It's a cakewalk

After being a media professional for 11 years, Yashita (she chooses to drop her surname) decided to divert her attention and her energy to something she is passionate about - baking. The 31-year-old started off by baking cakes and cupcakes for family and friends. Finally, she decided to christen her baking services and thus was born, Xocolat (pronounced Zho-Ko- Laat) that specialises in customised confectionary and baked goods.

Floral pattern cakes and cupcakes

"I had a passion for baking but I started working in a leading business news channel by the time I was 18. Later, while I was still working with them, I had a baby and a year later, I realised I was missing out on so much more, when it came to my child (watching her grow, all her first times, etc), plus I felt it would be unfair to have my parents take care of my child. So, I decided to stay at home with her. But because I was used to a 12-hour workday, I decided to revive my passion for baking," reveals Yashita, who bakes out of her kitchen in Peddar Road.

What's cooking?
Xocolat offers a range of baked products in eggless, organic, vegan, whole wheat, sugar free and gluten free options as well. "I bake personalised options that are created on request. Each order is baked fresh with the finest ingredients. We cater to individual palettes," she says, adding, "I have baked a lot of things including Favourite Things cakes, bachelorette cakes and 3D cakes among other goodies."

Xocolat accepts orders with a 24-to-48-hour notice for small products and longer, for big ones. "We don't pre-bake any of our products; they are all freshly baked on order-to-order basis, that's why we need the time to deliver. At this point, we do not deliver unless it's a big order (at additional delivery cost) but our goodies can be picked up from our kitchen at Peddar Road," informs the baker.

One of the specialties of Xocolat is that health enthusiasts have a lot to choose from. Among the healthy cake options, the bakery offers cakes made in whole wheat with the use of honey or jaggery instead of sugar. The products start from R20 per piece (in case of cupcakes) and the price increases depending on the order.

Yashita also revealed that nowadays, people prefer cupcakes as compared to cakes. "Cupcakes are more in demand these days but our other products like truffles, brownies and cookies are a hot favourite too," she explains.

At: u00a0www.facebook.com/xocolatbyyashitau00a0