by Jacky Martin
Spring is just around the corner and
that means it's fund-raising time for schools, clubs and sports
teams. Whether you are raising money for a field trip or for new
uniforms, bake sales are a popular method of raising money.
They are fairly easy to organize
and are seen anywhere that people gather, whether it be church,
school, the grocery store or the mall.
There are a few tips to remember to
keep your baking safe. Lots of children are allergic to nuts, so
leave those out of your recipes or make certain that they are
labeled clearly. This means peanut oil as well. Since the items up
for sale will be sitting out for a few hours, things that are
easily contaminated, such as cream pies, should be avoided. Fruit
loaves, muffins, cake squares and brownies are particularly
popular, because they are easily frozen, so people will buy more.
They are also easy to make and package, can be made up in large
quantities and are fairly easy to sell.
Build your sale around a theme. For
instance, a sports competition or an upcoming holiday will draw
more customers to your table. Since Easter is approaching,
cupcakes decorated like bunnies or even iced in pastel colors and
decorated with Easter-type candy, like Easter sprinkles
are good sellers.
Another money-maker is to have a
central item, such as a well-decorated cake, to raffle. If Easter
is the theme, then perhaps a rabbit or 3-D lamb cake
could be your prize. If your fund-raiser is for a baseball team,
then a cake decorated like a field, complete with players and
bases, would be a great idea.
For a spring sale, here's a cute recipe that is colorful, easy
and will be irresistible to your customers!
Sunshine Cupcakes
Take any standard cake mix and make up a batch or two of cupcakes. You will need yellow
frosting, orange gel icing and candy corns (about 10 for each
cupcake). When I make these, I use yellow cake mix, then frost
with the yellow frosting. Put the candy corns around the edge,
with the point of the candy facing out. Then, with the orange gel,
pipe a smiley face in the middle. If you are really feeling fancy,
get two brown m&m's, put them over the eyes of the face for
sunglasses, then pipe one line on each side in chocolate gel icing
to finish off the sunglasses.
Happy baking!
