CHENNAI: Google ‘cake in a mug’ and the search will yield indeterminate pages with recipes. Some cumbersome and some simple. Most often than not, the difficult ones — embellished with the rich, decadent frosting — offer the comfort that we seek. It’d be most convenient to order in these sinful creations. But we live in a city with the sun constantly shimmering over us. How do you ensure it’s not melted before it reaches you? Meet 22-year-old Swetha Kishore, who has cracked the code to bring mug cakes right to your doorstep. She started this venture two months ago, and has sold more than 500 mugs so far.
“I have always been fond of baking and thought of starting it as a business. But, I felt I had to do something different. Hence, after just four weeks of launching my cupcake business, Home Made Cupcakes, I started making mug cakes, the first-of-its-kind,” says the techie, who delivers the cakes only on Sundays.
But, getting this business right was no cake walk. There were several rounds of trial and error, and even the risk of losing customers and incurring a loss. “Currently, I have three flavours on the menu. I had to bake each flavour around 25 times to perfect the recipe. Once I got that right, I had to deliver it carefully. My customers, who follow my Instagram handle, were interested in the mug cakes too. But, the biggest jolt I got was when the mugs back as the frosting would melt in the heat.
I had to solve that,” she shares.
She then met with the officials from City Deliveries, a Chennai-based start-up to ease out the process. The mug cakes come packed in a cardboard box and the cakes are closed with a plastic top. The cakes are also perfectly baked such that the dough does not ooze while baking. “The recipe I work with suits only these cups. My aim is that the cakes don’t spill over while baking,” she says.
The three flavours are Red Velvet, Choco Dream, and Ferrero Rocher. We first savour the Red Velvet Cake. A familiar taste hits us as we take the first bite. It’s white chocolate frosting and not cream cheese. The cake is also not as red as any other red velvet cakes. It’s fluffy and gives the right amount of sugar rush. And as you reach the bottom of the mug, it turns gooey. Next, we dig into the yummy-looking Choco-Dream. Hands down, this is one of the best-looking mug cake. This variant was really creamy, and the frosting was smooth. The cake is moist, hence, when scooped along with the frosting it makes for a good combo. However, the richness of the cake gets to you within a few bites, and this is not a mug you can finish in one go. We wished the cake wasn’t as sweet.
Rich in texture and humble in its taste, the Ferrero Rocher mug cake instantly warmed our senses. Topped with a piece of the Ferrero Rocher chocolate, this one had the right amount of sponginess, and the perfect sugar rush to send you into a pleasant tizzy. For dark chocolate naysayers, try this one, you might consider moving over to the other side.
For the quantity, the mug cakes are priced quite reasonably between `145 and `175. Swetha informs us that when refrigerated, the cakes can last five days.
Swetha has one assistant, who helps her in baking. She has tied up with Brickhouse Bistro to sell the mug cakes. “My ultimate aim is to set up a kiosk and serve mug cakes topped with natural flavoured ice cream,” she says.
You can order mug cakes through her Instagram account @swetha.kishore, or visit their FB page www.facebook.com/mugcakeindia
(Inputs: Thushara Ann Mathew, Ancy George)