OH MY LAUNCH!

I know this post comes a little late, but hey, like Drake says, "...never late is better..."


For those who were at the launch, thank you.  For those who weren't, we know you were supporting us in spirit!  Uzma and I could not have asked for anything more - we SOLD OUT!  We weren't too sure as to what to expect, and come mid-day, we were starting to get a little worried about what we were going to do with all of our left overs, but that worry was quickly erased come 3pm.  The shop was so packed that people had to pass their money through others in front of them, and we had to do the same with the cupcake orders - kind of like the way people in a mosh pit get passed around.


Uzma, Nazneen (my little cousin) and myself, spent approximately 30 hours preparing for our big launch.  It definitely wasn't an easy task, considering we were baking out of our apartment.  Nonetheless, 30 hours later, we had over 1000 mini cupcakes and close to 300 regular sized cupcakes.  


Our friends, our family and also random strangers blessed us at Tea Blendz that day.  Not only did they buy cupcakes, but they also enjoyed some incredible tea made my Huzeifa and Khadija Jafferji (the owners of Tea Blendz).  In fact, I feel like every single person who came for the launch was more than pleasantly surprised with the amazing tea and can't wait to hit Tea Blendz up again for their next order.


In addition to the launch, we baked 100 cupcakes for Tehmina Haq's engagement in Mississauga (pictures attached) - we received some great feedback and are so appreciative of the Haq family supporting Oh My Cupcake!


All in all, a successful day.  Yeah, it got chaotic, and yes, I canvassed the streets, but ultimately it all lead to a great day and a great start for Oh My Cupcake!  We had a huge variety of cupcakes available and would love to know what your favourite ones were; please add a comment to the blog and let us know.  Don't forget about our contest starting October 1!


A special thanks to Huzeifa and Khadija for opening up their shop and allowing us to use their space.  Also, I'd like to thank Nazneen for her hard work.


Thanks to everyone for all their support - we look forward to baking for your next event!

Share your best "OH MY CUPCAKE!" story!

Want a way to win free cupcakes on a weekly basis?  Submit your best "OH MY CUPCAKE!" story.  Every week, Uzma and I will go through the stories and whoever we feel has the best, most creative story, will win 1 free dozen mini cupcakes!


It's as simple as that...submit the story through our website: www.ohmycupcake.ca as a comment to this post and we will monitor them.

Make sure you check the site weekly to see if your story is a winner - what a great way for you to use your creativity and get rewarded for it too!


Competition starts October 1, 2011 - don't miss out!

Happy posting!!!

Preparations have begun!

So far, this week has consisted of going to Costco, Bulk Barn, a few local stores, our supplier, Loblaws, and No Frills...yes, I feel like a I should be on that old school show: "Supermarket Sweep" - I'll take anyone on!


I'm slowly starting to feel like our apartment is becoming a baking supply storage facility, good part of this is that the apartment always smells like sugar!


We've started whipping up some variations and have confirmed our batting line up.  I don't want to give anything away, but all I can say is: you will not be disappointed!


We will be baking over 700 mini cupcakes, and over 100 regular cupcakes and yes, I'll be handing out free samples...yes, I said FREE samples...!


More than just baking, this has really started to make us understand and appreciate using our time efficiently - yes, I'm still unemployed, but you wouldn't think that the way I've been watching "Cupcake Wars" and learning on how to decorate cupcakes! Don't worry, mom...and mother-in-law...I'm still looking for a full time job, but in the interim, this is great!


More than just the launch on September 11, we are also baking 100 cupcakes for Tehmina Haq's Engagement Party.  Congratulations to her and the entire Haq family!


Stay tuned for further updates...oh yes, our website is up and running too: www.ohmycupcake.ca - it's a work in progress, but has some useful information.


If you've got some ideas for flavours, feel free to send them to: haider@ohmycupcake.ca


See you in a few days!

Launch Date Announced!

Happy Long Weekend everyone!  I hope everyone was able to get out there and enjoy our last long weekend of summer...don't worry, you're not the only one who wants our summer to last a little longer!


We wanted to let you know that details for our launch have now been confirmed:


Date: Sunday, September 11, 2011
Time: 11am - 5pm
Location: 2877 Dundas Street West, Toronto ON M6P 1Y9 (Tea Blendz)


We will have an assortment of cupcakes in mini and full size for whatever your heart desires.  More than that, I'll be out in full effect, sharing free mini samples of one of our most popular cupcakes.


Because of the nature of the event, we wanted to offer you all $2 cupcakes and $1 minis.  Take advantage of this opportunity to mix and match your cupcakes and take as many as you'd like!


Also, don't forget to try the various tea's that have made Tea Blendz www.teablendz.com one of Toronto's premiere tea houses - Tea and Cupcakes - what better way to wind down the summer!


Please follow us through our blog, our twitter: @ohmycupcake_to, or via FaceBook.


Thanks and stay tuned for updates regarding our preparation for the big event!

Pictures!

Hello Everyone!  First off, I wanted to wish all those who are celebrating: EID MUBARAK!  I'm sure we all feel a sense of relief now that our month of fasting has come to an end - but it's always bitter sweet.

