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Corbett has since fulfilled countless cupcake
and cake orders and experimented
with scores of flavors; she’s made batches of
expertly decorated sugar cookies for friends
to send as opening night gifts for Broadway
shows such as “Anastasia” and “Hello Dolly”;
and few weekends ago, she finished her first
vegan wedding cake.
“Her cupcakes are unbelievable,” said
performer and friend Erika Creelman.
“They taste like you should feel guilty.
She’s so driven.”
Corbett calls Hot Sugar Baker her “second
life” – second to acting and performing.
“When you’re doing the acting thing,
you have to find something else that
brings you joy,” she explained. “It’s almost
been hard switching into people ordering
stuff instead of me just bringing it,
because I just want to give it to people.”
That’s been the challenge: asking
friends for money and networking.
“I’ve had to gut up and be like, ‘This is
how much it is,’” she said. “It’s also hard
being young in the professional world –
just getting the confidence to say, I have
the credit, I can do this.”
And although Hot Sugar Baker is an established
name, Corbett still hesitates to
call it a “business,” using air-quotes every
time she mentions the word. “I don’t like
to call myself a ‘business.’ I’m not trying
to skip steps here; I’m trying to go at the
pace that’s right for me.”
As a boutique operation, Corbett asks
for more than grocery store prices, but
along with the price tag comes a product
catered to your taste.
“You can call me and tell me what flavor
you want,” she said, “and that’s the difference:
you’re talking to me. My stuff is better
than what you can get in the grocery store.
And it’s going to be exactly what you want.”
Business is conducted online and
through friends, but the treats are mainly
produced in her little Astoria kitchen,
where she’s lived for three years.
“I love Queens,” the baker said. “For
me, it’s really important to say I’m from
Queens. It’s important on my Instagram
to say, ‘Astoria, Queens.’”
She finds this distinction crucial, pointing
out the severe lack of vegan options
in Queens as compared to Manhattan or
Brooklyn.
“Sometimes you just want to go out to
eat and there are like two restaurants. It’s so
frustrating to have this underrepresented
community, because we have the market for
it,” lamented Corbett, who’s on a mission to
change that narrative. “I hope that this will
inspire people in Queens to take a look at
one or two things on their menu, and just
switch it up.”
As for the future of Hot Sugar Baker?
“I would love for it to be this thriving
business. Right now, it’s growing, but
once it picks up, Queens all the way,” she
said with a smile.