Bakers Spotlight
As a mega cake influencer, Lindsay has had some serious opportunities. From being featured in major online publications to creating her own eCommerce store, she has built a cake empire. The best part? She shares all her baking + business advice!
Lindsay
Cake Empiress
Starting TheFlourGirl_ in 2017, Lindsay has amassed a cake empire. With over a quarter of a million followers on Instagram, Lindsay's cake career has taken off and opened upexciting doors.
As an influencer in the cake community, Lindsay is a standout member. She has always shared her baking and business tips with the community. Her videos have high-quality production, and she shows how she crafts her treats. Following along step-by-step with her Reels and videos, you can create the look at home! Looking to start your own cake business? Lindsay also shares how she grew her social media presence and takes her photos. Throughout her stories, Lindsay also shares other tidbits of biz advice.
In 2019, Lindsay's cake empire expanded! She launched her own e-commerce store, The Flour Girl Shop. The Flour Girl Shop is a curated collection of high-quality cake-making basics. The shop also has unique molds + mats to help create adorable treats. Her online store is where you can purchase the tools she uses in her videos.
Other cake career highlights? Lindsay's work has been featured on both Buzzfeed and Popsugar. She also has teamed up with How To Cake It and has taught online classes. (Heads-up! She has an exciting Valentine's Day treat class coming up.)
Outside of the baking world, Lindsay is just as busy. Currently, Lindsay is a busy student with a Master's in Neuroscience who is studying to become a radiation therapist. Between cake crafting, her online store, AND school, this go-getter is an inspiration to go for what you want in life.
Health and Fitness is very important to Lindsay. She shares some of her workouts on her personal Instagram @WorldOfLindsay! On her personal page, you can get to know the lady behind the cake a little bit better.
The Interview
1. Are there any moments you feel changed the trajectory of your baking career?
I think I was going pretty steady with my baking business until the pandemic hit. I was worried because I convinced myself nobody would want to buy any of my desserts during a time where money might be tight and where gatherings are restricted. To be honest, it has been quite the opposite! I've had more time at home due to not having to commute to school each day, which meant I was able to spend a lot more time on my business and craft. I've also been able to spend more time on my online shop, coming up with new product ideas for 2021. I also began teaching classes online which has been so much fun! I never thought I'd be doing my own classes ever! It's been a little bit of a blessing in disguise I'd say!
2. If you could choose one cake style of type to be revived in 2021 what would it be?
I've got a new found love for painted cakes, and I'm really hoping that's something I see more of in 2021. If not, I'm going to make it happen on my own page!
3. What holiday or theme do you most enjoy cake decorating for?
I just love baking for Christmas. It's definitely my favourite holiday because I love the overall warm feeling of the season and the time I get to spend with family. It's also the busiest time of year for me because in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I always have final exams for school. This leaves me just a couple of days to have all me Christmas baking done for my clients AND family, plus have all my gifts wrapped and ready to go. I hope in the future I have more time to explore different Christmas treats and designs.
4. You teach people how to use a variety of tools and different techniques in your videos. What 3 baking tools could you not live without?
My top 3 must haves would be my metal turntable, tall metal icing scrapers, and my non-slip turntable mat. I think these three in combination have hugely impacted my decorating skills because all together they make the process so much easier and faster. This means I can spend more time on the actual decorating! A good turntable means there will be a smooth, continuous spin with no jerking so sliding that may prevent you from achieving those smooth sides. The non-slip mat keeps my cake in place as I decorate which is essential for a clean finish. The tall cake scrapers help me achieve the smooth icing sides and edges in a swipe, and the metal allows me to heat them up! The heat helps to pop any tiny air bubbles that prevent a nice smooth finish.
5. Are there any dessert types you're looking to bake and decorate more in the next year?
Yes! I've been looking into experimenting more with meringue, tarts, and kohakutou (a type of Japanese candy)! I love to dip into a little bit of everything, not just focus on cakes. These are some things that I am not experienced with that I would love to learn!
6. If you had to choose a fictional character most like you, who would it be and why?
My significant other tells me I'm like Judy Hopps from Zootopia lol! Small with big dreams and lots of determination. When things don't go right at first, I'm not a quitter. I can do big things and make those dreams happen if I try. I also really love to help, and it's been really fun to be able to use my platform (which was originally just created for me to share my cake progress) to help other aspiring bakers!
The Flour Girl Shop
Being a cake influencer can open some seriously cool doors! One of those doors that opened for Lindsay? Opening up her own e-commerce store!
Shop TheFlourGirl is a collection of some of the tools Lindsay uses to craft her treats. All tools she sells are rigorously tested by Lindsay herself to meet high-standards. Her tools are durable, re-usable, easy-to-use AND meet a modern aesthetic.
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How did your business idea come along?
In the spring of 2019, my significant other brought up the idea of creating my own product line. A little ambitious, but I thought he was onto something! I was not totally satisfied with all of the decorating tools that I owned. Locally, the cake decoration supply is quite limited and I was using low quality tools to decorate my cakes. I decided that creating my own line of high-quality, durable, reusable tools would be a cool way to overcome this. Together we spent months and many many extremely late nights designing, sampling, and testing products until @shoptheflourgirl was born!
2. Were there any surprises to starting your own business?
Definitely! There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that a lot of people (including myself) did not understand until I started this business. I'm a last minute and pretty unorganized person normally, so having to have items designed, sampled/tested, and then launched in advance of a particular season or holiday is difficult! For example, to have Christmas items ready and in stock for Christmas season, they need to be released for sale at least in November, meaning all the designing, testing, and product photography has to be done in the months prior. It's not necessarily a surprise, just not something I really considered before being in this position.
3. How do the right tools help you get a good cake result?
When I started out, I figured cheap tools would be a good place to start and learn the basics. In a way, this was true. Why would I need good quality tools when I was just learning for fun? Once I began using the tools I created for my shop, I truly realized how much of a difference the right tools can make. I think I would have progressed in my decorating abilities much faster if I had only started with the right tools. Good tools truly helped me cut down on the amount of time I was spending icing my cakes, troubleshooting, and completing basic steps in the cake decorating process!
Fun Content Series
Lindsay goes all out with her cake themes! Lindsay collaborates on fun cake collaborations with other bakers, like the #FruityFamCollab and #FoodInspiredBakes. She also has no problem creating her own unique themes for her own content.
The Element Cake Series was a fun theme Lindsay created in 2020. Taking the four elements: Earth, Fire, Water and Air, she created a cake for each element.
Taking it up a notch, Lindsay shot fun photos in the "element" of each cake. Featured here are her "Fire" and "Water" elemental cakes.
Lindsay has also created cakes based off clothing patterns she loves. Cake creation is a way for Lindsay to unleash her creativity. However she decorates, her cakes are a masterpiece!
