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With creativity at the heart of all her endeavours, it's no surprise that Tralisa Thornburn fused her talents into baking, giving rise to Sweet Freedom Bakehouse. Tralisa adeptly perfected her vegan cakes to align with the taste and appearance of traditional favourites, having identified a distinct gap in the market. She also reigns as the queen of lively and vibrant edible image cake toppers!

1. Can you tell us about the moment you first realised you wanted to start your own cake business?

I've been drawn to creative hobbies my whole life, and as visual art was my favourite subject through primary and high school I went on to further study at university and work as a graphic designer. It wasn't until a few years later that I started to develop an interest in baking as another creative outlet, and started making cupcakes for fundraising events.

I had just transitioned to a vegan diet, and quickly realised there were no options in major supermarkets or businesses in my area offering vegan-friendly baked goods (using no eggs, dairy or other animal-derived ingredients like gelatine, shellac and cochineal). I knew if I ever wanted to eat cake again I'd have to make my own, so set out creating recipes that looked and tasted just as good as the ones I'd known and loved.

Word spread and I soon had requests for custom orders outside of fundraisers. However, I didn't take the plunge and officially start my own business until 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns forced my workplace to shut for months. I suddenly had lots of time on my hands to focus on baking, and lots of people in lockdown wanted to treat themselves or their family or friends.

2. Starting and running a business can be a wild ride! What challenges have you faced while building your business and how have you overcome them?

COVID-19 lockdowns were an interesting time when there were supplier product limits and longer shipping times. Ingredients like flour and sugar were suddenly in short supply, and fulfilling orders was more difficult. I tend to look further ahead now and keep extra supplies on hand so I'm not caught out by unexpected stock shortages.

3. What has starting and running your own business meant for you personally?

It's been extremely satisfying to fill the demand in my area for vegan-friendly baked goods, from children with allergies who get to enjoy cake for the first time, to giving couples a way to accommodate wedding guests who have special dietary requirements. I've been there, being served gelato instead of cake or missing out on dessert altogether sucks!

I've also been able to transfer my graphic design skills to preparing personalised edible images which has come in handy!

4. Can you explain the advantages of incorporating edible images into your cupcakes?

With 3D modelled fondant decorations you may be limited by your skill level, time or tools you have available. Edible images are a quick, cost-effective and visually-striking alternative, and any design and theme is possible.

Edible images have allowed me to incorporate business and sports team logos, popular characters, photographs and even elements from custom invitations into cupcake designs.

5. We're curious, what design gets your creative juices flowing and why is it your favourite to work on?

I always look forward to special holidays throughout the year when I offer themed cupcake packs with assorted decorations and flavours (Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, Christmas). They are extremely popular, and preparing the volume of orders is always a marathon effort.

I only offer cupcakes at this stage, but due to requests have branched into gluten-free recipes, mini cupcakes and more recently pull-apart cupcake cakes arranged in numbers, letters and various shapes which have been extremely popular. 

6. What are some of the latest and greatest trends in the world of edible images you're seeing?

Requests for edible images generally follow whatever is popular in mainstream media, which flows through to cake decorating trends (movies, TV shows, games, memes etc). Bluey continues to be a popular theme.

7. Have you received any wild or wacky image requests that still make you smile? Do tell!

Divorce Parties are becoming more widely celebrated, and these edible image designs are a bit cheeky and get lots of attention online.

I recently had a request for a single cupcake with a photo of Pedro Pascal on top, which I thought was hilarious!

8. Can you share some of your pro tips for printing and applying edible images effectively?

It all starts with the quality of your digital images. High resolution images are best and will give you a clear and sharp printed image.

I live in North Queensland and get to battle high humidity most of the year. Air conditioning is my best friend!

Follow the recommended edible printer maintenance schedule (turn on/off daily, weekly test print, etc) and you'll have a happy printer. Don't forget to keep an eye on your ink levels so your cartridges don't run dry.

Do yourself a favour and don't leave it to the last minute to print your images, because that's when you're most likely to have printer issues (speaking from experience!).

All you need is a light brush of water to apply edible images to fondant backing.

9. Self-care is crucial! How do you ensure that you're taking care of yourself while also running your business?

I have a hard time saying no to last-minute requests and disappointing customers, which may result in less sleep than I'd like to have depending on the week.

I try not to miss a remedial massage every month. The process of baking and decorating uses muscles you would have never realised!

10. What career achievement are you most proud of and why does it hold a special place in your heart?

I'm most proud of creating vegan-friendly baked goods that taste just the same as (if not better) than regular ones, and being able to offer these products to local customers to fill a gap in the market when it was desperately needed. It's been extremely satisfying to hear positive feedback and help customers with special dietary requirements celebrate a special occasion or treat themselves when they would have otherwise missed out.

My baking has won over many people who had reservations and believed vegan food was strange or wouldn't taste good ("What do you use instead of butter and eggs anyway...?"). I'm lucky enough to have regular customers who reorder each year for special occasions, or seek me out at local markets. Most of my customers don't have any special dietary requirements at all, they just love the taste!

11. Are there any other EIS products that you love using in your work?

I love using the Edible A4 Icing Sheets (rather than pre-cut rounds) so I can maximise the number of images on each sheet, and also customise cupcake topper sizes.