Baking up a Christmas treat
Christmas time, for many, is made special every year by the exchange of gifts, the holiday music being played on a loop, the warm glow of twinkling lights, and the much-awaited festive fare that rounds it all off. From the rich Christmas cakes and puddings to mulled wines, there is something delicious that suits everyone’s taste buds.
The season is also a busy time for most home bakers whose specially crafted menus feature exciting items that are ideal for gifting others or for enjoying by oneself.
Mother-and-daughter duo Jani and Sathmi started their home-food business Eatery by J and J earlier this year in August with a focus on savoury dishes like biriyani and yellow rice. They put a spin on the traditional yellow rice for the Christmas season by offering up a very rich rice dish with oven-baked chicken with honey and garlic instead of the usual curry, a delectable brinjal pahi, and a tangy mango curry which ties it all together.
“We have been very passionate about doing this for a while and we really wanted to bring something unique to the table,” says Sathmi.
Eatery by J and J also has cupcakes, Christmas-themed cookies and mousse desserts as well as Christmas tree gift boxes available for pre-orders through their Instagram page @eaterybyjandj_sl or WhatsApp on 071 429 4200.
Another home baker with more unusual treats is Chamindri de Fonseka of Chums Bakes. Chamindri started her home baking business in 2020 during the pandemic, making cinnamon rolls, bagels, and pretzels – food she missed after having lived in the US for 18 years. For Christmas, her regular cinnamon roll becomes a Christmas cake cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting and she introduced mouthwatering variations of breudher to her menu as well such as boozy Christmas cake, cranberrywhite chocolate, and apple-cinnamon-walnut.
Chamindri also has mini bundt cakes in the menu along with a mixed nut tart this Christmas. Asked about the inspiration for her flavour combinations, Chamindri says, “I just love experimenting. I use a base cake and then I just start throwing stuff and then see what flavours go well together.”
The festive goodies and assorted gift boxes are available for pre-order through the Chums Bakes Instagram at @chums_bakes or WhatsApp 0777 889 563 for inquiries.
Shamaalie Mediwake who started her home baking business The Messy Crumbler with a very limited menu in June 2020, during the COVID lockdown soon gained a following on social media. “What we do is we don’t try to go the usual way of making the usual standard cakes. We do a few twists and tweaks. For example, some of our cakes are from family recipes and there are others which are family recipes which have a twist as well,” says Shamaalie.
With banana chocolate chip cakes, carrot cakes, Victoria sponge cakes, apple crumble tarts, and flourless, gluten-free gooey chocolate cakes as items on the regular, everyday menu, The Messy Crumbler also has seasonal goodies such as Christmas stollen and mince pies. There is also a beautifully presented Christmas assorted box with 16 items that is perfect for gifting.
The Messy Crumbler takes orders on a pre-order basis through their Instagram @themessycrumbler and WhatsApp 077 338 4394.