Miniature Angels? or Devils?

I walked into "Nugget" the other day and gazed at their spread of miniature desserts. Each individual dessert was displayed brilliantly with their small bases, swirled frosting cone hats, blankets of chocolate shells, and glittering sprinkles. Surely buying just one would satisfy that evil sugar craving! I buy one, enjoy it, and consume half the amount of sugar and calories of a regular sized one! Perfect!

Then I got to thinking...

How can I recreate this at "Cafe Napoli?" I pictured a sheet pan of those little delights all lined up, bare, fresh from the oven/freezer, and waiting patiently to be decorated. I imagined a baker standing over them piping all the frosting on, say, the cupcakes, and going as quickly as possible with great accuracy.

How long would it take that skilled baker to do all of those? Better question: How long did it take to get that fast and that accurate?

Then I saw these little miniature desserts grinning back at me as I wondered what stress and back pain that the baker(s) have to go through to create these little beauties. How dare those desserts look so appealing! All dressed up like some pageant five-year-old when at home their spoiled rotten! I left the display in disgust.

Then I started thinking more...

How can I make those beautiful little treats both appealing to the bakers and the public? Perhaps they could be produced and decorated with ease and as little stress as possible. No, I'm not going to purchase them from a distributor and then displayed like they're home made. Lies!

Instead, I will create a few weekly, test out what sells the most, and then only produce the little angels. There will be other, much larger, desserts in the display case at "Cafe Napoli" and so I really only need to make about 3 doz. Also, making desserts that call for ingredients we already use and that don't call for large amounts of time will be less stress on my Chef's end.

So I returned to the display case of those little devils and smirked back as I snapped a few photos. I took out a pen and pad and wrote down a few of the dessert names. I smiled at them and thanked the baker that had asked me if I wanted any.

Now, those little desserts will be mine, to sell of course, and my students and myself will not loathe them for all their worth. Still, I gotta find the right patient people to do the job, but in the end, I know that these little treats will be a good addition to "Cafe Napoli."

Thank you "Nugget" and I will remember to pray for your bakers!

Bon Appetit!