The Profitable Baker Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Two milestones in one Saturday: the 50th episode of The Profitable Baker, and Annie's 60th birthday. In this solo episode, Annie pulls up a chair with a cup of coffee. She looks back at what 50 episodes and 60 years have taught her, and she says thank you in a way that's well worth staying to the end for. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your audience goes quiet w...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what the cake world looks like from the other side of the counter? This week I'm joined by Steve Golding, CEO of Vanilla Valley, one of the UK's biggest cake decoration suppliers. Steve sees what thousands of bakers buy, what's trending and where the industry is heading, and he shares it all in a warm, honest conversation. With Cake International just...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Profitable Baker, I'm joined by Suzanne Esper, one of the UK's leading cake decorating tutors and coaches. Suzanne shares the story of how she built her career in the cake world, from her early days at the turntable to teaching and coaching decorators of every level. We also go behind the scenes of her involvement with Cake International, and talk about...

Send us Fan Mail What really happens when the judges walk up to your entry? This week I'm joined by David Close and Jane Hatton, Head Judges of Cake and Bake International, for a rare look behind the judging table. David and Jane share how they each found their way into judging, what the role of Head Judge actually involves, and the advice they'd give anyone entering the competition this...

Send us Fan Mail This week I'm joined by Natalie Porter, the sugar artist behind Immaculate Confections. We talk about how her cake journey began, how she fell for sugar flowers, and how she built a reputation for detailed, lifelike floral work. Natalie also shares her experience with Cake International: what it's really like behind the scenes, what competing and being involved has done...

Send us Fan Mail What really happens behind the scenes at the world's biggest cake show? And what does it mean for your business if you enter? This week I'm joined by Melanie Underwood, head of Cake and Bake International, for the first episode in our Cake International Guests series. We talk about how the show started, and how it has developed over the years. Cake International returns...

Send us Fan Mail Could a cake competition be the most underused marketing tool in your business? In this episode, Annie makes the business case for entering competitions, and it has very little to do with medals. It's the opening taster for our Cake and Bake International series, leading up to the show at the NEC Birmingham, 6 to 8 November. In this episode, you'll learn: Why visibility,...

Send us Fan Mail Struggling to turn down rush orders, discount requests, or endless revisions? This episode makes the business case for saying no, and gives you the exact language to do it without the guilt spiral. You'll learn: Why "small yeses" are quietly costing you money and burnout The difference between the decision to say no and the delivery of it Two ready-to-use scripts fo...

Send us Fan Mail Suzanne Booth is a Craft Business Mentor & Strategist for makers.  After 20+ years of selling textile-based craft to teaching in schools, she now helps and mentors makers who already sell their work to build more sustainable craft businesses.  Looking in particular at ways to add income streams beyond the making itself with things like workshops, courses and digital products,...

Send us Fan Mail Claudia Sheena FCA is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years’ experience, providing hands-on, proactive financial leadership to growing businesses. Claudia believes accountancy should be about far more than filing accounts and telling business owners what happened last year. She works closely with her clients throughout the year, helping them understand their numbers, plan ahea...

Send us Fan Mail If the last few weeks have felt a bit foggy, school runs, no headspace, admin piling up, this episode is your reset.  Annie walks through why looking back briefly (not a deep post-mortem, just a 15-minute audit) sets you up for a much stronger Q4 than jumping straight to goal-setting. She also busts the "Q4 = Christmas" myth and shares three questions to get your own pla...

Send us Fan Mail Two ideas, one thread: this episode brings together experimentation and identity — because you can't build a genuine signature style without testing, and testing without direction just gives you a scattered range. In the first half, Annie breaks down how to test new ideas properly — small, cheap, low-risk — before you ever put them on the menu or announce them to customers. S...

Send us Fan Mail Hello, I’m Dawn Butler — the cake artist behind Dinkydoodle . I’ve spent my career helping cake makers of all levels grow their skills and confidence. Over the years, I’ve earned multiple gold medals, won Best in Show at Cake International in 2016, been named International Cake Artist of the Year , and recognised as one of the UK’s Top Ten Cake Artists . In 2024, I was honoured to...

