And after a full year to the day of closing our doors, the recipe capsule launch is FINALLY here.

Let me re-introduce myself: I’m Katarina, founder and chief dessert designer of Dolled Up Desserts. Its been a while! How are you? This launch video is part reading a reflection I wrote and will post on our site, part ad lib as I go. If I look like i am reading, I am, because I write ALOT!

When I closed Dolled Up Desserts, I knew that I wanted my creative works, my recipes, to live on with the community. I spent so much time innovating these baked goods that actually were delicious, and it would be a shame for them to go down with me. However, just sharing recipes on a blog or tiktok is so overdone and not fully authentic to who I am and want to be. Truly, what makes these recipes so special is the story of the time they were developed.

Each one came about out of need to solve a business challenge, each one was a creative pursuit that has a collection of warm and scary feelings associated with them. They’re more than just steps to make treats, each recipe has a story. And I want to share the stories that made the recipe, and made me. 

Thus, the recipe capsule was born. Each week (hopefully, we will see how I feel), I will share a chapter of the story of Dolled Up Desserts. I will also share the baked good recipe that defines that story. It could have been developed at that time, or it was revised and developed later but the idea of it was pivotal at that time. The idea is here, you’ll see what I mean once we get this show on the road.

This last year has been one of intense and beautiful growth for me (which I am sure will be shared eventually), but I have been exploring the value of setting daily positive intentions as part of manifesting the reality you create. And these last 10 months, this Recipe Capsule continuously was put at the bottom of my to do list. I could say I was busy with other projects, but I do believe I chose to not prioritize it. The quality of what I want to deliver is hard to do single handedly. Producing content in this day and age is a full time job for a team, and I want what I put out to be interesting and inspiring, but also authentic to who I am. I have a hard time creating any content that isn’t straight from the soul, especially when it comes to the editing and processing part. Just like in the bakery, baking (or in this case, writing and filming, which I find enjoyable) is only half the battle. The other half, and truthfully not my favourite part, is the packaging: editing, colouring, rendering, captioning, uploading. 

However, we made it here today, launch day. My main intention has, and will continue to be, empowering those with dietary differences to share and enjoy indulgent inclusive dessert. I intend for this to reach exponentially more people than any of my previous content, because there is no paywall here. No baking mix needed. I intend to build community again, and give you everything I have learned in this recipe capsule, both from a pastry development side, and from a fake it til you make it entrepreneur side. Because the lessons there are not only incredibly human, but can hopefully provide others paving their own journey some solace, maybe some laughter, that they really are not alone. I got a lot of comfort knowing I wasn’t the only one screaming internally as I tried to sail a ship called a food business. And if not that, the story is hella entertaining. 

 I am sharing my story and recipes for free and online with the goal of attracting a book deal. I am a firm believer in open source storytelling, but there’s something so special in creating a physical book. Having a physical book is like keeping the knowledge somewhere close to you. I already know what I want the books (yes, books with an s) to be about, and they will be so special when they are manifested earth side. I also am attracting help with the video creation, so I can focus on creating the content and recipes, and less on the editing. I really want this to grow into some sort of television or youtube show that extends beyond just inclusive baking, but includes other parts of my life I want to share. 

That’s what I am manifesting for this recipe capsule. I am super excited to share my journey with you, and I hope it sweetens your life just a bit more. Slide into my DMs, Lets chat, lets learn, lets bake, lets be open minded, lets challenge our biases, lets continue to grow. Because that’s what life is all about.

The first chapter and recipe will premiere next week. If you haven’t subscribed to our newsletter yet, I would highly suggest it, so you get direct, from the source updates when I publish new goodies. Until then, enjoy the new website! I built it myself and I am proud of it because learning to build websites is one of the many skills Dolled Up Desserts challenged me with. If you see any glitches or have any feedback, let me know so we can fix them. 

I love you all. Thank you for being a source of light and motivation for service.

Until next time,

Katarina