Which appeared on Petrogradka (Akademika Pavlova, 7). Anna is one of those about whom one can say in the words of Francis of Assisi: “Whoever works with his hands is a worker, who works with his hands and head is a master, who works with his hands, head and heart is an artist.” And you can’t even tell right away what is more in her handmade cakes and sweets – technical quality or soul.

Most likely, this is some kind of ideal balance that requires constant inclusion and enormous efficiency - since the opening, Anya has been working every day from 8 am to 9 pm. And he manages to bake, manage a team and give interviews. True, she always says: “I’m not alone, I’m very supported, I have a great team.”

Today Anna Krasovskaya is a recognized and very famous confectioner not only in St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia, making exclusive cakes for celebrities and giving master classes not only here, but at the highest culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, where she received a diploma with honors. However, as it turned out, her path to success was not the easiest and by no means the fastest. And from the moment of the first orders to the opening of his own confectionery shop, eight years passed.

“I headed for two yearsPR-department of a large electric power company, I had an ideal career by the age of 25, having received two degrees and landed a more than prestigious and highly paid position. But, despite the expensive suit and heels, internally I was very unhappy, feeling that this was not my path at all. Husband seeing my sadness? suggested that I not work, but I was raised completely differently. And then I started baking, on the advice of a friend, just to take my mind off it,”– says Anna.

At first it didn’t work out very well, but Anna turned out to be a very stubborn person and delved into the processes of making cakes as zealously as possible. Through friends, many learned that Anya’s cakes were incredibly tasty and beautiful, and the first home orders began to arrive. At first Anya refused; she wasn’t sure of herself. First of all, she was worried that the cake would “come together” and she would have time to prepare it on time, because she never quit her main job. But the clients insisted, and with each order, the confidence and desire to create cakes grew.

“I didn’t understand why I needed my first education (English teacher), but then it came in very handy. I began to study from books that I ordered from English websites, along with mastic and baking tools. In 2010-2011, we didn’t have any of this yet, just as there were no master classes in confectionery. I even tried to get a job in a hotel or restaurant just to be taught something, but they wouldn’t hire me without experience and education, and when I said that I was ready to work for free, as an apprentice, they got scared and sent me on my way.”

However, the popularity of the home confectionery grew, Anna even hired an assistant, with whom the two of them made up to six exclusive cakes a week: one such cake could have, for example, several hundred lilies of the valley or roses, each of which was molded by hand from mastic. And when Anna went on maternity leave and finally gave up her unloved job, there were significantly more orders. But this was not enough for Anya. Having given birth to her daughter and devoting two years to her, she decided that she definitely needed a higher education in this field and entered the London campus of one of the most prestigious culinary universities, Le Cordon Bleu. The training took 9 months, but Anya chose the most intense program, which took six months, but from morning to evening.

“When you study a specialty that is truly interesting to you, learning occurs on a completely different level. How I tormented everyone there with my questions: why do this, and how is this, and what is the chemical reaction... I memorized and came up with recipes phenomenally quickly, my eyes were burning, and of course, I returned here with the feeling that now it would begin the most real. But it turned out that the wedding season had already been fully booked, and everyone had forgotten me except my assistant Natalya, with whom we started working back in the days of my home-made confectionery,” Anna notes.

During these six months, Anna's husband managed to complete the construction of a country house, and she opened a confectionery shop there, not wanting to return to the rank of a home pastry chef. Anya took the trouble to maintain the production, re-building the client base, and hired several assistants to work on the art project, which at first even the assistants themselves did not really believe in.

“I was very skeptical about this art project. But when Anya showed the first cake, made based on a dress from Coco Chanel, I immediately realized that it was brilliant and absolutely exclusive! Many, however, did not understand anyway, thinking that a cake-dress requires a hat and boots, and in general should look like a mannequin. Thus, Anya made a whole collection of chic cakes and dresses, and infected first-class photographers and bloggers with this idea, who helped to beautifully convey it all to a wide audience.” – recalls Vladlena, Anna’s right hand, who is involved in marketing and business development.