Send us Fan Mail Most bakers design products for themselves — not for their customers. Annie breaks down how to close that gap: reading real demand signals, treating declined enquiries as a training curriculum (especially for bespoke-only bakers), planning seasonally instead of reactively, and making simple bakes feel premium through presentation, not complexity. In this episode: Why "I liked...

Send us Fan Mail Emma Stewart is a wedding cake designer and business coach based in Northern Ireland. She is a judge for Cake International and is called on internationally to judge and give tuition. Listen as we talk about the cake industry, the importance of getting good foundations…   and also how Emma delivered a wedding cake to Italy!  Connect with Emma here: instagram: www. Instagram.com/em...

Send us Fan Mail This week I ran Busy But Broke, a free 4 day pricing sprint inside The Profitable Baker Community. This episode brings together everything we covered… the mindset behind underpricing, the formula to fix it, and how to raise your prices without losing customers. You are very welcome to join my new free Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theprofitablebakercommunity...

Send us Fan Mail The Profitable Baker Community opens this Friday, 24th July — and its first event is Busy But Broke, a free 4-day live sprint (Mon 27th–Thurs 30th July) on working out your true cost price, building a pricing formula, and raising your prices without losing customers. In this episode, Annie goes deeper than the announcement — sharing why she built the Community, and answering the q...

Send us Fan Mail Cristina Arévalo is a creative business coach, educator, and founder of The Art Cake Coach .  After more than 20 years of having her own cake business and teaching cake decorators from all over the world, she now helps home-based creative entrepreneurs create simple systems, manage their time with intention, and grow successful businesses without burnout. Her philosophy challenges...

Send us Fan Mail Here's a question worth sitting with: when someone lands on your Instagram for the first time, do they feel what your business actually is, or does it feel like it could be anyone's bakery? In this episode, I'm talking about the gap that quietly exists in most baking businesses: the space between how your business feels and how it actually looks to the outside world...

Send us Fan Mail Kate Tynan is an award winning Cake Business Coach and has worked with over 10,000 cake designers in the last three years.  She is the founder of 'The Cake Business Club' - a monthly business membership for cake businesses around the globe.  Kate is also a certified positive psychology coach and weaves that into her 1:1 coaching so her guidance builds upon her clients&ap...

Send us Fan Mail Scrolling past a brand or a bake that stops you in your tracks is one thing — knowing what to actually do with that admiration is another. In this episode, Annie unpacks why so many bakers slide from inspiration into imitation, and gives you a simple framework for borrowing the principle behind a brand you love without copying the look. In this episode: Why copying happens (hint:...

Send us Fan Mail Jenny is a multi award winning business woman with over 25 years experience in the cake industry.  Originally trained as a pastry chef, Jenny worked in some of the UKs top establishments, honing her skills before establishing her cake business which went from kitchen table to 6 figures within 3 years.  Jenny created cakes for Royalty (making HRH Charles and Camilla’s first wedding...

Send us Fan Mail Most home bakers don't have a pricing problem. They have a delivery problem. In this episode, I'm talking about the moment — that specific, uncomfortable moment when someone asks how much your cakes cost and you feel that familiar tightening in your chest. Why it happens, what it's costing you, and what to actually do about it. This episode builds on Episode 27 (if...

Send us Fan Mail If selling feels uncomfortable, this episode is for you — and the good news is, it's not a personality problem. It's a skills gap. And skills can be learned. Annie breaks down what selling actually looks like in a small, values-led baking business — and it's nothing like the pushy, high-pressure version that's been putting you off. In this episode you'll l...

Send us Fan Mail If talking about your work, following up on enquiries, or asking for the sale makes you want to quietly look the other way, this episode is for you. This week I'm getting into something that doesn't get talked about enough in the home baking world: the discomfort around selling. Not pricing, not finding customers… the actual act of putting yourself and your work forward...