And Her Knead To Bake

“I have always enjoyed being in the kitchen with my grandmother,” sophomore Madison Kirby said. “I would stand on a chair and help her make brownies or cupcakes.”

Madison Kirby has been selling cakes, cake pops, and cupcakes for over a year. Since she discovered her love for baking, she dived right into the world of frosting and batter. 

“I asked for a KitchenAid in eighth grade and started baking for fun,” Kirby said. “Then,  a lady from my church asked if I could make her a cake, and my business started from there.”

Since that initial order, her business had soared in production and popularity.

“In February of 2019, I made 150 cupcakes and 150 cake pops to sell a conference,” Kirby said. “It was my first experience selling individual items, and I really enjoyed it. In August, I made 13 dozen cupcakes, so my orders are gradually getting bigger.”

Generating large amounts of desserts is not easy, as it requires long hours and great effort. However, Kirby has a process to ensure she can manage and sell high-quality goods.

“I typically have two to three orders a month,” Kirby said. “First, I plan out my ingredients and supplies. As for time, depending on what I’m making, cakes and cake pops can be a two day process, while sometimes I can do a cupcake order in a day. My sampler box sale takes me two day because I make 12 dozen cupcakes in a variety of flavors.”

Kirby’s sampler box is what she provides to customers who want to try her cupcakes prior to ordering, comparable to a taste test, but in larger quantities.

“For my sampler box, I make 24 boxes of six because most batches make two dozen,” Kirby said. “I only do samplers in mass quantities, and due to the time it takes, I usually only do my sampler boxes during a holiday when I don’t have school.”

Kirby distinguishes herself from other bakers not only through her success at a young age, but also through her imaginative and experimental flavors.

“I have a vanilla and chocolate cupcakes in my sampler boxes, but the other flavors are based on the time of year,” Kirby said. “For example, I make fireworks ones for New Years with pop rocks in them and apple cider ones in the fall.”

With Kirby’s vast imagination and creativity, she also has vast dreams for her future.

“I don’t plan on going to culinary school,” Kirby said. “I’m self taught now, and I feel like what you learn at culinary school isn’t related to what I want to do. I want to go to Texas A&M to become a teacher, but I would also like to own my own bakery that sells cakes, cookies, macaroons, and other sweets when I get older.”