KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — Life has been a sweet journey for Haqyani or Yani Othman, 46, better known as The Kitchen Guardian, a name spun from her food blog. For many, baking is a pleasure usually reserved for leisurely weekends. For Yani, it’s more than a hobby and her successful business grown from the kitchen. Last year, the lawyer by profession traded her career in a telecommunications company for her baking passion.

The mother of six was always a keen cook sharing recipes on her kitchen efforts on her food blog. She recalls cooking for her children or what she called her “army” since they were so demanding and commanding. Her specialty dishes are briyani udang and nasi tomato. The Kedah native also makes the Northern delicacy, nasi daging.

When she was pregnant with her sixth child, she had cravings not to eat but she wanted to bake. The self-taught baker honed her skills through cooking classes putting her own touches and changes to the recipes she learnt. She recalls her first cooking class was with Just Heavenly where they introduced her to the deliciousness of the devil’s food cake, a decadent chocolate cake.

The Internet savvy baker likes to use Instagram to post pictures of her cakes, swiftly gaining 20,000 followers in the process (left). Imported gel-type food colourings offer an assortment of hues for decorating the cake (right)
The Internet savvy baker likes to use Instagram to post pictures of her cakes, swiftly gaining 20,000 followers in the process (left). Imported gel-type food colourings offer an assortment of hues for decorating the cake (right)

In her early days, one of her first baking efforts was choux pastry puffs filled with pastry cream and dipped into chocolates to create profiteroles. Yani’s friends would place orders for the sweet treats to encourage her to make them. “My friends will order a box of profiteroles to force me to do it.” Juggling a day job for a few years, Yani would also take orders for cupcakes, cakes and eventually macarons.

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In 2011, her part-time cake business took off when she decided to join hands with Shaun Lee from MilkADeal.com to promote her Red Velvet cakes for Valentine’s Day. The deal for RM10 was a box of 4 Red Velvet cupcakes or a red velvet cake for a whopping RM10! It was a hit that saw a total of 250 vouchers sold, the highest that MilkADeal.com had sold before. That is when Yani realised it was much more than a hobby. “I did it for fun but that’s when the business took off.”

Yani’s cake studio in Ampang where she teaches classes twice a month
Yani’s cake studio in Ampang where she teaches classes twice a month

Tired of officework and baking cakes from 8pm onwards, last year she decided to pursue her cake business on a full-time basis. “I get more satisfaction with baking.” She also started her own cake studio in an Ampang house where she teaches classes twice a month. Seats to her baking classes (maximum 12 people) that she announces on Instagram a month before the class is snapped up within 30 minutes. As Yani has a cult status among the baking industry with her beautifully decorated cakes, many want to emulate her success. Aspiring bakers or even those who want to venture into the cake business enrol in her classes to pick up her tips and techniques. Her classes run from 10am to 5pm, where participants learn three recipes. It’s a hands-on class where everyone works in groups to bake and learn how to decorate the cake. She also conducts private classes for individuals or up to 2-3 people. However, there is a long wait list for these specially catered classes.

The Internet savvy baker likes to use Instagram where she has a racked up 20,000 followers to post her cakes and notices to gain visibility and a fast audience. An interest in photography also sees her documenting her sweet creations in beautiful shots. She admits an inclination towards French desserts as they are “sedap” or delicious. Maybe that is why her cake heroes are Dorie Greenspan and David Lebovitz, Americans who are famous for their French inspired recipes. Their tried and tested recipes have also inspired her own bakes. “Her basic recipes even when they are improved still taste good,” she says about Greenspan who once worked with famous French patisserie Pierre Herme to document his two cookbooks. She uses the Paris-based Lebovitz for chocolate recipes as he’s an expert. Once she recalls, she tested Lebovitz’s cookie recipe where one third of the tray of cookies ended up inside her stomach. Yani is a great believer of tasting her own bakes. “You have to taste what you put in. If you don’t eat you won’t know. You must love your cake.”

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Torting (splitting the cake layer horizontally into layers) and stacking add extra height to the cake (left). Leveling the icing and crumb coating (right)
Torting (splitting the cake layer horizontally into layers) and stacking add extra height to the cake (left). Leveling the icing and crumb coating (right)

She’s also constantly upgrading her skills and does not rule out taking more classes especially in sugar art, something she is slowly picking up for her wedding cake orders. “I like to learn the science behind baking.” One recent adventure was with The Caketress or Lori Hutchinson, an internationally renowned cake designer from Toronto. Yani travelled to Jakarta with a group of friends to learn the how-tos decorate fondant cakes. Hutchinson taught her students to sculpt and sketch freely to create the masterpieces rather than mechanically pre-make the items ahead. “For her, the cake is like a canvas.”

A final coat of icing before drizzling with a dark chocolate ganache (left). Piping a rose swirl using a Wilton 1M tip (right)
A final coat of icing before drizzling with a dark chocolate ganache (left). Piping a rose swirl using a Wilton 1M tip (right)

In the cake world, Yani admits that bakers tend to be followers rather than innovators in trends. She hopes in the future they can create new flavours, like lemon meringue or butterscotch. “If you think at that level, you will always be at that level.” Once they start, she believes there will be a demand. Currently chocolate cakes remain high on Yani’s order list especially those laden with nuts. A big favourite is the chocolate cake made with oil for a lighter crumb covered with chocolate, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamias, which is drizzled with salted caramel. She sprinkles fleur de sel or sea salt flakes over the top to give it a slight salty edge. In future, she has lofty ambitions to branch out and open a small cafe — a cosy place with nice cakes.

The Kitchen Guardian can be contacted at [email protected] or by SMS to 019-2931079