A sweet interview with a pâtisserie

Today I am going to share with you an interview with an amazing baker-confectioner from our beloved town. Marina makes unbelievably beautiful and tasty cakes and sweets. She is also the owner of Café Rosé, a cosy place in the city centre.

Our interview has turned out to be extensive and detailed. So, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and get comfortable in your favourite chair. I tried to think of such questions so that you could have a glance at behind the curtains of baker-confectioner's job. And I am certain that you will definitely want to enjoy a piece of cake after reading this article.

I am a baker-confectioner by training, which I have received in Finland. The studies were mostly focused on baking, and I learnt the art of confectionery on my own. I was the only one in our study group who has chosen confectionery as their specialisation. But I have started to seriously work with cakes eight years ago during my maternity leave.

To be honest, I do not know. Entirely by accident, I went studying to be a baker-confectioner. Actually, I do have a degree in law. I have graduated from a civil service academy and worked as a lawyer for a few years. But I have realised one day that sitting in an office is not my mission.

Probably, art. I make cakes both to order and for sale on display. Everything must be beautiful because people do also eat with their eyes. I like individual orders a lot—there is a lot of room for being creative.

Generally, people order cakes for christenings. It is really popular in Finland. The Finns order large cakes for their large celebrations and do not skimp. If they have a holiday in the house, it is the holiday.

Yes, and the orders are placed for many months in advance. Brides start ordering cakes for their summer weddings already in October. In Finland, the earlier you book a date with a master, the better the result is going to be.

I had orders in a draw-the-cake-of-your-dream format when kids drew cakes themselves. It was nice when a kid could choose whatever they wanted and not upon what their parents have decided. I do talk to kids and listen to what kids say. For example, one girl really wanted a chocolate unicorn, and we realised it. One ought to listen to kids.

I always ask about what the client likes. I never insist on ordering what I like. For example, a little while ago, one woman ordered a cake for her daughter. Her daughter loves chocolate and room plants. After scratching my head, I found a way. I took aerial plants and leaves of room plants, carefully isolated them and used as decorations, making sure that they do not touch the cake... The client was really surprised in the end, because I have created exactly what she had in mind.

It is brilliant when the client shares their ideas. I am not fond of repeating some other works, so I like a lot when the client says "Do as you like." This is probably the dream of all confectioners. I have a long list of wishes, where I collect photos of the cakes, elements of which I would like to realise in my projects.

Of course, there are! And of course, I do follow them. Must do. Storehouses of inspiration are Instagram (laughs) and Pinterest. I try to keep following popular confectioners; they have an unbelievable fantasy. I would like to be in line with here and now, to demonstrate to people that there is a tremendous variety of cakes.

Simplicity in the decorations is the current trend. For example, cream, sloppy paints strokes, flowers drawn with the palette knife. Depending on the season, cakes can be decorated with berries and fruits, such as pomegranate, peach, citruses, passion fruit.

Simplicity is a trend for wedding cakes, too. White cases, somewhat mild contouring, decorations with natural flowers. Actually, it is really great when the confectionary product can be decorated with natural flowers. The flowers made of mastic weigh a lot; one needs to make them manually, so it takes a lot of time. A lot of people just take them off and do not eat. But the client pays big money!

I got really lucky that I collaborate with a flower shop. I always have the possibility to use very fresh flowers. I soak them in water to get rid of harmful components and isolate them from the surface of the cake with ribbons, film or chocolate. However, there are plants that may not be used for decorating under any circumstances. Unfortunately, not all professional and amateur confectioners are aware of those rules, and they use plants incompatible with food.

Not at all. This information is a must to know. It can be easily found on the Internet. I learn everything myself, read a lot of articles on the Internet, am subscribed to special literature, magazines. I provide people with my services, therefore I may not put something stale or use incompatible ingredients.

Not really. Some of the recipes are the legacy of the study days. I take a lot of recipes from the literature, magazines that I subscribe to. Sometimes I change something based on my taste. Nowadays I have a lot of orders so I can experiment. A lot of room for creativity.

I really like making mousse cakes because one can assemble them as LEGO pieces—create one filling and different mousses. For example, a mango filling and a creamy, lemon or chocolate mousse. Cakes become puzzles with different tastes. It is very interesting.

There are classic recipes, such as meringue roll, soufflé... Besides, I try new recipes. A lot of recipes comes to us from abroad, from the US, Italy, France. There are a lot of confectioners who run blogs. I like the Russian confectioners Maria Selianina and Nina Tarasova. They share their recipes. There are, naturally, also recipes for purchase.

I buy master-classes on the Internet because sometimes I do not have any possibility to visit abroad. So it is great that I can get an online master-class. It is indeed very convenient.

Actually, it was my husband's idea (laughs). We were thinking it through, looking for a place. We were planning on starting the business because we really wanted to work independently. In my previous workplace, I could not set free my fantasy, but in my own café, I answer only to myself. There are moments, of course, when I would need a day off. But I keep holding on. I would really like to have a long holiday (laughs).

Mostly, yes. My husband and I share entrepreneurship, and he helps me a lot. Luckily, there is a lot to do. I am happy that in Finland, there is a possibility to invite trainees from colleges. It is really convenient. For example, a girl who studies to be a confectioner will soon join me as a trainee. Previously, I used to have girls-trainees from the language courses.

Many believe that I come here at five o'clock in the morning and bake a lot at home. That is not true (laughs). I am always coming about twenty minutes before opening. I make tea and coffee, set the good to the glass case and start doing planned things. I am always planning stuff a day before; what I need to do, what is missing from the glass case. For example, I bake merengue roll every day because it has become popular. I bake it twice a day, for sure! It is sold out really quickly. Plus, it is lactose and gluten-free. There are a lot of allergic people in Finland, thus I always have lactose free products available.

Generally, I do everything in advance. If I have an order for Friday, then already on Thursday, I bake the sponge and prepare the filling because it needs to get stabilised. The sponge is always baked in advance. It needs to settle in a fridge for at least six hours so that it will be easy to cut, will not crumble and will have the moist distributed evenly. These are all technicalities. And I assemble the cake on Friday. By now, I have established my workflow so well that I can assemble easy cakes really quickly.

It was an exciting collision of interests. The owner of the flower shop, Heini, was looking for an entrepreneur-confectioner who would like to open a café next door, and I had been dreaming of my own café. It is convenient for our clients. People come to buy some flowers as a gift and in addition, get cakes. Or, for example, it happens with couples, when the woman chooses a bouquet and the man enjoys a cup of coffee. Moreover, we run some joint projects. For example, Heini holds a master-class in floristics, and the participants then come to me for a tea. We had a master-class a little while ago, at which moms were assembling bouquets and kids were decorating muffins.

I would really like to get to work on wedding projects. That is not to make just a wedding cake but a beautiful and sweet table. For example, I recently had an order of a cake, a pannacotta and eclairs. It has been an interesting experience. But I would like to create beauty and aesthetics so that the bridal couple could come to a gorgeous table and elegantly cut the cake. It is all about emotions!

I am now planning on taking a master-class in chocolate making. It is not yet available to me, but I hope to do it in the closest future. I have purchased the necessary supplies but... I would like to add some missing information.

Regarding projects... Of course, I would like to move forward. The café is just a starting point. I dream of my own bakery, with the café being a serving spot. I also dream of improving my business and of my husband joining it. Naturally, I would like to make the café even cosier, to use soft chairs, to upgrade the tables, to slightly change the decor.

At the moment, I need to build me a name, to make people trust me. Of course, it is impossible to be liked by everyone. But I want to move forward and to help my clients realise all their dreams.

I sincerely like that people enjoy my work and that they say "You have excellent works." Sometimes I think "It is good that I left my job, good that I have decided to do this" and want to move only forward.

Our interview has turned out to be extensive and detailed. I am always experiencing a special pleasure of talking to genuine professionals. Such people seem to shine from inside when they tell about their work. I am really happy that our town brings together so many creative and bright people. I hope that this interview has been interesting also to you, my dear readers. Come visit Marina at Café Rosé and try her unimaginable cakes and sweets. You will love them, I am certain.

You can find Café Rosé