Summary
Brownies, muffins, cakes, cookies, mud pies — a variety to choose from five student-run bakeries
Students learn time management, balancing their academics and bakery startup
With Christmas just over and the new year knocking on the door, cakes and baked products are selling like hot cake. Only this time, we did not queue up in front of Nahoum's or Saldanha Bakery. Here are five student-run bakeries in Kolkata that are all set to deliver cakes and baked goodies to your doorstep.
Cakealicious by Mofazia and Zainab Akhtar
Mofazia, a first-year Interior Designing student of JD Birla Institute, and her sister, Zainab, a Class XI student of The BSS School, have been baking together for a long time. Earlier this year, the duo baked their first cake professionally under the startup name Cakealicious. “We watch MasterChef India a lot and follow YouTube channels of Kirti Bhoutika, winner of MasterChef India Season 5, and pastry chef Jeyadra Vijayselvan. Our role model is Shivesh Bhatia. We religiously follow his recipes,” said Mofazia.
After buying baking accessories with their pocket money, the two sisters have completed 250 orders. Their menu includes brownies, cupcakes, muffins, celebration cakes, donuts, sliced cakes, pinata, cookies, truffle balls, cake jars and tubs. Their New Year special items include gingerbread cookies, loaf cakes in different flavours, hot chocolate spoons, muffins and chocolate bars.
“There were times when we got orders in the middle of exams and both of us had back-to-back online classes. We stayed up till 4am to complete our orders,” recalled 18-year-old Mofazia who learned time management in the last year.
Find them on Instagram @cake_a_licious._
Cured By Cakes by Stuti Chakravarty
Stuti, a second-year Psychology student at Bethune College, started baking from the age of 12 with her grandmother’s help. After brushing upon her skills by watching YouTube videos and using her creativity she started Cured by Cakes on December 24, 2020. “Building something from scratch is extremely fascinating. I have learned how to juggle work and studies. Also, my communication skills have improved. I wish to expand my business and open a small outlet later,” said Stuti, who used her savings to procure the raw material initially.
Her regular items include traditional cakes, fusion flavoured cakes, cheesecakes, loaf cakes and brownies. She is baking butter fruitcake, blueberry swirls muffins, hot chocolate mix, butter cookies and rum balls for the New Year special.
The 20-year-old has completed more than 170 orders so far. “I usually plan and divide time between my academics and startup. I avoid taking too many orders during my exams because academics are always a priority and I don’t like compromising the quality of the cake,” added Stuti.
Find her on Instagram @cured_by_cakes
KrazyCrunch by Oishanee Bhattacharjee
Oishanee is a self-taught baker who learned the basics of baking from her mother, Sudatta, and then explored social media to enhance her skills and learn a variety of bakery items. The second-year Journalism and Mass Communication student of Asutosh College started KrazyCrunch in August 2020 after borrowing money from her mother. After completing over 600 orders, she has not only paid her mother back but also runs the startup by herself now.
KrazyCrunch’s menu includes cookies, brownies, tea cakes, cream cakes, muffins and cake jars. The New Year’s special cakes are loaded with dry fruits and plums. Also a trained Odissi dancer, the 19-year-old balances her hobbies, studies and startup.
“Curating items on my own and making people happy gave me a different high. Tough times are always there and you have way-outs. I put my heart into baking. I’ve made mistakes and I still make mistakes but the experience is a great teacher. I try my best not to repeat those,” said Oishanee, who wants to continue her bakery side-by-side with her dance and academics.
Find her on Instagram @krazy_crunch
Sugarbaby Dessert Co. by Marium Javed
Marium started baking as a child and by the time she was 13 years old, she started baking cakes for all her friends. After completing a diploma course in Pastry from Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, Thailand, Marium opened her bakery Sugarbaby Dessert Co. The 23-year-old follows Cupcake Jemma, patissiere Masayoshi Ishikawa and Matt Adlard on YouTube.
“After my training from a French culinary institute, my focus is mostly on French classic desserts. Other than that I make tea cakes, ice creams, sorbet, mousses, tarts, pies, celebration cakes. My signature dishes are chocolate mud pie and baked cheesecake. Sugarbaby Dessert Co. is FSSAI-registered with a professional kitchen set up,” said Marium, who follows pastry chefs and chefs like Cedric Grolet, Pooja Dhingra, Amaury Guichon, Gaggan Anand and Frederic Legras. After completing more than 500 orders, she has learned how to manage logistics and marketing. For New Year she is baking tea cakes, plum cakes, Belgian Chocolate tart and New York-style baked cheesecakes.
Find her on Instagram @sugarbabydessertco
Or.g.anik by Aheli Paul
Aheli, a Class XII student of Patha Bhavan, started Or.g.anik with a Christmas special menu on December 10, 2021. After completing 40 orders in the past two weeks, she is now gearing up for the New Year. Her menu consists of a variety of cakes like fruits and nuts, orange, apple, chocolate, green lemon, dates and walnuts, and blueberries. She also sells flavoured cookies along with hot milk cakes, coconut cakes and marble cakes.
“I don't use artificial flavours in my items. I wanted to become independent and thus started this new bakery. Home bakeries are a trend. I have a strong passion to experiment with flavours and ingredients. I'm learning how to manage time, balancing both academics and my new bakery," said the 18-year-old.
Find her on Instagram @or.g.anik
Last updated on 01 Jan 2022
