JOIN USAn array of custom made cakes, cupcakes, handcrafted Belgian chocolates and healthy low calorie cakes...sounds delicious! And this is exactly what Nirmala Arokia whips up in her kitchen under the name ‘Pumpkinbakes’.
And before one wonders if any of these delights have a hint of pumpkin to them, she clears the air, “I named it ‘Pumpkinbakes’ simply because I call both my kids pumpkin out of sheer affection. In fact, it all started in 2014 when I was looking for a cake for my daughter’s first birthday and nothing met my expectations, so I baked the cake. Ever since then, I started baking for friends, family and neighbours and through word-of-mouth, I got busier by the day.”
She adds that gradually she needed a bigger place to bake and decorate the cakes so she rented a house and modified it into a baking kitchen. “I moved to Bengaluru in 2010. Before that, I worked as a nurse in California and used to bake a lot at home as a hobby, feeding all my nursing staff as well. This hobby turned into a passion overtime and soon, I joined the pastry program at San Francisco Baking Institute and learnt cake decoration from the Wilton School in Chicago. Shorty after that, I started gaining further experience working with renowned chefs in the industry.”
There’s a huge variety at ‘Pumpkinbakes’ to choose from. There are about 15 varieties of cupcakes and 10 varieties of cakes with different frostings. The best selling cupcakes, Nirmala highlights, are the Belgian chocolate, banana caramel and red velvet. Birthday cakes come in flavours like truffle with chocolate mousse and lemon chiffon with tangy lemon curd filling. In chocolates, she does pure dark chocolates, soft centre filled truffles and liquor chocolates.
“Dietary restrictions should never keep anybody from enjoying these goodies so I also do eggless and gluten free cakes and less than 100 calories whole wheat brownies, muffins and chocolate chip cookies,” says Nirmala.
The versatile baker caters to all sorts of occasions — baby showers, birthday parties and even when one wants to celebrate a promotion in office. However, she points out, “There is a big difference between buying a cake from a shop versus a baker, starting from the quality of ingredients, the design and the time and effort put into making the decoration precise and picture perfect. It’s something that people need to understand and value.”
Nirmala soon plans to venture into wedding cakes and start her own little cake boutique. “I love tall wedding cakes and I am mesmerised with elegant cakes. My dream is to make beautiful wedding cakes for Indian brides. I want to learn more and I am grateful to my family for their immense support till now!”
For orders, log on to www.facebook.com/Pumpkinbakes.