After Anna began to be recognized on social networks, orders began pouring in again, along with offers for master classes. After conducting them, Anna realized that she needed to write a book, Fashion Cakes, describing in detail the recipe, technique, color palette, devices, passing on her trial and error experience to those who are interested in this high confectionery fashion, which she herself set. The book was published using the crowdfunding system, collecting one and a half times more funds than was needed for publication.

“I saw that there were more and more clients, many of them wanted, in addition to cakes for big holidays, something else for more everyday occasions - for example, desserts for tea parties or handmade sweets, which we made as a compliment for regular customers. But due to the fact that the workshop was out of town, the issue of delivery arose, logistics were extremely difficult, thoughts about opening my own confectionery began to mature and gradually become a reality.”

Having decided to open, the girls Anna and Vladlena began looking for premises and investors. There were difficulties with investors: many were ready, but did not sign contracts at the last moment. It was the same with the premises, for each new place Vladlena wrote a new business plan, and in the end she burned out, but it was then that Anna saw the premises on Academician Pavlova Street and said “I like it here.” At that time, Anna refused the idea of ​​investors, realizing that it would carry restrictions, and created her ideal independent confectionery by launching crowdfunding, investing her own funds and several loans. The opening budget was quite large, because literally everything was thought out and detailed. Anna, like no one else, knows the meaning of the German proverb: “God is hidden in the details.”

“We invited designers from the Line studio, setting them a very important task: lighting like in Europe. There is a completely different light there, even on the streets, there is more of it, the light is warmer. We conducted a whole study on light, what should be the level, power, direction. The result has surpassed itself - everyone says that it’s as if they find themselves in another city, naming their favorite of the European ones.” The design concept itself is as if we were in a box with a cake. The walls resemble a cream shell, the tables resemble fruit pralines, the sofas resemble savoiardi cookies... And the light from several spotlights hits the ceiling and is reflected, making accents, the main one of which goes to the display case, where our main characters are presented - desserts,”– this is how Anna describes her pastry shop.

There is also a huge cage-chair in the pastry shop, a place where you can take pictures. There will soon be an egoist table for one person. The music is the perky but aristocratic ringing of English dessert forks and Lomonosov porcelain, mixed with the noble classics of French chanson. Large display windows that will be filled with seasonal dessert collections, but look great without them. By the way, there are also windows in the production part, to which great attention is paid, because Anna is convinced that people whose working conditions are comfortable will work with inspiration. And for desserts this is the main component. At first glance, it’s crazy to give 40 meters of space to a cafe and 70 to production. But this is exactly the case. And it bears fruit.

Here it’s time to come out of the shadows and write a personal impression of desserts. I was able to try almost everything. The confectionery menu includes 6 types of cakes, each of which was created based on paintings by famous artists - Dali, Van Gogh, Klimt, Monet, Malevich, Botticelli. Each has its own mood, character and taste, as well as shape, color and combination of textures. Each flavor is supported by a line of classic eclairs and chocolates. For example, the Klimt line is made in lemon tones: sand saber, lemon curd, lemon ganache, waffles, chocolate. And the most delicate “Water Lily” Monet based on pistachios consists of pistachio mousse, pistachio sponge cake and raspberry jelly. Dali’s “lips,” as expected, are of the most expressive nature: chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse, cherry insert with tarragon and chili pepper, and Malevich’s honey cake is just a song.

It is also pleasantly surprising that the price of cakes is not fabulous - from 180 to 350 rubles, seasonal limited collections are a little more expensive, and sweets are 70 rubles apiece, which is not at all expensive for such quality.

“We wanted the prices to be reasonable so that everyone could afford this pleasure, just come and enjoy their favorite cake and a cup of coffee,” says the owner.

