Our Local Bakers
take creativity to
By Eleanor Teo
Our local bakers take creativity into a whole new level.
Read more to find out why.
When we hear the word “Art”, the first thing that comes to mind would most likely be the visual arts, dance, theatre and music. Baking does not come to mind. Did you know? Baking can be considered as an art form. It can be seen when the baker uses different types of flavours, textures as well as visual appeal to create an edible art piece for customers. Baking plays an important part in the food industry as it not only brings people together but celebrates the most special occasions in life. This includes marriages, baby showers, birthdays, or any occasion that should be celebrated. As a food artist, the baker experiments with different flavours and textures that may be suitable for the occasion and finally add the final touches of decoration to bring the entire dessert together. Baking is intricate and takes lots of skill and patience to make the baked good look amazing!
In this particular article, I will be focusing on our very own local bakers! If you didn’t know, ever since the circuit breaker started, there have been many home-based bakeries rising through the use of social media platforms such as Instagram. One of such accounts @homebase.singapore has the aim to tell the untold behind the scenes stories of these home-based bakers.
Do check @homebase.singapore out for more stories on Singapore home businesses as well as show them your support as they aim to bring the art of our very own local businesses to life!
that takes 'creativity' to a new level
Bringing to you 3 different local home-based bakeries where you can find a variety of sweet treats to meet your cravings! Each of these businesses has a unique style of creativity to produce the best quality products for its customers.
First and foremost, introducing to you @genabakesprotein! The founder, Gena, hopes to break the dense protein muffin concept and introduce her protein muffins that have the same texture as a regular muffin. Which in this case would be light, moist and fluffy. Gena’s creativity comes from thinking out of the box and wanting to produce good quality muffins that are not only high in protein but have the same texture as our everyday muffins. Her protein muffins are much healthier than regular muffins since there is less sugar in the recipe. To further add on, “Quality is very important to me. I conduct multiple tastes and texture tests before officially selling my new flavours. I only use premium ingredients to make my muffins.” (Gena, 2020). Gena ensures that while she is getting creative with the type of texture she would like to produce that may not be ‘normal’ or ‘easy’, she places the same amount of energy in ensuring that all her baked goods are delicious and up to her high standards.
Gena’s ability to think out of the box and work hard to reach her goals shows her commitment and determination to reach that creative level of being able to adapt and fulfil her dream.
Founded and run by Candice, @niteowl_patisserie creates cute kawaii bakes. The kawaii designs vary from Disney characters to superhero designs, foods and so many more. Her passion for baking sparked when she was in secondary school. However, she only started baking more often when she found her place. Nite Owl started mainly due to her passion for baking as well as wanting to spend more time with her children while doing something for income. Her hand customized butter cookies were the most popular among her bakes and soon, there were enough customers interested to learn how to bake these cute treats! Candice, then started her first workshop to teach others her technique and skill in creating such cute treats for their friends and family. What is so special about Nite Owl is that there is such a variety of designs for her bakes. Candice’s creativity never gets old. Exploring new designs helps keep Nite Owl’s posts and orders interesting and out of this world.
Image Credit: Food Review SG (2020)
This shows that Candice not only wants to provide the best quality of desserts but wants to ensure that whenever someone opens that box of goodies, they will be surprised and amazed by how cute and unique the bakes are. Creativity is being open to new ideas and just wanting to learn from past mistakes to improve for the future. There is no end to the amount of creativity that can be done through her bakes.
Do show some local support and follow as well as order these delicious treats from @niteowl_patisserie!
Last but not least, we have Cheryll, the founder of @cassia.jkt specialises in selling homemade caneles and financiers with a wide variety of flavours, Cheryll moved to Singapore with her grandma due to the Covid-19 situation in Indonesia. Their family thought that it would be safer for her grandma to move to Singapore and thus asked Cheryll to accompany her. Cheryll then brought her entire home-based business to Singapore and it has been booming ever since. Hojicha is said to be Singaporeans most favourite flavour out of her entire menu which consists of a variety of different flavours such as red velvet, pandan and kaya, black sesame, Thai tea and so many more! Cheryll’s inspiration for the wide variety of flavours comes from different seasons, occasions and cultures. This form of creativity comes from Cheryll’s willingness to learn and explore new ideas for her customers and want to provide the best forever single customer she reaches out to!
Image Credit: @cassia.jkt (Instagram, 2020)
This creativity is a
One may wonder how such creativity contributes to the art aspect of Singapore’s cultural identity. The different types of creativity shown by all 3 bakers show how each one of them has been influenced by their friends, family and environment which contributed to their creative style. For Gena, her passion for bodybuilding and eating healthier allowed her to be creative when making a healthier option of desserts. As for Candice, she uses her talent in detail to draw cute and everyday favourite characters. Lastly, for Cheryll, she shows creativity through the different flavours of her desserts, some of which were inspired by local Singapore flavours! This goes to show that creativity comes in many different forms and mediums. You don’t have to be someone professional or an expert to be creative. Creativity starts from within, wanting to explore new mediums and techniques. It is doing what you love. This is creativity.