Meet the cake makers

Sweet Treat

For Harshitha Chalam and Benita Mohan, what started as a hobby, soon developed into a full-fledged business. ‘Cake Me a Bake’, a venture started by these two students from Christ University in 2012, is going great guns.

“We decided to start a business because we had a lot of spare time after college. We zeroed in on baking because it looked interesting. Baking was a good business and we wanted to try it,” says Harshitha. 

The two self-taught bakers decided to market themselves through social media and soon found themselves baking for family, friends, college students and for occasions like birthdays and festivals. 

   The ‘hobby’ grew into a hub as they soon found themselves baking a variety of cupcakes like red velvet, chocolate, vanilla and cakes like buttercream rossette and chocolate indulgence. 

   They also started baking chocolate chip cookies and made funky customised cakes for Valentine’s Day and cakes with superhero dressings. 

“Our biggest highlight is the chocolate rossette cake. We get positive feedback every time we bake it. Our big order till date is a three-kg chocolate cake for a birthday, which was a huge success, and cupcakes for a charity,” she adds.  

Just like any business, this one comes with challenges as well. Harshitha says, “It’s very difficult for us to coordinate with each other. We have gone different ways after college and if we get an order, we let them know beforehand if we can do it or if we need more time.

Since we are self-taught, our products are done through trial and error. We keep updating ourselves through tips given by Benita’s sister, by watching shows and reading books. Thankfully, till now, we haven’t baked something which we haven’t liked or had to throw off, so I think the business is going good.”

The duo are not looking to expand though they believe that presentation and service are important aspects of baking. Harshitha talks about the importance of the initial stage — buying the ingredients itself! 

   “Buying the right quantity of ingredients, measuring them and mixing in the right techniques are important things that people generally tend to miss out. One doesn’t really need to go through any formal training for baking as long as they are self-motivated and willing to learn,” says Harshitha. 

Sharing a little bit about the name, she says, “Benita and I had a list of names we wanted to add but many were common. ‘Cake Me a Bake’ sounded like something people would remember. It was something we both agreed upon,” she laughs.