The week I baked 1,000 cupcakes.

(Today’s guest post is by Katie Seevers. She is spearheading our cupcake baking team of world changers this coming year and took on a monumental task on behalf of Team CCK.)

I’m a thrill seeker. I like to take risks. I love to be out there trying new things and pushing myself. I always love a good challenge. You say I can’t do something, I’ll show you that I can. It fires me up.

So when we talked about baking 1,000 cupcakes for our city’s annual art festival over the weekend, I said… “Let’s do this thing!”

1,000 cupcakes. That’s right. WHY would anyone in their right mind attempt this with 6 kids? In their own kitchen? With only 4 cupcake tins? And one oven?

Because I’m passionate about bringing justice to imprisoned children.

Having adopted two children of our own from Ethiopia, I know all about children who need an advocate. Our adoption opened my eyes to the many children around the world who have no one. I never want to forget that there are literally millions of children around the world in need of someone to love them. To tell them that they matter.

I’ve never baked 1,000 cupcakes before. I’ve never come even close. But yours truly, little miss “I always love a good challenge”, was up for it. So, I got up extra early all week and went to bed super late. I baked and mixed, chopped and sprinkled a gazillion little bites of yummy goodness.

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Do any of you move so quickly that you neglect to see what you’re passing by? Well, with the art fair now squarely in the rear view mirror, I stopped to reflect on what I learned.

1. Kids are resilient..and I love mine like crazy.
One of the things that I learned last week is that the time that I had to spend in the kitchen on my feet, away from my family, totally engrossed in recipe cards and arm deep in *from scratch* frosting was a big commitment. But my kids were troopers and they really do like breakfast for dinner… 3 nights in a row. The beauty is that I didn’t need to make that many. I could’ve had a cupcake stand at the end of my driveway, with 14 cupcakes frosted and it still would’ve been worth it to connect with people and share the heart of the Cupcake Kids.

2. Whoooaaa horsey.
Why did I make 1,000 versus… 300, or 100? That’s a great question! Besides the fact that I’m a little crazy to even attempt this, we had done some research and found that the average attendance to this art fair is approximately 10,000 people. So, in my mathematical mind, I figured if only 500 people stopped by and bought 2 cupcakes, that would do it. 500 people out of 10,000? That’s totally doable, right? Well, we only sold a little over 500 and many people bought a 4 pack of cupcakes…so my math was a little off. Next year: only make 500 cupcakes.

3. Ask for help. Or accept it when it’s offered.
I have a tendency to want to do things on my own. But in doing so, I take away the opportunity for others to be involved in what God is doing. We did have some amazing “cupcake kids” step up and help out by frosting and decorating the cupcakes during the fair. Without their help we would not have been able to accomplish what we did. For that, I’m extremely thankful. I definitely learned my lesson.

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4. God is good.
We raised over $1500 dollars. Quite the blessing for the children that Sixty Feet serves. The connections made during our sale were awesome! So many people were eager to hear what the Cupcake Kids was all about and many were excited to support such a ministry.

5. God’s ways are greater.
If I’m entirely honest, I thought we’d raise more. But one of my dear friends texted me this reminder from scripture:

2 Corinthians 4:7
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…
…So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

His ways are greater. Way bigger than mine. And these verses were exactly what I needed. He was so faithful to provide all of the strength that I (and my husband and kids) needed to get through the week. He truly blessed it all, and will continue to work in what I cannot see.

6. It’s not about cupcakes.
Despite the long hours, sore feet and freezer filled to the brim, the most important thing that I took away is that it’s not just about cupcakes. They are simply a way to tell the story. The story of children that are in need of advocates. Someone to stand in their corner. To believe in them. To love them. To tell them that there is hope in Jesus Christ.

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Did we learn a lot? Absolutely. Did we have a good time? No. We had a great time! We’ll be back at Harrison Rally Days again next fall. Eager to talk more about The Cupcake Kids, to connect with people, and ultimately to give back and to make a difference in the lives of the imprisoned children of Africa.

Learn more about hosting your very own cupcake stand, large or small, here. If you’re considering hosting a large stand like this, let us know! We’d love to chat with you.

2 thoughts on “The week I baked 1,000 cupcakes.

    1. That’s a great question, Dawn. One which I toiled long and hard over. I actually called a local bakery to ask them the best way to do it. Their answer? Make the freezer your best friend. 🙂 I baked 200 cupcakes a day for 5 days and loaded them into gallon zip lock bags. (You can fit a dozen cupcakes -unfrosted- in one gal. zip lock bag). They stack beautifully and you can store them up to 2 months. Then the day before the cupcake stand, I prepared all of the frosting, loaded it into the piping bags and grabbed all of the cupcakes from the freezer. It’s actually easier to frost a frozen cupcake, and they thaw quickly… about 1 hour. I frosted all of the cupcakes on site, as they were needed. The only glitch was that I put all of the buttercream frosting in the frig overnight, and well, it took FOREVER to get it soft enough to frost. It basically all needed to be rewhipped. That’s the only thing I’d change. If you have any other questions about hosting your own cupcake stand, please feel free to click the “contact us” link and we’ll be happy to help!

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