Blogger Interview: Bakingdom!

Welcome to our first food blogger interview (a new series we are very excited about). There are so many amazing food bloggers that we love to follow and wanted to share a little behind-the-scenes info about their life as food bloggers. What inspires them, day-to-day life, etc! First up is Darla Wireman of Bakingdom!

1. What inspired you to first launch Bakingdom?

I launched Bakingdom for two reasons. The first was because my friends kept telling me that they’d love it if I did. I have been sharing photos of my cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and other recipes on Facebook for years, and they wanted me to share the recipes and techniques with them.

I actually put it off for several months because I was intimidated by the idea. I’ve always been self conscious of my writing, and to be honest, I’m quite shy. But that’s what leads to my second reason for starting Bakingdom.

I’ve been a huge fan of Cake Wrecks since the beginning, and I admire Jen Yates a great deal. I was inspired by her to just take the plunge and get started. Even though Cake Wrecks isn’t exactly the same kind of food blog, I was motivated to create Bakingdom by Jen’s writing and humor.

You can see how I’ve changed, grown, and found my own voice and style as time has gone by, but in the beginning, I was pretty terrified. It’s really scary putting yourself out there, but it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

2. Of the last two years of baking and blogging, what has been your favorite recipe you’ve posted?

It’s incredibly difficult for me to pick a favorite recipe that I’ve posted! If I get down to the very barest of bones, my favorite recipe of all is my salted caramel, which you’ll see all over Bakingdom. I’ve never written a post specifically about the caramel all by itself, but I’ve included it in several recipes (the first one being the most focused on the caramel itself), and I recently created a page for it under My Fave Basic Recipes on the blog. I think it’s the most wonderful, most delicious stuff in the world.

My favorite post as a whole, though, well, it’s actually a tie between my Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes (see? there’s that caramel!) and my Butterbeer. The cupcakes sort of speak for themselves…I mean, hello? Salted caramel, chocolate, coffee…all in a cupcake? Irresistible.

My Butterbeer, on the other hand, is actually semi-homemade, and it’s one of the simplest recipes on Bakingdom, but I adore it. After visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter when it first opened, and becoming obsessed with the butterbeer there, I had no choice but to attempt to recreate it. I may be a little biased, but I think it tastes just like the drink from the park. It’s been hugely popular with readers, too, and I had so much fun creating it and writing the post!

3. What’s your favorite element of blogging?

My favorite element of blogging is definitely the creative aspect. I love creating and developing or tweaking recipes, brainstorming decorating ideas for cakes, cookies, and cupcakes, and planning how I want to style and photograph, then edit the photos. All of these skills have grown by leaps and bounds since I first started Bakingdom, and I’ve become obsessed with finding beautiful props for photos. Sometimes, like with my Malted Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème, which are in the cutest little handled red pots, the prop even inspires the recipe.

I also adore the people. I have met so many beautiful, kind, creative, wonderful people through blogging, whether they be my peers in the blogging world, or readers that I’ve gotten to know through comments and tweets. That is probably my favorite side effect of blogging.

4. What do you think are some upcoming “trends” in baking goodies for 2012?

I really think healthy, or healthier, baked goods will continue to gain popularity this year. Gluten free and vegan/dairy free recipes are in high demand, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I also think that people want to see more “small bites” type desserts, like cake bites and push pops (as I’m sure you’re aware, Courtney!).

I think people want to be able to have a little bit of everything in a bite, without needing a fork and plate and napkin and table to enjoy it. I don’t think cupcakes are going to lose any popularity, because they meet all the criteria for small bites, but I think we’re going to see a lot more mini pies, whoopie pies and other cookie sandwiches, cake bites, push pops, and things like mini donuts.

5. What’s your typical day like?

My typical day is pretty busy, because as well as baking and blogging, I’m a wife, and full time step mom. But I also make aprons that I sell on Etsy, so my days tend to alternate between baking and sewing.

I’m always up by 7 am…earlier, if I can find the motivation.

I start every day with a run and some quiet me time before getting to work for the day. The sun streams bright into my kitchen for the first couple of hours of the day, so I wait until it’s passed by before I start baking, so that I have softer natural light for photos. What better to fill the time with than some reading or catching up on a favorite show (Downton Abbey, anyone???)?

After that, I get started baking one to two recipes a day, depending on the level of difficulty and amount of work necessary. I like to try to stay a few posts ahead, so I bake several times a week. It’s become a routine: preparation, photograph, process, photograph, decorate/style, photograph. Usually, by the time I’m done, the rest of the family is home, so I break for the evening.

My husband and I almost always cook dinner together, and we sit down together as a family every night. Most nights, we hang out watching a movie or doing something all together for a bit after dinner. After our family time, I head to my computer to edit my photos and write my blog posts, or answer emails and comment questions. I rarely find myself editing or writing during the day.

Every other day, it’s the same routine, except I replace the baking with sewing. Of course, there are the days that I don’t do anything remotely involving the blog or sewing, and I rarely do blog work on the weekends. I prefer to keep those days free.

6. Where do you get your baking inspiration?

My baking inspiration comes from all over! I’m so incredibly inspired by the other amazing bloggers out there, and I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest (I’ve even started a monthly post called Perfectly Pinterest). I’m greatly inspired by some of my quirkier interests, like Harry Potter and Doctor Who, and it’s many of those posts that have been my most popular. I’m really just inspired by what I love, from favorite ingredients (like hazelnuts), to a gorgeous pattern, design, or color scheme I see while out and about, or something that my family mentions in passing. When I really think about my sources of inspiration, I realize that I look at the world through a blogging eye 99% of the time. When I look at something, I often find myself thinking, “Oooh! This would make a beautiful cake design!” or “Oh my! That would be the cutest cookie!” or “Holy wow! I need a brownie with this ingredient in it!”

7. What one baking tool can you not live without?

I was so tempted to say that I simply can’t live without my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it just isn’t true. Although our love is true, I’ve had to survive without my mixer before, and I did just fine. I think, when it really comes down to it, the tool I just adore, and never want to be parted from, is my spring loaded scoop. It’s such a simple, unassuming little tool, but I use it almost every, single time I bake. Seriously, it’s out and being put to good use 99% of the time. Mine is from from The Pampered Chef. Two scoops makes the perfect cupcake each and every time. One scoop makes a perfectly sized cookie, no matter what recipe I’m using. It’s perfect for scooping butter and other condiments into little dishes for food styling, and great for dolloping whipped cream. I’ll never give it up!