Baking in the Beautiful Nilgiri Hills

Firstly, tell us why did you choose to change your profession?

Sonam Choudhary:-I was on a Maternity Sabbatical with a Leading Chain of Hotels when boredom made me start preparing for Christmas Cakes with a good friend. The Joy of watching soaked Fruits plump up, the addictive aroma of Fruit cakes and the maths behind costing and pricing had me hooked! Shortly after, I turned into an obsessive researcher constantly intrigued by the science behind Baking. A month later, I made a Two-tiered cake for my domestic help’s Grand Child. By the time I finished frosting it, i knew there was no looking back.   

When did you feel that you should start The Wishin’ Oven and what was the reason to start your own venture?

Sonam Choudhary:- With a Hotelier husband and a Toddler in an Uber-Nuclear family setup I soon understood I couldn’t go back to a 12 hour job leaving a little one in the hands of professional child care 6 days a week. The decision to leave a Career that lasted almost a decade became easy when I chanced upon my Love for Baking. I spent a year working on my recipes and fine tuning them to my satisfaction. Friends and family became my Guinea Pigs for practicing self-taught cake art. In December 2018, we moved to Ooty from Mumbai and In January 2019 I opened to Orders in the beautiful Nilgiris which has always showered me with Unconditional Love. I get to strike a Balance between my role as a Mother and as an Entrepreneur and be a part of so many Happy Moments. It’s not a “Cake Walk”, the hours are long, and the pressure of being an entrepreneur is real. But I have No regrets!  

Can you reveal any interesting or unusual dessert request made to you?

Sonam Choudhary:- I once received a request to do a No Carb, No refined Sugar, Gluten free cake. It was interesting to work on the recipe considering I believe in the magic of Butter, Flour and Cream! Flavours aside, I have worked on some interesting themes. To name a few – a Camping Themed First Birthday Cake, a Social Media Wedding Cake, a giant Dinosaur shaped cake and Football meets World Map on an engagement Cake. 

What Dessert or cake are you most proud of or is most memorable?

Sonam Choudhary:- It was an exciting experience to be associated with a Leading Whisky Brand for their Annual Offsite event celebrated in Ooty. I curated for them a Whisky 3 Ways Cake. It Looked like a Whisky Barrel, It tasted like you were eating Whisky AND it dispensed real Whisky. I was given a free reign on the cake and was so totally thrilled with the results. 

Have you ever had a baking disaster or a “ Cake Wreck”? If so, How did you bake your way out of it?

Sonam Choudhary:- I Once had a tall Cream Cake collapse on me. The bottom layers began to squish under the weight of the upper layers and a bulge formed at the bottom. I did a rookie mistake of not dowelling my Tall cream cake. I realised the disaster was inevitable at 8 pm for a 9 am pick up the following morning. I pulled myself together and started off again from scratch. Needless to say it was a Long night, but there was some Bright Sunshine at the end of the tunnel!

These days fusion cake is being made of Indian mithai which is in huge demand, please tell us your take on fusion cake ?

Sonam Choudhary:- Oh the ever-so-delicious Rasmalai Cake! Been there, Done that and totally Love it. It’s a Must-do cake for those who love Cold Cakes and adore the flavours of Rasmalai. However, with a background in Beverages, what has me hooked is the Fine fusion between Alcohol and Cakes. Always a show stopper!

Can you share the best piece of baking advice that anyone has ever given you?

Sonam Choudhary:- Long back an Industry Mentor told me – Never honour a client request for a “New Flavour” if it is not on your menu. I couldn’t have heard wiser words. People who order cakes and have paid for them are not Guinea Pigs to “Try” a new flavour I experimented with. And it doesn’t make business sense to do multiple recipe trials for a single cake order. I have a handful of Star Flavours on my menu and I encourage clients to pick combinations from those. 

What pastry and baking tools can you absolutely not live without?

Sonam Choudhary:- My Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. It’s like having another pair of hands on deck! On a smaller scale, my Air Brush Machine used for coloring and shading edibles and a super sharp Exacto knife to work on tiny fondant details. Yet another favorite tool is something I picked from a hardware store and you would see a lot of construction engineers use it. It is called a Spirit level and helps keep cake tops absolutely parallel to the floor. The Best kept secret to successful tiered cakes eh!

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