4 minute read
Mise en Place
Mise en Place
LITTLE BUTTER’S KELSEY EARL VOWS TO MAKE CAKE SILLY AGAIN
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By Kate Frick
Kelsey Earl doesn’t dream at night, but you wouldn’t know that by looking through Little Butter’s Instagram. It’s a kaleidoscope of color, texture, mirrored disco balls, locally foraged flowers, candied citrus—and cake. Beginning with pastry boxes and pop-ups, Earl now has an arsenal of flavors that beguile Midwestern bake sales.
The Pitch: Are you a horoscope person?
Kelsey Earl: Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes I’m not. I am an Aries.
Does your Aries energy enjoy sustaining Little Butter?
Yes. Right now, I’m just doing a lot. This week I’ve got my [multiple] jobs and eight custom cakes.
I started with a box of custom pastries and quickly pivoted to a pop-up model. Coming up with new menus constantly out of my home kitchen was exhausting, and it stopped being fun. I’d cry all morning before my pop-up, and then get there and be like, “Well, thank God it’s over.”
So I asked, “How can I bake for people but make it more sustainable?” I switched to mostly cakes, and that’s been going really well. Customers say things like, “These cakes look great, but when are you doing another box?” I’m like, “I’m not.”
Scarcity is sometimes the best thing you can offer a customer.
That’s why my boxes were so hot! At first, I had 10 boxes, then 20. That’s all I could do.
When did you get your start in the industry?
I have always been a people person. I bussed and waited tables. Basically, I’ve been a server, hostess, and bartender forever, and I baked on the side for fun. I didn’t want to give up waitressing at a restaurant to be a cook. It’s a drastically different lifestyle, and the way that you’re compensated is so different, which is wrong.
Your flavor profiles are always pushing the envelope. Do you dream in pastry?
No, Firstly, I don’t really dream. I pull out my flavor bible and take inspiration from other things I’ve eaten. I’ll go up to Baba’s Pantry and see what ingredients they have, or the farmers’ market, or native plants from Prairie Birthday Farm. Seasonal ingredients are important to me, which gets really tricky here, especially in winter, and that challenges me more. Some things just come with time—like coriander really brings out blueberries and citrus. When I’m building a cake, I approach it like a dish.
Do you feel like the name Little Butter is ironic?
A little. When I was thinking about starting this bakery, I started selling my pastry boxes on my own Instagram. I quickly realized, “I need to get something else out here.” I knew that I wanted my logo to be a little stick of butter as a person. I love it. People call me Butter now, and they call my fiancé Mr. Butter.
Are there any fridge or pantry items you can’t live without?
I always need a fancy vinegar from Acid League. They’ve got a blueberry port and a Meyer lemon honey. I use them in baking and cooking. I’ll put them in my water, my salad dressing, my buttercream, and my jam.
Are you gonna bake your own wedding cake?
We are getting married this fall. Just this week, I was like, “I’m not going to bake my own cake.” I don’t want to stress. So, I am going to be making a cake—made of only butter. A little 4-inch cake with Victorian piped butter on it. And then I’ll make a big focaccia, served with radishes and my little butter cake.
Did you notice your electric bill spike with Little Butter?
Before I started Little Butter, at the very beginning of the pandemic, I started this thing called Focaccia for Produce. I would bake three days a week, and I was having the oven at like 450 degrees for hours every single day. By August, it was like 100 degrees, my oven was still at 450, and I was baking in my panties with four fans in the kitchen, asking, “What have I done?”
