Ms. Webb has been making cake pops now for about four years. “I wouldn’t say it’s a business per se, I enjoy making them, it’s more of a hobby. And up until now, I have only made them for friends and family,” she said.
She continued, “The way it came about was I went to a friend’s son’s first birthday party. She has cake pop favors, after I tasted one, I said to myself, ‘I can make these.’ So in the months that followed I researched how to make cake pops and got started. My friend Kristy Alfonso Bica encouraged me and asked me to make cake pops for her son’s baptism. I made alligators, bears, giraffes, and koalas to match a ribbon she was using. Ever since, I have been hooked. Kristy asks me to make cake pops every year for her children’s birthday parties at school. I also make holiday pops for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter for her son to take to school. It’s even become a tradition of sorts for the annual pig roast my girls and I attend every year upstate. I make a pig roast pig cake pop. People look forward to my pops every year now.”
On her inspiration to pursue baking, she said, “I have always liked to be in the kitchen cooking and baking. Growing up in England, I watched a television program called ‘Cooking with Claudine.’ Maybe because my name was in the title. The chef on the show was the famous Jacques Pepin and his daughter was Claudine. I loved the way he explained everything and encouraged his daughter to cook. My other inspirations have been Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay (I love watching ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and ‘MasterChef’), and Martha Stewart. I also love Amish cooking recipes.”
Regarding her future plans, she said, “I would love to expand my cake pops business further, possibly displaying them in bakeries, candy stores, and continue to make cake pop orders for birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, and holidays. My ultimate dream would be to open a small intimate tea room and serve traditional English teas, scones, cakes, sandwiches, and biscuits. Even possibly expanding that to luncheons too.”
On her proudest moments, she shared, “I am very proud of an order I did at the beginning of the summer for a friend’s parents 30th wedding anniversary. I made bride and grooms with the accents in red to go along with the customary 30th wedding anniversary of ruby. Another cake pop I made this summer were miniature birthday cakes and cake slices cake pops! I have fun being creative and designing the tops of the pops. I also made a dozen cake pops as a surprise birthday present for an old high school friend who now lives in Florida. Her mother contacted me through my Facebook page, Webby’s WOWzer Pops, asking me to make one dozen pops for her daughter’s birthday. I made them and successfully mailed them to her in Florida.”
For aspiring bakers, Ms. Webb said, “My advice is to always bake and be creative. Find people, friends and family, to be your taste testers who will be brutally honest with you about your creations. Be able to take criticism well and learn from it. Not everything you create will be perfect, and you might need a do over. But most importantly, never give up.”
To learn more about Webby’s WowZer Pops, check out its official Facebook page.
