If you had asked her at the beginning of last year, Paula Williamson would have told you she wasn’t a creative person.
Now with 43 flavours of macarons under her baking belt, and many more she’s keen to try, the answer might be a little different.
The mum-of-two started making cake toppers to keep up with her eldest daughter’s elaborate requests and realised she actually had quite the knack for it.
After gathering a fair bit of local interest, she decided to set up Sugar Blossom Cakes and share her sweet treats with the people of the north-east and beyond.
We caught up with Paula to chat about the secret to mastering macarons, celebrating one year of the business, and giant edible dogs.
Why did you start Sugar Blossom Cakes?
You hear a lot of people say they started in lockdown, it was a hobby, but I am not in that boat.
I’ve got two daughters, Isla who is 11 and Chloe who is four. My eldest knows exactly what she wants, and every year for her birthday she was saying ‘can I have this for my cake’, the most extravagant was probably a Lego Friends beach party.
I just had a go, as a mum trying to keep my kids happy, then it grew from there. I started with cake toppers, then found I had a creativity.
How did the business grow from cake toppers?
I’m learning, progressing and enjoying it all the time, it’s very different to my previous role as an HR manager.
I started getting more orders, then we had the discussion at home about me doing it as a full-time business. I did cakes and treat boxes, then I moved into macarons.
I sold them in Cult of Coffee and I did my first giant macaron that was over seven inches, it was huge.
Why macarons?
I had never made a macaron before, so I bought a recipe book and said I’d give it a go.
I thought they wouldn’t be as difficult as what people say, but boy was I wrong.
Even if they are a success, trying to maintain that every time is difficult, but I have mastered it now.
What is your secret?
I get people asking me this all the time and there isn’t one.
It’s very much a case of technique, that’s the number one thing, then knowing your oven, the stages of everything, and the ingredients.
It’s just practice and persistence, there are absolutely going to be some fails before you get it right.
What flavours do you make?
I’ve got over 43 flavours and I am bringing out new ones virtually every week.
Most popular are probably homemade lemon curd, pistachio, Nutella and chocolate and black cherry.
One I am really keen to try is chilli chocolate, some people would look in a recipe book but I don’t work that way, I like the creative side so I just think things up.
I do seasonal ones too, so for Easter I’m looking at Mini Eggs, Creme Eggs and hot cross buns.
What are your favourite things to make?
I just love experimenting with different flavours and trying until you get them right.
I like customer requests too. One woman asked for a macaron tower in birthday cake flavour. That was something I had never done before and it’s a more challenging one to make, but it’s a lovely flavour.
My partner says the most clever one is cherry bakewell. The flavour of the almond in the shell with the real cherries through it, it really did taste like the tart in a macaron form.
I don’t think I’d like to try a savoury macaron, but never say never, it might work.
What makes your macarons different?
There aren’t many coffee shops you can go to in Aberdeen and get macarons.
With mine, I’m quite well-known for doing a big filling so you’re getting a substantial macaron. I know it’s meant to be even amounts of shell to filling, but I find my customers don’t want that.
My filling isn’t bland, especially compared to shop-bought, they’re on a totally different level.
I recently challenged myself further and made a giant number macaron, I tried a six for Cult of Coffee’s sixth birthday and it came out great.
It was three layers of macarons and macarons on top, it was a big success.
As far as I know, I’m the only person in Aberdeen who does giant or number macarons.
What is the customer feedback like?
I’ve had people comparing them to Laduree in Paris and saying mine are better.
Being in Cult of Coffee and seeing people ask the staff where they’re from, it’s overwhelming, I’ve achieved something that people really enjoy.
I myself hadn’t tried macarons much before and I wasn’t even sure if I would like them, and that’s what a lot of people say.
Once they try them they love them, I once had a bride and groom come for a tasting session and say they didn’t like macarons then they ended up choosing them.
What is your most memorable creation?
I do chocolate sculptures and I did one for a wedding that was a big dog’s head, then its body was made up of 120 Oreo-flavoured macarons.
The couple had a sausage dog, so the mother of the groom wanted something quirky to reflect that.
I have also done a lot of work for charity through the business, I did Christmas gonks out of Terry’s Chocolate Oranges for Charlie’s House and an enchanted fairy for Love Rara’s charity ball.
Are you sharing your love of baking with your daughters?
My children instilled this passion in me, I’ve learnt a lot and I found a creative flair that was in me that I didn’t know I had until now.
My youngest goes to nursery and tells all her friends ‘I make macarons at home’ because I bake with them, she’s probably the only one who goes to nursery and talks about macarons.
What does the future look like for Sugar Blossom Cakes?
I’m keen to branch out into afternoon tea and also do more in the wedding market.
We’re getting married ourselves in June, so there will be a few out of the box things that I’m going to try.
Coming up to the year mark, it feels like quite an achievement to be where I am compared to where I started. It can be tough out there, especially in the current climate when everyone is watching their pennies. I can’t thank everyone enough.
Find out more about Sugar Blossom Cakes, or place an order, on Facebook and Instagram.
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