Cake baker’s generosity makes kids’ special day
A Dunedin baker wants every child to cut into a special birthday cake on their big day, so she’s making them herself – for free.
Hannah Chung, 28, said ordering custom cakes and buying ingredients had become ‘‘so expensive’’ some struggling parents were forced to forgo their child’s birthday party to pay for baking supplies.
A single cake from a specialty bakery could cost hundreds of dollars, well out of most people’s price range, so Chung started taking suggestions on her
Facebook page for families who needed a hand in 2017.
‘‘There’s a huge demand for help and by covering the cost of the cake it often frees up some money for the kid to have a party and really celebrate, or just to make it really special.’’
Through her page, Hannah Bakes, Chung randomly selects one child each month to bake an epic custom cake for, with previous creations including a drum kit, a hedgehog and a unicorn made with multicoloured batter.
After being selected, Chung meets with the family to plan the cake’s flavours and theme. Most
cakes took more than four days to come together. Some children had never had a cake before so seeing their reaction made it worth it, she said.
‘‘A lot of kids know their parents don’t have a lot of money so they don’t want to get too excited when they see the cake in case it’s not for them. When they realise, it’s just so great.’’
Tania Sutton’s daughter Kyla, 4, opted for a pink icecreamthemed cake for her birthday in June. Her brother, Harrison, was born with cystic fibrosis and the family had to stay in hospital for seven weeks caring for him.
Sutton said Kyla had been ‘‘so understanding’’ of her brother’s condition and ‘‘truly couldn’t have been more deserving’’ of having a special birthday. Chung fulfilled Kyla’s dream ‘‘to perfection’’, Sutton said.
Chung, who is studying dentistry fulltime, said she grew up as a ‘‘foodie’’ but most of her skills came from watching YouTube tutorials.
She had built up a stockpile of dry ingredients over the year, helped by donations made to a Givealittle page. She estimated each cake cost about $30, but if she charged for her time, power and skills they would be significantly more. ‘‘I really like baking but it seemed silly to bake for just my husband and I. This makes it worth it.’’