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There are so many pastry shops offering all sorts of cakes to the market. On top of that is the growing crop of home bakers doing their own thing. It’s getting crowded yes, but there are a number who manage to stand out from the rest. Like Cathy Choi of Brown Baker.
For one, she does everything by herself. Yes, she’s a one-woman baking team, and she prefers it that way. “I don’t have a baking assistant. I have one helper but she only washes the dishes. I do everything, from measuring the ingredients down to icing the cake,” she says. “Everything is done by me because I believe that baking is a personal experience. Once I leave it to someone else, then the customers aren’t eating my pastry anymore. They’re eating someone else’s. It is my recipe but somebody else’s pastry. That’s my personal stance.”
The composition and flavor combinations also make Brown Butter an easy standout. In Metro Manila, people like familiar flavors like red velvet and apple pie. But Cathy challenges palates to step out of their comfort zones. No red velvets here, instead, there are matcha, strawberries and wasabi.
She also makes sure that each cake has texture. The Truffle Honey Parfait, for example, is frozen, has lots of caramelized almond flakes for bite, sponge on the base so it’s soft, and an accompanying fruit compote for chewiness. Cathy’s craftsmanship is exceptional. There’s none of the one dimension mouthfeel. A bite of a Brown Butter cake has an interesting mix of composition in the mouth.
“That’s the reason why my brand name is Brown Butter. It’s a basic ingredient but with an application of a technique or a procedure, you come up with a product that is totally different.”
Honey Almond Parfait (PHP1900 with mixed fruit compote)
Mocha Walnut Cake (PHP1600)
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