By the way, the quality of coffee and tea here is also high, and the team is now working on creating signature lattes with flavors suitable for each dessert. Perhaps there is only one drawback here, and it is quite banal: the figure. And perhaps also the fact that sometimes there are days when, as the girls say, “Mamai came and ate everything”: one or several clients come and buy up the entire display case, taking it with them. But Anna solves this problem by strengthening the team’s capabilities, realizing that in an ideal French confectionery everything should be ideal.

Perhaps, this is really not a confectionery shop, but a boutique in which, just like in a Chanel dress, you can feel like a luxurious diva who knows how to enjoy life, and especially its little things. After all, these kinds of exquisite little pleasures, like a cup of coffee and cake, allow you to soar above everyday life and everyday life when you want it.

Alexandra Zhitinskaya

Anna Krasovskaya has built a real confectionery empire - all the stars, from singer Elena Vaenga to model Elena Perminova, trust her with their celebrations, and cakes stylized as couture dresses have become the chef's calling card.

The confectionery house of Anna Krasovskaya arose, when I returned to Russia after studying at the international culinary school Le Cordon Bleu. It was possible to stay in Europe and improve their skills under the guidance of famous chefs, but the idea of ​​returning to Russia and creating unique cakes in St. Petersburg seemed more interesting.

I have been in love with desserts since childhood - I made my first cake when I was five years old. and since then, confectionery art has been my hobby. Before joining Le Cordon Bleu, I had already created custom cakes, but I lacked a strong theoretical basis that would help me develop custom fillings. It makes no sense to take such a course without sufficient work experience. I knew what to look for and what questions to ask the bosses, so I got a lot more benefit than if I had come from scratch.

After returning, I recruited a small team. I call my project “home” because the production is located in a separate two-story house 30 km from St. Petersburg. We also wanted to reflect in the name that we treat the production of cakes in the same way as the fashion houses of Paris treat the creation of Haute Couture dresses. I would like to see confectionery not as a craft, but as an art. Each cake is created according to an individual sketch and decorated by hand, and every year I develop an art collection that influences the formation of trends. I have always been interested in art and fashion, so the idea was born to create cakes on the verge of two directions: confectionery art and haute couture. This is how the Fashion Cakes project arose, on the basis of which a book was subsequently written, it was just such an art project.

It can take a week to sculpt the pieces for the cake.

Before the confectionery house, I received two higher educations- linguistic and economic and successfully worked, heading the northwestern direction of PR and GR of one large company. But I found myself investing all the money I earned in pastry books and tools, and spending all my free time baking. I was already a mature enough person to realize that in life you need to do what you truly love. My departure from my main job was met with incomprehension: how can you leave a prestigious position for the sake of the fate of a baker? But I was taught from childhood that any professional will be in demand if he does his job well. In addition, I was inspired by the example of Western stars of confectionery art, who created their own shows, published books, and conducted master classes around the world. I can’t say that my two degrees and work experience weren’t useful. Thanks to English and Chinese, I had access to all the world's best practices in the industry. And economic education helped at the initial stage to correctly calculate costs, pricing, and break even.

To create our business, we first determined which players already on the market, what is their unique selling proposition, and how pricing occurs. We immediately defined our segment as fashionable cakes - at that time the niche was free. For production, I wanted to choose a place where it would be pleasant to work, where it would be light, ergonomic and there would be no unnecessary people, noise, or stress. Our cakes are complex and always require special delivery, so geographically we could be located anywhere. I looked at the shabby factory canteens and tiny workshops, where 4 people work 10 meters away, and decided to build my own space, where it would be clean, modern, with a lot of space, air and light.

