PETALING JAYA, April 4 — What looks like a macaron but isn’t, not quite?
The hefty specimens before us resemble conventional macarons — two meringue shells sandwiching a filling of buttercream — but for their size, which are frankly gargantuan.
These are Elevete Pâtisserie’s “fatcarons” — an homage to the viral South Korean ttung-carons (“ttung” is the Korean word for fat). With flavours such as Ondeh Ondeh (coconut buttercream paired with salted gula Melaka) and Tiramisu (Italian coffee ganache paired with mascarpone mousse), their Fatcarons have been a perennial hit.
Elevete Pâtisserie is founded by 33-year-old Edwin Chan who is fondly known as Pak Win (a nod to his very muhibbah approach to the local F&B industry).
Rather than a brick-and-mortar shop, he runs an online bakery that offers customers a large variety of desserts, ranging from delectable macarons to artisan cakes.
Chan shares, “I was once a sous chef at a restaurant franchise and dreamed of opening my own business. In 2014, I started experimenting in my home kitchen where I got friends and family to try each and every one of my creations.”
When he first made the switch, Chan challenged himself with macarons as he considered them the hardest dessert to make.
He recalls, “Macarons are notoriously a temperamental dessert! Beat your egg whites too little or too much and you’re left with flat macarons. Fold in your powdered sugar and almond flour a few too many times and the tops crack or legs do not appear.”
Yet it is precisely the difficulty of making macarons that persuaded Chan he was on the right path. He explains, “I mean, everything else becomes easy by comparison. That’s when I realised, I want to make desserts for a living.”
It wasn’t an immediate leap, however. Chan continued to bake from home, depending on his Instagram for orders, while observing how dessert lovers were flocking to cafés, the number of which kept growing as part of the boom then.
He says, “I never wanted to open a café but I saw a gap in the market; there were demands for better artisanal desserts. Dessert is a good business to start from home and it creates good engagement with customers face to face. People will always need desserts and that is why this industry is here to stay.”
Food business is in Chan’s blood. He says, “My great grandfather used to own a heritage restaurant in Petaling Street, specialising in Cantonese cuisine and pastries. My uncles are all cooks, and during Chinese New Year, they are the ones who get together to cook up a feast. It was natural that I fell in line with our family trait.”
In 2021, Chan opened his own central cloud kitchen to cater to more dessert lovers across the country. This is remarkable when you realise many of the cafés and pastry shops that opened during the boom had to shutter during the pandemic as they were heavily dependent on walk-in customers.
Chan’s decision to focus on an online presence and delivery only from the very beginning has now proved to be prescient and strategic. Food business is in his blood, true, but also business acumen.
He says, “I am certainly proud of our achievement as we managed to open a central cloud kitchen in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, Elevete Pâtisserie has baked more than 100,000 desserts to date with a team of 30 in a 2,160 square feet central kitchen in Petaling Jaya.”
All of Elevete Pâtisserie’s desserts are made with halal ingredients and they are in the process of obtaining halal certification from Jakim. Chan adds, “We are now available in Singapore and hopefully other neighbouring countries in the future. We will look into Singapore as our next location of business.”
Closer to home, Elevete Pâtisserie’s sweet treats are currently available at AEON IOI Putrajaya Mall (and soon at all 35 AEON outlets). They will also be at Isetan KLCC for the month of Ramadan 2023.
Chan says, “We have easy-to-pick-up desserts available at the store ranging from macarons, sliced cakes, tarts and the Ramadan and Raya collection.”
A perennial bestseller every Ramadan is Elevete Pâtisserie’s Rasa Sayang Ondeh Ondeh Roulade. The light and fresh pandan sponge roll is layered with Swiss meringue coconut buttercream and gula Melaka syrup.
Garnished with Hawaiian coconut and handmade chocolate truffles, the roulade is designed to mimic our local kuih, the irresistible ondeh-ondeh.
Chan shares, “Our Onde Onde Roulade is an improved version from the first year. We are also introducing new cakes such as pengat nangka and red velvet, as well as three new local flavours of macarons.”
Inspired by pengat nangka, the Lebaran Manis Pengat Nangka Entremet has fragrant coconut jackfruit compote layered over flavoured nangka sponge atop a coconut Gianduja feuilletine crunch.
Coated with white chocolate and almond nibs and topped with velvety coconut mascarpone cream, it’s decadence in the best way possible.
For his Riang Ria Raya Red Velvet Cake, Chan has elevated (no pun intended) the classic red velvet with raspberry purée.
There are also Aneka Aidilfitri variety platters — in Berdua and Sekeluarga sizes — that include a mix of this year's Ramadan and Raya delicacies as well as Meriah Treasures Party Bites.
“These are meant to be eaten for iftar (buka puasa), as a gift (buah tangan) during open house visits or as part of your dessert table when you host Raya gatherings. We want to provide gifts for gathering after two to three years of Covid and they could bring their desserts back to kampung.”
Let’s not forget their macarons, arguably what solidified Elevete Pâtisserie’s standing in the market. It’s easy to discount macarons as passé, that their time has come and gone, especially nowadays when other bakers and pâtisseries seem more obsessed with bomboloni and canelés.
The trick is not to chase trends but to build a strong foundation of well-made products and creative flavours. For this year’s Ramadan and Raya, Chan has looked at Malay desserts as a starting point for his new macaron flavours.
The Pengat Nangka Macaron is filled with coconut buttercream and jackfruit compote whereas the Bingka Ubi Macaron rings with a buttercream suffused with grated cassava.
Everyone’s favourite has to be the Apam Balik Macaron thanks to its combination of peanut butter, sweet corn and peanut chunks.
These are the flavours of one’s childhood growing up in Malaysia. These are flavours with which we celebrate Ramadan and Raya. These are the flavours of a homegrown pâtisserie, hopefully one that will be a global brand one day.
And that’s another thing to look forward to and celebrate some day soon.
Elevete Pâtisserie
No. 12, Jalan SS 26/13, Taman Mayang Jaya, PJ
Tel: 018-370 3770
Web: elevete.com.my
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