Sweet Talk: Water Mill Cupcake Company
July 26, 2011
Water Mill Cupcake Company proprietors and cousins Ruth Balletta and Cindy Formica have found the secret to success in the sweets business: all-natural, organic ingredients and simple, luscious flavors. Their delectable seasonal flavors—strawberry, orange and peach—are a smack of summer fruit topped with whipped Madagascar vanilla buttercream. We chatted with the desserts duo to get the scoop on what makes their cupcakes so addictive and why the Hamptons is a baker’s paradise.
Why cupcakes?
RUTH BALLETTA: We both have a very big passion for baking and decided, given the fact that there are cupcake bakeries all over the city and the country, it would be a great opportunity to open a cupcake bakery out here in the Hamptons. We thought it would be nice to have a twist on the regular cupcake out here by using all of the ingredients that are available.
What are your new summer flavors?
RB: We’re very unstructured and we love to bake. On any given day what’s fresh at the farm or what’s in season is what we experiment with. We shop for our specialized ingredients weekly. That’s the beauty of being out here, we’re surrounded by farms. We can just say ‘be right back’ and run down to the local farm to pick up a few things.
Your bakery is a fixture on the party circuit. Are you seeing any cupcake trends as you cater parties?
RB: The minis are a trend we didn’t expect. They’re little tiny two-bite things. We make a tremendous variety of flavors. They’re like hors d'oeuvres for dessert. The hosts like the selection because it’s not like they’re picking one cake that’s chocolate and everyone has to eat it.
What else do you do besides cupcakes?
RB: What we’re doing now are other items outside of cupcakes. We do a lot of cakes, baked to order from scratch, which has become really popular. We use our cupcake bases, which our customers really like because they can choose and create their own cakes and fillings. We’re sort of like having your mother bake for you. Whatever people want, we’ll bake it for them.
Do you have any tips for home bakers?
RB: You should start with the top ingredients: unbleached flour, organic sugar, the best butter, farm fresh eggs and bake from scratch. Keep it simple because you really can’t go wrong with the good stuff.
760 Montauk Hwy., Water Mill, 726-0444
—KAITLIN CLARK
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