Sweet smelling roses, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas... wait, are those made of icing?
“I really love to just show up at some place with a bunch of cupcakes for people who weren’t expecting it,” said Debra Vandenberg, owner of Debra’s Floral Cupcakes.
Ms. Vandenberg loves gifting unexpected treats. However, she recently started a cupcake business post-retirement to “support her habit” of baking them.
She started learning how to make floral cupcakes last May through an online course by Kerry's Bouqcakes. Since then, she has been rising at 4 a.m. — her usual time — to bake cupcakes. She described herself as being in a “flow state” while she is baking, something that she never experienced during her career as a nurse or teacher. Although she does love baking cupcakes, she isn’t looking for another full-time job.
“I don’t want to reach the point where I don’t enjoy doing it anymore,” Ms. Vandenberg said.
When creating the flowers with icing, she says she’s very “meticulous and slow.” It usually takes her between 15-20 minutes per cupcake, but other times it takes her a half hour or more.
She said that chrysanthemums are some of the hardest flowers to pipe because every petal has to be done individually. Bluebonnets and roses are also difficult for her.
Hydrangeas are the easiest flower to pipe. She explained it only takes one squeeze of the icing bag to make a little flower.
“I have always loved to learn new things,” Ms. Vandenberg said. “Especially if it creates beauty. Life can be really hard for people at large.
“I am not a mover and a shaker. I’m not going to make these huge changes in the world, but if I can help somebody have a smile in their day. I mean, that’s a good thing for me. [...] My goal—my dream— is that when I come to the end of my life, I can look back and feel like I have left kindness in my wake.”
For business inquiries, reach out to debrasfloralcupcakes@yahoo.com. To admire her designs, visit Debra’s Floral Cupcakes on Facebook or @debrasfloralcupcakes on Instagram.