A Collaboration of Jam, Hot Sauce, and Caramel
The making of Minifactory’s Hot Sauce Cake with Fat Toad Caramel x Butterfly Bakery
The Hot Sauce Cake, a collaboration between Minifactory and Butterly Bakery + Fat Toad Farm
Back in 2015 when I moved back to Vermont, the artist market landscape in Vermont was more sparse. The organized spaces for selling high-value products were limited. Somewhere between running Butterfly Bakery in Montpelier, Vermont, Claire Georges started the annual Touch of Vermont Holiday Market which ran for years in the Lost Nation Theater. When I think about it now, Claire was just getting started on what she does BIG time now through Fat Toad Farm & Butterfly Bakery. When it comes to investing locally and creating opportunities, Claire is the realest deal.
At Minifactory, in the grocery section, we proudly carry as much product from Claire as possible. She has earned a reputation amongst Vermont grocery buyers for her inspiring sourcing, collaboration and flavor creations.
In 2022, Claire made the bold move to purchase the storied Vermont family business, Fat Toad Farm Caramel. When I think of the Vermont brands that helped put this state on the map for making top-tier specialty products that reach a national audience and build our little state’s stature, Fat Toad is in the pantheon.
I’ve been curious to learn more about Claire’s expansion and Minifactory’s ongoing Cake Series was the perfect chance to sit down with Claire and linger over hot sauce and caramel. This slightly spicy conversation has yielded May’s Cake aka the Hot Sauce Cake, an interpretation of Mexican Chocolate Cake. It uses Maple Chocolate Ghost Hot Sauce in a milk sugar soak on rich chocolate cake (think velvet), Fat Toad Farm Maple Caramel, V Smiley Preserves Cherry Fennel Sherry Jam, pretzel crunch, tart cherry cream cheese frosting. It’s available for pickup at Minifactory or by the slice on Saturday and Sunday at Minifactory through May.
An Interview with Claire Georges
Owner of Butterfly Bakery and Fat Toad Farm
Claire Georges, founder of Butterfly Bakery and owner of Fat Toad Farm.
V Smiley Preserves: We’d love to learn more about the history of Butterfly Bakery. What got you started and how did you evolve to add (the popular) hot sauces to your product line?
Claire Georges: I started Butterfly Bakery of Vermont in the middle of the night in a rented kitchen. For years I ran BBVT as a small one-person operation, but when my oldest daughter was born in 2014, I needed extra help. The extra set of hands meant that I could start experimenting with new items and I would try those out at the farmers market. Whatever wouldn’t sell, I would trade with farmers for their leftovers. When they had peppers left over, I would turn them into hot sauce and sell those the following week. And then the hot sauce would sell out. As we grew our hot sauce operation, I continued to source only from local farms. Working directly with farms has allowed me to choose varieties with the best flavor and bring the ingredients in at their best. We now make more hot sauce than anything else and have won awards, as well as getting national attention on shows like Hot Ones.
VSP: How did you and Butterfly Bakery come across acquiring Fat Toad Farm–as two VT specialty and notable brands? It’s such an exciting partnership and acquisition.
CG: I’ve known Fat Toad Farm since they first started selling at the Montpelier Farmers Market. I’ve admired the founders for years and really loved the business that they built. Being able to buy Fat Toad Farm has allowed us to really extend our connections to Vermont farms. I’ve loved learning to make the traditional goat’s milk caramel and all of the attention to detail that it requires.
Bubbling Fat Toad Farm caramel!
All of Butterfly Baker’s cookies are made with pure Vermont maple syrup and are egg and dairy-free.
VSP: We know quality and thoughtful service is a focus for your brands. Why is it so important for you and how do you maintain that?
CG: We want to faithfully represent the amazing ingredients that Vermont farmers supply us with. So we do everything we can to retain that quality that they have put their hard work into.
VSP: You buy so much local produce for your production and are such an advocate for representation. Can you elaborate on why these things are important to you?
CG: When we buy Vermont ingredients, we’re putting money back into the Vermont economy, which can then turn back into more Vermont purchases again and again and again. We believe it’s so important to do our part to make the world a better place, for our own personal definition of “better.”
VSP: We love to crack the nut of the entrepreneurial challenges for our fellow small business owners and know that you’re a solopreneur and mother. How have you been able to scale your two businesses?
CG: Interestingly, most of our growth has come when we’re in the crucible of time management. It was when my oldest was born that I hired outside help, which allowed me to start working *on* my business instead of *in* my business and thus hot sauce was born. My work-life balance looks different than others, but it works for us. I leave work to attend kid things or have an outing with my husband, but I also work most weeknights to not fall behind.
Claire cooking peppers for Butterfly Bakery’s hot sauces.
VSP: Can you share a little bit about your vision for both Fat Toad Farm and Butterfly Bakery?
CG: We’re working to deepen our connections to Vermont farms and figure out what we can make from what Vermont farms are growing. Ginger has been a great local ingredient to work with in recent years. As the world changes, so do the opportunities.
VSP: What are your influences? People in the industry? In your family?
CG: I really admire the people and businesses that use their space in the world to do good. It’s amazing the platform that we have as businesses that we don’t have as individuals. The hot sauce community is so supportive and there is an amazing amount of philanthropy within the community.
Follow Butterfly Bakery and Fat Toad Farm on Instagram.
Claire with the goats! Fat Toad Farm produces the highest quality, traditional goat's milk caramel sauces, using the freshest goat's milk available.
Cake Series: Fat Toad Caramel x Butterfly Bakery Collaboration Cake
A collaboration between V Smiley Preserves, Fat Toad Caramel and Butterfly Bakery. Crafted by Pastry Chef Andrea Quillen.
This layer cake is:
rich chocolate cake (velvety!), Fat Toad Farm caramel cream cheese frosting, chocolate maple ghost pepper milk soak, cherry fennel sherry jam, pretzel crunch, cherry fennel sherry cream cheese frosting ribbon
This item purchased x 1 presents 6 slices of sheetcake.
This is a 100% gluten-free creation.