As a child raised in Dubuque during the 80s, Luke Stoffel was often told by his mother to stay outside until he found his own version of fun. That, his mother Joyce says, pushed him to be inventive.
“Allowing some of that to happen in kid’s life, their boredom will eventually work into creativity,” she explains.
After Luke lost his job, he spent his 37th birthday making a rainbow cake with his mother and decided his next move would be to add more color to his life. His latest venture is The Easy Bake Unicorn Cookbook, a collection chockful of glittery sugar-coated recipes.
Desserts range from bright pink “slumber party popcorn balls” to “Peeps pizza,” a rice krispie treat topped with fluffy marshmallows. Another recipe, the North Pole Sundae - a hot fudge, peppermint ice cream and candy cane concoction - came out of Luke’s recollection of eating ice cream with his little sister in the middle of winter.
Crucial to each recipe? Good company and plenty of love in the kitchen, even if the result is just a “beautiful mess,” Stoffel says.
“Baking should be fun. They should all evoke beautiful memories,” Stoffer adds. “If it doesn't turn out the way you want it to, we say ‘never underestimate the power of frosting to stick.’”
Its kickstarter campaign met its goal in eight days. Now, Luke’s startup Cinderly wants to open a pop-up store for the baked goods in New York City. Luke and Joyce chat with host Charity Nebbe on this segment of Talk of Iowa.