Then there was a period of only expenses; it was necessary to equip the workshop from scratch, buy professional refrigeration chambers, combi ovens, mixers, furniture, tools. I tried to make everything as ergonomic as possible, but practice has shown that not all aspects were taken into account. Therefore, this spring we completely re-equipped the workshop and changed some work areas. Now we have a 2-story building with a total area of ​​about 100 m2, on the ground floor there is a loading and unloading area, a warehouse, freezers and refrigerators, and a rest room for staff. On the second floor there is a workshop divided into two zones: an area for baking and leveling cakes and an area for decorating and packaging. We do not have a room for meeting with clients, since this is a production facility and there are certain sanitary standards.

Now there are 6 people in the team: three including me are involved in production, the rest help with organizational processes. This is the minimum required number of people for our volumes. But I don’t want to overstaff, I outsource all non-core activities.
I tried to find people in different ways: through friends, through an advertisement, and by choosing those professionals whose work I liked. The most pointless thing turned out to be recruiting people based on an advertisement: most of them have no idea what they have to do and are not ready to work full time. It's entertainment for them. I used to think that you could take a person with no experience and bright eyes and train him to suit you. But it turned out that it is much more pleasant to be in a team with experienced people who understand both the amount of work and responsibility.

Before launch, we tested all flavors in a focus group and included sixteen of the most popular ones in the line. When sanctions were introduced, we had to look for replacements for many products: we couldn’t find cheese for cheesecake, and we removed it from the range because we didn’t want to make cottage cheese instead of the legendary American dessert or add chemicals to the cake. This year they introduced a new line of flavors: it turned out that sixteen fillings were too many. We analyzed which ones are the most popular, what we like about them, what we don’t like, developed new fillings and now we have eight of them.

Our main product is designer cakes in English technology. They are expensive, since each one is unique and is created according to an individual sketch, all the details are molded by hand from sugar mastic, and it can take several days or even a whole week to create the decor for one cake. For example, decorating a cake requires 3,000 small flowers, each of which is created by hand. The English technique is one of the oldest cake decorating techniques, known since the 15th century. A dense filling is expected, covered with marzipan and mastic, flowers and figures made of sugar mastic. Such cakes are ordered for special events when they want to emphasize the style and status of the event.

A wedding or anniversary is not every day, but you want to treat yourself to sweets for no reason. That's why we make French mousse cakes for our regular customers. They are small in size, simply decorated and have a soft creamy texture. You can choose from three flavors, but I try to come up with a new line every season. However, one of the flavors that is always in the lineup is hazelnut praline, which is my graduate work from Le Cordon Bleu. It was necessary to come up with a cake from a limited number of ingredients, but to combine different textures.

Nowadays it’s fashionable for a boss to travel to different cities and countries. and shared his knowledge. Sometimes I manage to get out to give master classes, but it turns out to be no more than 4 master classes a year. I can’t afford to go on frequent tours, because I’m a practicing chef, I’m responsible for production, but I can’t crawl out of my shell and communicate with colleagues either. I really want to open a cafe so that St. Petersburg will be famous all over the world not only for its beauty, good cuisine, but also for its quality desserts. Now we are looking for a place, because it will largely determine success.

text: Anastasia Pavlenkova
photo: Anton Rudzat
style: Jane Sytenko
stylist assistant: Anastasia Stolbneva
make-up: Evgenia Somova
hairstyle: Ivan Ivanov

The artist Henri Rousseau had never been to the jungle and never seen lions, tigers, jaguars and antelopes. Therefore, his characters turned out to be completely different from the originals, but very sincere and expressive. Look at the horse he painted in “A Jaguar Attack on a Horse.” A real miracle:) We are a little luckier and we can watch the online life of any animal; it will require about two or three clicks. But we are still waiting for the stars to align to start creating. Some people lack special education, expensive materials, the wrong age... by the way, Rousseau was self-taught and began writing at 42 (a very respectable age in those days). What am I talking about? Whoever wants to create, creates, without special education or going out into the open air into the jungle. And this can cause ridicule and cruel criticism from contemporaries. But who cares? Be like Rousseau! Rejoice in pure art.