Speaking of sweet, we've received a lot of great comments and feedback after our first official week in business.  We baked over 200 cupcakes and it's been a blast!  A lot of our followers have asked for me to put up some pictures, so please see them below and enjoy...but remember: this is just a visual, definitely not enough for you to please your sweet tooth - you'll have to come out on September 11, 2011 (details to come in a later post), in order to do that...! Of course, you can place an order with us before then too!

Thanks again to everyone for the support and suggestions.  Our website will be up and running in a few days - look out for our "cupcentives" - a great way to earn free cupcakes! C'mon, who doesn't like freebies?!?!?

The pictures you see here are of our "Red Carpet" Cupcake; an assortment of our "Death By Chocolate", "Cookie Monster", and "Red Carpet"; and our "White Out" Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting.  Stay tuned for more and become a follower of our blog!

Sunday well spent...

I want to begin this post by saying congratulations to Sher and Radyah! You two make an incredible couple, yes, I'm jealous I don't get to be Sher's better half, but I must say, he did well!


We got home last night around 2am from Sher and Radyah's engagement get together and decided to create our to-do list for the following day.  After cross referencing emails and invoices, we finalized that our Sunday will consist of making 132 cupcakes, which include:


The Red Carpet (Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting)
The Cookie Monster (Chocolate Cupcake with Cookies and Cream Frosting topped with an Oreo)
Naked White Out (Vanilla Cupcake, No Frosting)
Chocolate Cupookies (Cupcake with cookie baked into it) with Chocolate, Chocolate Coffee, and Cookies and Cream Frosting
Vanilla Cupookies with Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Cookies and Cream Frosting
Death by Chocolate (Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting)


It was definitely a trying day, but a good one nonetheless, as we were able to really learn how to use our time effectively.  What we also realized was that a small, 1 bedroom downtown condo is not nearly enough space to run a cupcake business out of - but we'll make it work!


On a sadder note, my softball team didn't fair as well as our cupcakes have been, as we were beaten in the finals and we ended up finishing in second place. It was a good season, but not good enough, as making it that far only to lose is a bitter pill to swallow!


Thanks for checking in - please remember to keep September 11 free and become a member of our blog!


Have a great week.

Our first delivery!

We officially sold our first cupcakes today!  Sonali, a good friend of mine, ordered a dozen for her 3 boys.  She ordered some "cupookies" and some regular cupcakes (chocolate and vanilla), with a mix of cookies and cream, and chocolate frosting.


She did have to confirm with me, several times, that I didn't bake them, otherwise, she would've never ordered from us! Nice friend, eh?

Nonetheless, Day 1 has officially been added to the record books...We've been lucky enough to have 5 more orders for this weekend...keep them coming people, keep them coming!


Have a great weekend and don't forget to become a member of our blog!

Trial and Error

Perfecting the art of baking cupcakes is by no means, an easy task.  It's unfortunate, I can't bake or do much of anything regarding food with the exception of eating it, which means Uzma has to do most of the work.  I'm sure from our clients' perspectives, they'd much rather eat cupcakes made by her anyways!


Making that perfect dozen takes a lot of time and patience and let's just say, we've failed a few times before ensuring we've made the best possible cupcake!  Let's just call this growing pains and hope that as we become more seasoned in the cupcake game, baking dozens will be a walk in the park.


We've been fortunate to already have a few orders, with our first due tomorrow (August 26, 2011).  This day is extra special, as it's also my dad's 61st birthday, and to celebrate, we're baking the old man some cupcakes to share with his buddies at the mosque (it's the holy month of Ramadan).


Special thanks to Sonali Sheth, Adnan Kamdar and Bill, for being our first customers!

And it begins...

For all of you who know Uzma Abdullah (my wife) well, you know about her obsession with baking and anything sweet.  For those of you who know me well, you know that I can never turn down anything baked or anything sweet, hence making this partnership ideal.


A few weeks back I was laid off.  Not a good time for it to happen, but then again, I guess there is never a good time for it to happen. I took this as an opportunity to really sit down and rethink what I wanted from my life and have started to treat this situation like a "blessing in disguise".  I mean, it could have been a lot worse!  With all that said, I've always wanted to have something of my own, and Uzma shares this enthusiasm too.  We spoke a lot about starting up a business but were never sold on any particular idea or industry until Uzma baked cupcakes one night...and this is where it all began!


I thought the cupcakes she baked were magnificent.  Of course, being Uzma and knowing my sarcasm, she thought I was joking with her and thought nothing of it.  The reality of the situation is that these cupcakes were really, really good.  To put her mind at ease, we invited a few friends over one night to 'break fast' (as it's the holy month of Ramadan) and as a treat, we had Uzma's freshly baked Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes.  Everyone agreed, the blend of coffee, chocolate and Uzma's own ingredients, surely served up a delight! A few days later, Uzma baked Red Velvet Cupcakes (which we call the "Red Carpet").  We shared these with a different group of friends and received the same praise - I think we have a winner!  CUPCAKE BUSINESS!


And so..."Oh My Cupcake!" was established.  We pondered various names for our new venture and decided on the above, as it's literally, short and sweet, and most importantly: fun, which is what cupcakes should be all about!


For those of you anxious to try one of our savoury, mouth watering treats, keep Sunday September 11, 2011 open - it's the official launch date for Oh My Cupcake! in Toronto (details will be released soon).


Thanks for reading this first posting for Oh My Cupcake! - we look forward to serving you as a customer one day soon!