Resident sweetens events throughout year

BUDA — Buda resident Madison Arsenault used to watch her mother spend hours baking cookies for the holiday season knowing that in the future, she would, too.

Arsenault knew from a young age that she wanted to own a business of her own — a food one, at that. While her peers watched “SpongeBob SquarePants,” she sat close to the TV screen, analyzing Food Network reruns. She continued her path to entrepreneurship by majoring in economics with a minor in business management at Texas State University.

“I got into baking growing up. My mom would bake literally like 14 different kinds of cookies at Christmas and then, all the pies and cookies throughout the year,” said Arsenault. “I originally wanted to own a restaurant, but eventually decided that that was just too much … And I just love baking; I have a huge sweet tooth.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Eras Tour-inspired cookies made by Madison Arsenault, owner of Sugarfluent, a home bakery located in Buda.[/caption]

Although she enjoyed cooking as well, she explained that baking gave her the option of combining her love of treats with her creative side.

Arsenault began her home bakery, Sugarfluent, in September 2019 after spending more than six months researching, including testing out and refining recipes to create the perfect treats.

“I am pretty much self-taught and learned everything I know on TV, videos, YouTube and Instagram,” Arsenault said.

She offers cakes, both regular and for weddings, but specializes in decorated sugar cookies and regularly creates custom orders for events, such as baby showers, weddings, business celebrations, etc. From Easter bunnies to Barbie dresses and charcuterie boards, the baker emphasized that “the options are endless.”

There are multiple tiers available when ordering custom cookies from her shop, ranging from $60 to $90 for a dozen. Each tier varies in color availability and details. For example, the lowest tier includes three shapes, three colors and light writing and piping details, while the highest tier can include custom logos and “high volume piping and detail work.”

Customers are welcome to send in specific themes and items when requesting baked goods, but Arsenault expressed that she enjoys having creative freedom the most: “I think every artist does.” But for holidays, she does give the option to pre-order cookies with set designs.

Over the years, there were many times she has felt proud, joking that her happiest moments are when she successfully delivers a wedding cake. But other prominent memories are when she is able to complete large orders.

“I’ve gotten a couple of cookie orders that are 300 or 500 cookies,” said Arsenault. “That is like such a timing thing. You want all the cookies to be as fresh as possible. I heat seal them in a cellophane bag, which does keep them fresh for up to two weeks, but you still want to just be sure that you’re giving the best product you can and with that large volume, it can be tricky.”

As the only employee, she handles everything, including marketing, social media, baking, delivery and more, so completing orders with quality goods “definitely feels like an accomplishment.”

She also noted that she is grateful for the community that has supported her, so much so that she is able to say some clients are “regulars” that come back time and time again.

Despite her love for the business, this is only a part-time job, as she also works as a nanny; however, she hopes to transition to full-time and open a commercial building in the future.

“It’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy [it] and I love sharing it with other people and making their events more sweet,” said Arsenault. “I think people should do what makes them happy. Like they say, ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’”

Preorders for the holiday season are closed, but residents can visit and click on “pricing” to fill out a custom order form at any time.