About SugarPunk

SugarPunk Desserts was a small, one-person business operated out of North Carolina by me, Tracey Callison. I started this business after taking a break from a PhD program in Social Psychology (baking is a lot more fun than grad school). I’ve since gone back to working in libraries full-time (my first career), and now only bake as a hobby, and rarely post any more. Sorry!

15 Responses to “About SugarPunk”

Dan Says:

October 24, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Hi there!
I am an avid stumbler (iamquarry) and frequenter of tastespotting and foodgawker for course. I found some of your stuff today and discovered it on stumble cause i really enjoyed it. I also added it as a link on foodproof.com which you might want to consider doing when you post to your blog.

Just trying to help out 🙂 Hope I read more from you soon!

This is the link on foodproof if you wanna check it out.
http://foodproof.com/links/view/pumpkin-patch-party-cakes-60

dan
maloneokie Says:

October 30, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Great blog. You receipes look great!
Melody Says:

November 22, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Fabulous blog. I’m definitely going to have to try out some of your recipes. I’m very curious about how you got you dessert supply/internet business going. I’m currently a college student and, one I’m done here, I would love to do a similar thing in my home town. It sounds amazing.

Melody
burgeoningfoodie Says:

March 2, 2009 at 9:20 am
I am an avid baker when I have the time and money. How did you decide to get into the biz and where did you find the time initially to do all your baking?

I currently don’t have space for all the equipment *L*
sugarpunk Says:

March 2, 2009 at 10:49 am
I’ve been baking for years – practically decates – at this point, mostly for friends and family. I started branching out and doing cakes for hire when I lived in Chicago, but didn’t have time when I moved to NC to start grad school. Baking *did* help keep me sane in school, though – it’s great stress relief! (and my classmates appreciated it as well)

I realized that I was utterly miserable in grad school last year, and applied for a year off to consider my options. Part of what I’ve been doing during that time is exploring other paths of interest… it was while browsing through part-time jobs that I saw someone looking for a baker, and that was what eventually led to me starting the business – she didn’t have a kitchen I could cook in, and wanted me to do all of the pastries for her shop (Steele St). It’s something I’ve been wanting to focus full-time on for a while (mostly in the vein of, “My five year plan is to run away to France and apprentice in a patisserie/chocolaterie”), and this just seemed like a good time.

Time-wise, I’m fortunate that I have a partner who can support the household while I’m not contributing to it monetarily; money-wise, I am starting the business up out of the nest egg from my previous life. (Librarian who developed RSIs and couldn’t librarian any more)
burgeoningfoodie Says:

March 2, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Oh goodie! I’m trying to bake at least one new thing every two weeks and had thought about getting involved with something like Daring Bakers, but I’m little limited on utensils and those tasks seems bit daunting. I’m proud that I could make eclairs even though they aren’t as tough as they look. Now if only I weren’t so messy.
burgeoningfoodie Says:

March 2, 2009 at 2:03 pm
You could email me the response to this, but I see a lot of local baking/cooking blogs and it seems like some of people know each other… Do you know if there is a bakers interest group that has formed from the blogs (or vice versa) that people like me could come to? I’m looking for people who share the interest and wind up getting together now and again.
sugarpunk Says:

March 2, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I’ve just figured out that my new job description goes something like:
“Makes messes. Then cleans them up.”

I am the messiest cook. And since I bake alone, I get to clean it all up. Meh.
KT Says:

April 16, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Great blog–keep sharing your experiences! Do you cook in a commercial kitchen? If so do you rent? If so how did you find it?
sugarpunk Says:

April 16, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I rent commercial kitchen space, which I found by knocking on doors, basically. It took a long time to find, it’s not optimal space (hours I can use it are limited, and space is *really* limited), and it may not last much longer, so I’m keeping an eye out for other space to rent.
kingbiscuitpants Says:

March 21, 2010 at 10:09 am
I’m a chef as well as a Massive Geek and a blogger & I just added you to my blogroll. I’m not a big “sweets” guy but reading your blog made me want to dive into a pile of chocolate with an insulin chaser. great stuff!
Ruth Ann Pryor Says:

May 3, 2012 at 6:03 pm
I discovered your Banana Rum Cake last month. I made the mini-bundt versions and it was a huge hit. I am sorry to read that you are posting less on here. Please keep the current content on line so I can make more of your delicious recipes!
Ruth Ann
sugarpunk Says:

May 17, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Ruth Ann: I’ve no plans to take anything down, as it’s really nice people are still coming by and checking out the recipes! I do still bake, I’m just not selling any more – much less stressful that way and I’m loving my re-careering as a solo librarian and instructor. 🙂
ilovejenscupcakery Says:

August 2, 2012 at 3:24 am
Hi from the UK! Love your blog. Am small cake business owner (well, I’m tall, the business is small) and so interested in your story. I found your blog when I made your banana rum cake for a customer’s wedding and he said “best cake he’s every tasted!” Must have been as he’s just come back with a request for the same cake for his daughter’s christening 🙂
Banana Coconut and Rum Cake « Laura's Mess Says:

May 19, 2013 at 1:32 am
[…] by Tracey at SugarPunk Desserts (a small one-woman baking business in North Carolina that sadly no longer exists). She in turn found the recipe she used in a book called Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill […]