This post should more correctly be categorized as Life&Tart! So COVID 19 has rendered everyone immobile and confined within the home for months and it’s during this time that Gorgeous (Daughter No. 1 and Dessert Queen of this house), who was no longer able to go for her summer internship in the U.S came up with Tart.ful.

Gorgeous:

“Mama, we have been baking so much during this period, why don’t we do a tart sale for charity to help those who are in need?”

Daughters’ choreographed shots: Lemon Tarts

I remember experiencing a myriad of emotions when I first heard this idea. Brain flash –  THIS WILL BE SO EXCITING! It would be a great mom and dot bonding moment! I mean doing a bake sale with daughter for the first time would be phenomenal! I could use my passion for baking to do something for charity and Gorgeous will also learn so much, setting this up! From marketing to operations, logistics, customer sales, accounting etc. etc. Woohoo, it would be like a home-based internship with the Sugar Crumble!!!🤩🤩🤩

Matcha Tart in hand

Brain Flash 2 – Hang on, you actually know nothing (absolutely zilch) about doing a bake sale. And wait a minute,  You have NEVER sold any of your Bakes…. hello, The Sugar Crumble is a home baker. Yes, you’ve baked for friends and family and you’ve vlogged DIY bakes for those who would like to follow but to sell them???😬

And do you even know the rules and regulations involved? What about licensing? … And how will you market? What is the platform to liaise with customers? How will you collect payment? Who is going to do delivery? Do you even have enough equipment to bake in bulk?

I mean … WHERE DO WE START ???!!!

After the brain flashes stopped, I did what any good mom would do and simply said “I think that’s a great idea!” Sometimes we need to ignore the skeptic in us and dream along with the kid. Ideas may not always take root. Many often fizzle out by themselves. This was for a good cause. Let’s let it percolate for a bit and see if it does take on a life of its own 😊

Up close & personal … Chocolate Caramel Tart

Gorgeous and I discussed the name at length and finally decided upon Tart.ful which was suggested by her uni housemate, Engie. I actually love it. We are selling tarts so all will be full on tarts 😊 Get it?

But more so because in addition to its literal meaning, Tart.ful to me, also connotes all things fruitful, thankful, grateful, restful, peaceful, artful, tasteful, colorful, beautiful, wonderful etc. etc. Thank you Engie!

The Classy Alcoholic … Orange Chocolate Tart

Once the name was decided, Gorgeous sprung into action. 😄 Man, I’ve not ever seen daughter move so fast before!!

She researched the rules and established that Tart.ful could be a home bakery selling through social media. She spent nights online hunting for the ideal Tart.ful packaging, finally dug deep for her imperceptible mandarin and ordered some on Taobao. She designed the logo, we decided the menu and together with Daughters 2 and 3, I baked, they choreographed the photography & design for the menu, set up the social media account, and collaborated the entire writeup.

In ~3 weeks, on June 15 … Tart.ful was birthed on Instagram.

Lemony delights up close!

On the wise counsel of our well loved Pastor Bea, Gorgeous also contacted Daughters of Tomorrow (“DOT” – https://daughtersoftomorrow.org/ ) our chosen charity which is devoted to helping vulnerable women from low-income families. We wanted to be accountable for the monies raised through Tart.ful. Gorgeous therefore called on DOT to let them know we were doing a bake sale where all funds raised would be donated to their organization.

All said and done, Tart.ful was almost ready to roll, except this Sugar Crumble mama started to get cold feet 😰 😰 😰

We received so many orders !!

We often struggle incessantly with our thoughts and procrastination paralyses. And that’s what happened to this brain. Paranoid ‘what if’ thoughts started to come in. COVID numbers remained high and social distancing was still the order of the day. What if it was unsafe for us to be doing deliveries and coming into contact with other germ carrying humans? And what if we became germ carrying humans ourselves and passed it to our family and friends?

Remember the case of the matriarch in India who never left the house and still contacted COVID from the delivery guy? 😟 Germs stay on surfaces and it’s all around. We should be staying indoors. What are we doing, baking tarts for sale, and being out and about??? How can we be accountable to our friends and families if COVID hits us during Tart.ful???!! 😱 😱 😱

I simply did not have the peace. Finally, I turned the only way I knew.

I prayed.

Not just a ‘bless me please Lord” and ‘keep us safe’ prayer but I put forward a specific request. I told Him “Show me a clear sign you want Tart.ful to go ahead. That this is your will’. Short of hearing a loud booming GOD voice telling me GO FORTH!, I wanted an indisputable, unambiguous, divine indication that this was what He wanted. For if it is with The Almighty’s approval, there will be divine protection and all will go smoothly.

God blessed & all safely delivered

So this is what I asked for.  If we were to go ahead with Tart.ful, for hygiene and storage, I would need extra fridge space to chill and keep the tarts separately. I was not prepared to splurge in any big way and space was limited.

Specifically, I’ve got a small space in the yard between our washer and the sink. It’s exactly 48cm – for those who are unfamiliar, this is really a tiny space for a fridge. Small may be beautiful but small is also usually more costly as manufacturers like to make massive towering refrigerators where they earn more, not slim, tall fridges which barely cover costs.

I audaciously told Him … Show me a fridge,

  @that would fit exactly in that tiny 48cm space

  @yet is sufficiently tall with enough storage 

  @and lastly within my Budget;

then that would be a clear sign to proceed.

“Ask and YOU SHALL RECEIVE.”

Within one day of searching, I found IT. And IT was THE ONLY ONE. The only small and tall fridge at exactly 47cm width & providing 136 litres of fridge space. It delivered on the 2nd day and slotted exactly in that small space. A Perfect Fit! With no extra room to spare! And there was a bonus too, a 20% promotional discount and therefore well within my budget. And so I received, LOUD and CLEAR. He wanted Tart.ful to bless all the women @DOT. UNEQUIVOCAL. CONFIRMED.

Well within the set budget of $300!

I had the peace.

I was ready.

With double fisted faith.

👊🏼👊🏼

The snug-fit Divine Fridge

We did Tart.ful for a whole month. We baked and filled close to 250 tarts often baking past midnight til fingers cramped and finally raised $6000 for DOT. It was intensive, back breaking, even nerve wrecking at some points but it was also fulfilling, meaningful and wonderful knowing every dollar raised was meant to be, by his Hand.

And NO COVID came near.

Making our 1st delivery!

Intense concentration, almost like exams!

To everyone who supported Tart.ful, we say a very big THANK YOU for your kind generosity! Truly appreciate the incredible support, the heart, the kind words and encouragement! For those of you who didn’t manage to order or still wanted to order, have no fear! You can always make it yourself! Click on the TSC tart recipes links below and do tag me with a photo when you make it 😊 😊

• The lemon lover’s choice? Zesty Lemon Tart on a rich cocoa crust
• The glorious White Chocolate Matcha Tart
• Salty much? Bittersweet, sexy, silky, smooth Chocolate Caramel Tart
• The classy decadent Orange Chocolate Tart

And to end, my favorite tart review, a poetic young man who professed these very words …

“I’m positively gobsmacked”

“Holy crap, I literally want to cry now”

“I don’t think I have ever experienced such a gamut of emotions from tarts”

“I feel like I would offer these if I had a last meal before being sent to the gallows”

♥️♥️♥️😄😄😄😂😂😂

Mission Accomplished!

And a great mother-daughter trio bonding too it was! The Sugar Crumble and dots would gladly and happily bake for charity again. All glory to Him! 🙌🏻😊