Royal Icing by Sheryl Berk

hot drinks (Earl Grey Tea cupcakes) and a carnival (Popcorn cupcakes). Sometimes the decoration will be what makes our cupcakes really stand out. I particularly loved the range of Milkshake cupcakes that we created. All of them had little red-and-white-striped edible bendy straws.
    Carrie: Cool! What makes a perfect cupcake, in your opinion?
    Tarek: The perfect cupcake has to be freshly baked. For me, there is no competition with a cupcake that is freshly baked and frosted on the same day. All our cupcakes are baked fresh on-site at each of our bakeries on the day. This way, the sponges stay lovely and moist, and the frosting is freshly whipped and deliciously smooth. Also, all our cupcake sponges are completely covered in frosting so that the sponge doesn’t dry out.
    Carrie: Have you been to the States and sampled any cupcakes here?
    Tarek: I visit the States very often and have been doing so since I was two years old. I have a lot of family there and I have a very sweet tooth, so they all know that when I visit, they need to take me to check out the best desserts! My last visit to the United States was part of my preparations for the fourth cookbook we have coming out to follow Home Sweet Home . It will gather together some of my favorite all-American baking recipes, so obviously I needed a few taste tests while I was there.
    Carrie: Do you think you’ll ever bring Hummingbird Bakery to the United States (pretty please!)?
    Tarek: Maybe one day. We are currently working hard on our international franchising project and continue to search for suitable locations in the UK and abroad. When I opened my first bakery a decade ago, I never anticipated the demand that would come from overseas for our cupcakes and desserts, but if there’s a market for them, we’ll do our best to meet that need.
    Carrie: How many cookbooks have you written? What is the most recent one?
    Tarek: We have three cookbooks that have all hit the bestsellers’ lists: The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook (2009, Ryland Peters & Small), Cake Days (2011, Collins) and Home Sweet Home (2013, Collins). We have a fourth one in the making, which is due out in 2015.
    Carrie: How did you get your start in baking? Did you like to bake as a kid? Did you attend culinary school?
    Tarek: I’m not a professional baker myself, but I am a very enthusiastic taster of baked goods! I did make stuff for bake sales at school, but I definitely prefer eating cupcakes and sweet goodies. I guess it’s cleaning up the mess in the kitchen that puts me off baking too often at home! I did my fair share of baking along the way in the first couple years of opening my business.
    Carrie: What is your advice for a kid who wants to grow up and open his or her own bakery?
    Tarek: A clear idea of what you want to achieve is crucial to success. Baking is a very competitive industry, so you really have to know what sets you apart and not lose sight of this vision. And start small! Selling yummy things from a stall or farmers’ market is easier and probably more fun at first than the hassle of setting up a real shop. Let things grow organically and slowly.

Many thanks to everyone who has embraced The Cupcake Club book series, including in its new form—as an Off-Broadway musical! We love our fans and audiences! Rick Hip-Flores: you are a genius. Broadway beckons!
    To the Kahns, Berks, and Saps: as always, thank you for your love and support!
    To our friends, new and old, you make life so sweet! Trevor girls rock!
    Holly/Maggie: we love that you read our book before it ever hits shelves! XO
    A special shout-out to Derry Wilkens, who we will miss dearly at Sourcebooks. What will we do without our whiz of a publicist? Steve, Jillian, Kate, Alex, and the whole gang: thank you for making the process so easy and fun. Katherine Latshaw/Frank Weimann and the Folio group: thanks for taking such good care of our beloved book series and us.

Coming Next Year…
FASHION