A party? Order your cupcakes from the Little Sweet Shop

By Irene van der Kloet

Birthdays, anniversaries, and community suppers mostly have in common that cupcakes are part of the dessert menu. Tara Harder of Warspite started baking cupcakes in 2021 after having done some baking for family and friends. “My oldest daughter enjoyed baking; she liked the baking part, I like the creative part. She is now in grade 12, so that took over, but now my younger daughter is helping. We started selling some cupcakes at the farmers’ market and had an excellent experience at the pumpkin festival. The cupcakes were very well received there.” Tara moved from Bonnyville and has clients there and in Cold Lake to whom she delivers. Local deliveries in Waskatenau or Smoky Lake are free of charge as she goes there anyway. About a month ago, the H.A. Kostash school had a fundraiser for Ukraine; she made over 100 cupcakes, which turned out well. At the Seniors’ Drop-In centre, they will have an event in a few weeks, and Tara will make sweets for them, so she is getting her name out quite well. She has a Facebook page and attended the Easter Market in Smoky Lake, where she sold out in half an hour. “I was blown away by how fast I sold at the Farmers’ Market. Someone had bought a box of pistachio cupcakes, went out to their vehicle, and then she returned and took the rest, saying, ‘these are so good; It was great to see the response. I like to make my cupcakes with light filling, not heavy, and I think that appeals to people”, Tara explains. Cupcakes are their leading seller, cake pops are just in their early stages, and she makes cakes for birthdays and other occasions. Tara also makes pretzel rods and cupcake bouquets. At the suggestion to make a double batch, she points out that she does not put the icing on until the morning of the market, and whereas time is limited, that limits the number of cupcakes she can bring to the farmers’ market. It also shows that her cupcakes are very fresh. What makes her cupcakes unique is that she likes to put a filling in them so that if someone bites into a cupcake, there is a little surprise in there. She doesn’t want to be overpowering in the cake part. If customers have suggestions for a different flavour, she will try that: she makes cupcakes with lime or coconut at customers’ request. Every small business owner has that special “thing” that keeps them going. For Tara, it’s the people’s reactions; “If they say:’ That was the best cupcake ever,’ that keeps me going.” she mentions. She loves being creative: She will take orders for cupcake bouquets with Mother’s Day coming up. These bouquets are made of cupcakes with pretty flowers on them. Her dream is to have a little sweet shop with sweets, where people can have a good cup of coffee or tea with sweets. The Little Sweet Shop can be reached at 780-201-7373. The Little Sweet Shop can also be found on Facebook.