a flan/custard. It's made mostly of egg yolks, sugar and coconut.

Enjoy. :)

Ingredients

300 g of caster/white sugar
100 g of shredded coconut
20 egg yolks
1 tbsp of plain flour
50 g of butter
50 ml of milk

Preparation

1 - Pre-heat oven at 180ºc.
2 - Grease the small flan tins with butter and sugar.
3 - In a bowl, mix well the sugar, flour, coconut and the yolks.
4 - Heat the milk up with the butter until the butter melts and add it to the mix. Wait until it cools down.
5 - Put the mixture in the little tins.
6 - Put the tins in bain marie and take it to the oven until the top is golden brown.
7 - Unmold when it's cold.

Tip: Put in the fridge for a little while before serving it.

PS: I made aprox. 1/3 of this recipe and it was enough for four small "quindins".

Cheers,

Dee.

Carrot Cake

Hey everyone!

Tonight I bring a simple and delicious recipe.

This is a Brazilian recipe of Carrot Cake. It's a great choice when preparing your morning/afternoon tea.

Let's face it, everything is better with cake. ;)

So, let's get to it.

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs
- 3 medium size carrots
- 2 cups of plain flour
- 2 cups of white or caster sugar
- 3/4 cup of canola oil
- 1 tbsp of baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt

Like I said, this is very simple. All you have to do is pre-heat the oven at 180ºc; peal and chop the carrots and blend it with all the ingredients together.

Place the mix in a greased and floured tin.

Take it to the oven for about 30 min or until a skewer when inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

For the frosting, another easy recipe.

In a sauce pan add 1/2 tbsp of butter, 3 tbsp of sugar and 2 of chocolate powder.

Take it to medium heat until melted.

Add 2 tbsp of thickened cream and that's it!

Just cover the cake while still hot and wait for it to cool down before serving it - although some people prefer eating while it's still hot. ;)

I hope you like it.

See you next time.

Cheers,
Dee.