And starting today we have a new collection of desserts. Chicken with buckwheat, Native swamp and St. Petersburg clouds say goodbye to you and wish you a good mood. For almost two months, desserts with a St. Petersburg character surprised guests and delighted the confectioners. For example, the shade of cloudiness depended on the color of the clouds in the sky and could change depending on the weather. The most popular were Native Swamp and Cloudiness. You can still try them today. Bye-bye, St. Petersburg collection! Thanks to everyone who destroyed the clouds and ate frogs, you made the St. Petersburg summer even better. It was difficult to choose only ten photos. You create such beautiful shots. Thank you very much ❤️

I became a pastry chef thanks to... depression! From the outside, everything was great: two higher education degrees from the best universities, a prestigious job, a high position, a wonderful husband. But every evening after work I felt empty inside. It was as if I wasn’t living my own life, I didn’t feel any return. There were no objective reasons for this. And this only made things worse. Baking became one of the components of the therapy that a psychologist developed for me. And after some time I realized that this is exactly my true calling. I invested my entire salary in the purchase of professional books, new tools, and experimented with recipes in all my free time. When I was cooking, I completely lost track of time. I was happy, I found myself. This happened about 10 years ago. From that moment on, I rarely feel sad or bored. There’s just no time 🙈 Depression is not always bad. Sometimes it's a stepping stone to changing your life for the better. The main thing is not to be afraid to seek help from specialists and not to think that “everything is fine with you, you’re just crazy about fat.” Sometimes it is difficult for a person to understand from his appearance that he is feeling unwell. Especially in our society of positive show-offs and successful success. Be attentive to your loved ones and yourself. And may trials make us stronger and happier. Photo by @alina_anikieva_photography

Next week we will present a new collection of desserts. For those who haven’t tried the Native Swamp, St. Petersburg clouds and Kura with buckwheat, I’m looking forward to your visit. Or who tried it but wants more :) There will be completely new flavors coming soon

“What a brief, so creative,” as my favorite folk wisdom says 🤪 Creating a cake begins with a detailed technical specification. The more clearly it is compiled, the better I understand which cake will be ideal for you. So you can create anything you want. I usually develop three sketches. Everything is used: stucco ceilings, lace patterns, embroidery on tapestry... Now we are working on a cake in the Rococo style. Which option would you choose?

Have you tried chewing lace? Delicious? But ours are very tasty :) The cake with fragile sugar flowers, birds of paradise and sweet lace turned out to be family-friendly. Inside there is pistachio sponge cake, raspberry jelly and cream cheese.

This cake was inspired by modern architecture and sculpture: the Lotus Temple in India, the arches of the Sydney Opera House and the sail sculptures of British artist Margaret Lovell. Initially, we planned to use elements of the architecture of the Konstantinovsky Palace, where the wedding took place. But the cake turned out static and strict. But I wanted more air, movement and noble purity. Then the sails, the shiny surface of the sea and bizarre curves came into play. The classic elements were retained as in British royal wedding cakes: pure white, well-proportioned tiers and delicate garlands of sugar flowers. In my opinion, the combination is brilliant 😉 Organized by @royal_wedding_spb Photo by @nastasenko.wedding

A cake inspired by modern architecture, sails and glassy water. The cake is decorated with white sugar flowers, a half-meter waffle sail on top, and an airy stand of mirrored pointed arches between the tiers. The height including the stand is more than two meters. This is the most suitable size for the scale of the Constantine Palace. Organizer

Entrepreneur and pastry chef Anna Krasovskaya began making cakes more than 9 years ago, having exchanged her job in a large company for a hobby. Anna Krasovskaya graduated from Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in London and, upon returning to her homeland, launched the production of desserts in Toksovo. Since then, the businesswoman has specialized in handmade cakes in the mid-price category and above. Among the main clients of her enterprise, Anna Krasovskaya's Confectionery House, are pop artists and athletes, including Alexander Kerzhakov, Evgeniy Malkin, and Elena Vaenga. The pastry chef makes products according to individual sketches, accepting orders online. Anna has 87 thousand followers on Instagram.

