‘Pi’ brings to mind the mathematical fraction 22/7 and Ang Lee’s movie Life of Pi, based on the Yann Martel book. However, city-based Prerna Marda wanted the term to become synonymous with her patisseries. And thus began Pi Cookies and More. Started about two years ago along with good friend Insiya Kanchwala, the venture began by baking a cake for a cousin’s birthday. “We saw that there was a lot of demand for specialized and theme-based cakes. But people in the city didn’t know where to go for it. So we thought of starting this together and fortunately it worked,” shares Prerna.
Working out of her kitchen in Banjara Hills, Prerna began from the basic. Neither friend was professionally trained in baking, but it didn’t hinder them anyway. “Insiya used to bake at home but I was new to it when we started. We learnt from Youtube and the internet,” says the ex-employee of Google. From catering to small orders like cupcakes, they eventually progressed to making cakes for parties. The company now is solely run by Prerna with Insiya moving on to newer ventures. “I ask her to pitch in when I get large orders and she helps me out,” explains Prerna of the current set-up. On an average, the baker handles three to four orders a week, besides cupcakes as well.
Over time, the industrious woman has garnered a steady clientele in the city, especially among the IT companies. With no advertising so far, the venture has thus far become popular solely through word-of-mouth.
The customers who come to Pi Cookies and More are from a variety of backgrounds, including young students, teenagers, parents celebrating their tiny-tot’s birthday and silver jubilee anniversaries. The orders range from themed cupcakes like favourite cartoons, motifs to IPL cupcakes for fans.
Given that the venture is based out of home, Prerna doesn’t stock up on the sweets, but bakes as per order. Thus far, she has catered for birthdays, baby showers, Valentines day and Halloween, and is open to cater to any occasion. What makes them different is that they do away with traditional fillings and decorations and try new methods to give their cakes a surprise turn. Giving the usual fruitcake a twist by switching from the traditional cream filling to a cherry-goo filling or making a Traveller cake complete with flags, a replica of the leaning tower of Pisa and a map of the world, there is nothing they haven’t tried modelling from the sugary fondant. “I use fondant and coloured icing to make the decorations but I like to experiment as well. For a cake themed on Chhota Bheem, I used churma for sand and browned seviya to make the thatched roofs,” says Prerna.
Customers come to Prerna with specific ideas on how they want the finished product to look like. Once they decide on a common idea, she then starts working on the design of the cake which takes the longest time in the process. Once the idea is ready in sketch, it takes her about four to five hours to finish a cake replete with decorations. Sometimes, the conceptualisation for the cake can take as long as a month or sometimes even a week. “I once had an order for a farewell cake where the family told me about the likes and hobbies of the girl. So I made a cake with headphones in her favourite colours as the main theme, surrounded by a dancing figure and post-it notes wishing her luck for her new job. Customers bring in the basic idea and I try to incorporate everything in the order, provided they give me ample time to do it,” says the 24-year old.
However, things aren’t as simple as just conjuring up the concept. The delicate preparation required is also quite back-breaking. “We once had an order for a Mad-Hatter upside down cake where the hat kept falling apart. So we incorporated a cardboard and placed the hat on it.” With the ideas getting more elaborate and intricate, the cake is also changing from being the traditional sponge cake layered with icing to props being positioned on it. “The only drawback is that people do not realize that cakes might also contain non-edible ingredients,” Prerna shares.
To pull off that final look of expertise, Pi Cookies and More uses food colours, coloured sugars and sprinkles imported from abroad. “I usually ask friends and cousins who live in the US to pick a packet for me when they visit India,” says Prerna. However of-late, with the number of expats here, some stores in the city have also been stocking up on the ingredients she requires.
Prices depend on the quantity and the kind of cake (hence the ingredients). They begin from as low as Rs 50 for a cupcake to Rs 3,000 for a themed cake.
Details: 99853 26497
