Fridays After 5 Featuring Belinda Sanchez

SDA’s member spotlight Fridays After 5 showcases the varied creative, fun, adventurous, or interesting achievements our members accomplish after business hours.

This week’s Fridays After 5 features Belinda Sanchez SDA.  Belinda is the Communications & Events Director of AIA San Antonio. For the past 10 years, when she’s not creating signature events, you can find her creating cakes. 

When did you start baking? Who was your first teacher? 

I’ve baked since I was a little girl with my Grandmother. As I got older, I became the official “baker” in the family and everyone always wants my special chocolate cake and icing every year for their birthday. Every holiday season, I’d experiment and challenge myself with new recipes and designs. But no matter how much more skilled I became at high design cakes, my family would still only want the traditional chocolate cake. 

Did you take home ec in school?

I did, but I don’t recall learning to bake. I did sew a chic (or so I thought) black button-up blouse. I think I wore it once :/

How did you learn? How do you learn new techniques today?

Once I decided that I wanted to not just bake but actually design cakes, I took a cake decorating class at a local cake supply store. The instructor, Iris, was very good and had over 40 years of cake decorating experience. I took several classes with her from basics to gum paste/fondant work. I learned a lot, but I also learned that there is ALWAYS more to learn. Now, I rely on my years of experience to experiment or, if necessary, turn to youtube to learn or improve on a technique or process.

What’s your creative process like when someone comes to you for an order?

Most folks know what they want and just send me a picture of the design they want with a few modifications. For those that don’t, I ask questions for clarity of the design they seek, pull images from my own portfolio if applicable, and/or images from online that I know I can deliver on. From there we just tweak the design to fit their needs. 

Where do you find inspiration? from the client? books? tv? Pinterest?

Google google google… most of the above show up on a google search. I also have an extensive portfolio of work to pull from as examples of my work and my technique. 

When did you start your side hustle?

I started my “side hustle” in 2011, during the economic downturn. At that time, the firm I worked for was knee-deep in surviving in the economic downturn and our pay had been frozen for over two years. Understandably, I was working extensive hours and had no time available to even consider a second job. I needed an additional income stream that allowed me the flexibility I needed to maintain my full-time job. 

This was also around the time that Food Network was airing a popular baking show called “Cupcake Wars”.  As a member of the marketing team, I was brought in to plan a staff anniversary party and appointed the role of purchasing a celebratory dessert. Of course, I opted for trendy cupcakes instead of a traditional cake.

When placing the order, I saw how ridiculously expensive they were and recall thinking to myself – I’m in the wrong line of work. I remarked to my mother about it later that evening as we both shopped at a local grocer. Coincidentally, I was in the section of reading material and happened to glance down… there on the shelf just below me was a book on cupcake decorating 101. I saw it as a sign and purchased it… and here I am 10 years later…

What’s the name of your business? Do you have a website / Facebook / Instagram account?

Cupcake Creations. I only have a Facebook page www.facebook.com/cupcakecreationssa I plan to build an Instagram page soon, as many have inquired if I have one.

What do you enjoy most about baking?

I used to say the challenge of learning new techniques and skills when I was still learning. It was great to stretch the limits of my expertise and deliver a product that made my clients happy. Now, my enjoyment is more in the experience of creating something to be enjoyed by my clients. In the beginning, I was building my client base and portfolio and considering owning a shop one day. But as the workload increased with my efforts, it began to FEEL like work and wasn’t as enjoyable as it used to be. I moved away from the idea of the business owner and accepted that baking as a side hustle was more in tune with my lifestyle and career trajectory. 

What is your favorite thing to bake?

I don’t really have a favorite – but I do detest baking sheet cakes. I will not accept the work. I figure, if you need that much cake, you might as well build it up and make it stand out. 

When did you start doing multi-tiered cakes? How long is that process? Is it hard to transport?

I started doing multi-tiered cakes pretty early on since that is the trend. As long as you take the time to create a level cake and install dowels to make it structurally sound it is fine. I will not transport anything bigger than 2 tiers. If they want a 3rd tier or more, I usually require delivery so that I can assemble and finish the cake on site. Cake disasters do happen en route and not all are fixable. I learned real quick it’s best to prepare to finish on site. This is mostly the case for large event cakes, like weddings or birthday parties. Do not believe those cake shows showing them delivering 5 tier cakes—they do that for storyline and to create suspense -- most cake decorators assemble on site. 

How many wedding cakes will you commit to in a year?  Do you only do them for family or will your work for others?

I accept no more than one wedding cake per weekend. They are a lot of work and I prefer to concentrate my energy on one cake at a time. On average I usually do about 5-10 wedding cakes a year, depending on how much I market. 

What is the most time-consuming part of baking?

Baking takes time, but not work. Once it’s in the oven, you just wait. It’s the details that take the most time. Whether it’s icing and piping work, fondant detailing, or edible floral work, it’s the precision that you have to have in the decorating process that takes the most time and is, in my opinion, the most important part of the creative process.

Do you have a regular oven and pans, or do you have some professional kitchen equipment?

I have both. I work out of my home kitchen and I’ve acquired a lot of equipment, tools, and supplies over the last 10 years.

Do you need “staff” for some jobs? What’s the smallest job you’ve taken / the largest?

Large or small I prefer to work alone. I find comfort in completing the work myself and not having to judge or accept the work of others – I guess I’m a perfectionist that way. Occasionally, if time is of the essence when it comes to set up, I might ask a friend to help with the setup at the venue. But in most cases, the halls provide you ample time to do what you need to do. 

If you could, would you do this full-time?

No, I tried and it wasn’t for me. Took the joy out of it and made it feel like work. I much prefer doing this on the side, so that I can pick and choose the work that I do without fear of not being able to pay my bills. This way, I have a job that I love AND a side hustle I enjoy. 

What’s your favorite baking show?

Cake Wars. I enjoy watching and learning their techniques or the tools they use to create. I’m always surprised and learn something.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to launch their own side hustle?

Do something you love to do. A full-time job should definitely be the priority, and we all know at times, our jobs can be more demanding than we prefer. A side hustle like all other jobs has just as many responsibilities, and it’s never fun when the additional work makes you feel resentful or even lackluster compared to much-desired downtime. Doing something relaxing, enjoyable, and rewarding in its completion makes the tasks less daunting and something you look forward to working on in your free time.

Belinda is also cooking up something special for EdSymposium 21! 

To toast an amazing EDSymposium 21, the Past Presidents Council is hosting a Meet, Mix and Mingle fundraiser. The event will take place on Saturday, June 12 at 4:15 EDT. It will benefit the PPC Foundation Scholarship Fund. SDA’s own mixologist Fran Carillo will be teaching a cocktail class, while participants can mix along (recipes and bar list included) or sip on a favorite beverage and visit!  There is a minimum donation of $20 to join.  In addition to the usual SDA shenanigans, there will be plenty of door prizes, including a custom SDA cupcake kit courtesy of Belinda!