From premium to masses

The cost of the most rare cake weighing 57 kg produced by Anna Krasovskaya amounted to 320 thousand rubles. However, now the businesswoman intends to expand her audience by launching the production of cakes, pastries and chocolates with a lower average bill. They plan to sell them in their confectionery shop, which will open in August. The cost of production for cafes will be lower, products will begin to be made according to a standard rather than an individual sketch - confectioners will not waste time drawing a sketch and experimenting with decor. In addition, customers will be able to pick up cakes at the bakery themselves. All these measures will allow the company to increase sales by 40%. “This is not exactly our story, but the interest of customers pushed us to open a confectionery shop in St. Petersburg,” says the entrepreneur. According to rough estimates, opening a confectionery shop and restarting a workshop could cost 7–10 million rubles. The project should pay for itself in 14 months. A point with an area of ​​112 m2 will begin work on the street. Academician Pavlova - in the Avenue–Apart apartment complex. A cafe with seating for 15 and an open decor studio will open here. According to the company, commercial premises on the ground floor of Avenue–Apart are rented for an average of 1,600–1,700 rubles per 1 m2 per month.

Now the building houses the Poddubny barbershop chain, the Quaker Belgian gastropub, the Proviant restaurant, the G-Fitness fitness center, the Beauty Project beauty salon, the Kiss flower studio, etc.

The confectionery team has five pastry chefs, but in the future the number of staff will increase to 13 employees.

Come to the name

According to Lana Kaznovskaya, the owner of the confectionery, premium-segment cakes differ from factory ones in the amount of handmade work and quality of raw materials. “The more handmade the production is, the more expensive the cake. Mass-produced cakes are made on a conveyor belt using mixtures, preservatives and simple decorations like chocolate elements,” comments the confectioner. According to the expert, there are premium-segment confectionery shops in the city, most often located in large restaurants.

There are hundreds of confectionery shops in St. Petersburg, among the largest chain market players,

My first book is dedicated to English cake decorating techniques. Using the example of six cakes from the #Fashion_and_cakes collection, you will learn how to choose tools, learn how to prepare the right fillings, assemble multi-tiered structures and create amazing decor from mastic.

It took me more than 7 years to collect knowledge and present invaluable practical experience in the book. Now you don’t have to struggle searching for information on the Internet or waste time on unsuccessful experiments - I share with you recipes and instructions that have been tested hundreds of times in practice.

Fashion Cakes will be a wonderful gift for every creative person. It will present new techniques to advanced pastry chefs and become a reference for those who are just starting their journey.

For questions regarding partnerships and wholesale purchases of books, write to: [email protected].

FAQ

Are there any recipes in the book?

The book contains five recipes for biscuits and seven recipes for creams and soakings suitable for working in the English technique. These are the same recipes that I use to make cakes in my studio.

What is the circulation of the book?

Fashion Cakes was released in a small edition - only 1000 copies. About half of the books were pre-ordered before the edition was even printed.

How many pages are there in the book?

Fashion Cakes contains 186 pages.

How much does the book weigh?

Fashion Cakes weight 1.36 kg

How long did it take to create the book?

About two years passed from the moment the idea was conceived until the circulation was received.

How many people worked on the creation of the book?

For six months, a team of 9 people worked on the content and design of Fashion Cakes.

How is delivery carried out?

The book is sent by registered parcel to the address you provide. You can track its location using the track number. There are pick-up points in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where you can quickly pick up your copy.

Is it possible to order a book abroad?

Yes, we ship to Fashion Cakes worldwide, but postage is paid by the recipient. You can find out how much it costs to deliver a book to your city and country on the EMS website.

Where can I take a closer look at the book?

You can view the book in St. Petersburg in the Master Cake store at St. Petersburg, Thorez Ave. 95