TASTES LIKE LOVE

LOOKING TO SATISFY YOUR SWEET TOOTH? HERE ARE THREE LOCAL BUSINESSES – ALL RUN BY MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUOS – THAT WILL DO THE TRICK.

DOUGHTER BAKERY

These chewy, toothsome and glutenfree mochi muffins and doughnuts are the talk of the town.

Baking mochi muffins and chewy cookies started off as a passion project for assistant marketing manager Melissa Gan during Circuit Breaker. Her bakes were so popular that her friends encouraged her to sell them. The wave of demand proved too much for the 29-year-old to handle on her own, so she roped in her homemaker mum Kelly, 58, to help out. After one year of working together, they say it’s brought them even closer together.

“I’m definitely the more extroverted one, while my mum is the planner and the one who ensures that everything is in its proper place,” says Melissa. “We’re not afraid to give each other honest feedback as we know that we have the same goal of seeing Doughter Bakery grow and find success.”

“I’ve learnt that my daughter can be very forgetful when purchasing ingredients,” jests Kelly. “But jokes aside, I have seen a different side of her. I’ve learnt that she can be incredibly resourceful, and I found out that she can bake! Before that, I never thought too much of her baking as I don’t have a sweet tooth.”

My mum is incredibly resilient and hard-working. During the hectic Christmas gifting season, we oversold our bake boxes and had to stay up for 24 hours to bake. Mum did so without complaint, and also came up with some new working processes to increase our output.

– MELISSA

We focus on local flavours like Kaya & Coconut and Black Sesame, which proved to be a hit. We also get a lot of customer comments that our bakes are not too sweet, and that their parents who typically don’t take dessert love them.

– KELLY

We are not very similar in temperament, but I think that’s why we complement each other. I’m more visionary and dreamy. She’s fast and gets things done – the superwoman in the business.

– LYDIA

TEASPOON OF LOVE

Dreamy delicious tea-infused bakes over a cup of carefully sourced tea – that’s been the comforting premise of Teaspoon of Love since 2014.

Long before home bakers became trendy, Paulyn Lim, 58, set up Paulyn’s Bakery in the ’90s as a hobby. This later inspired her daughter Lydia, 30, to co-found Teaspoon of Love with her, as they bonded over their love of wholesome, rustic cakes, using and playing with botanical pairings like herbs and flowers for flavour.

“The kitchen was like a spa for both of us. We baked and brewed various teas, depending on our mood,” recalls Lydia. Today, Paulyn oversees baking, operations and customer service, while Lydia manages sales, marketing and tea sourcing.

Prior to Covid-19, they would also travel and meet tea farmers together to source unique teas with real cultivar and origin. “Tea is just like wine, it’s very much about terroir (environment, climate and place). I want to present tea that’s focused on the natural character of the tea, yet in a modern manner, to make it more accessible. I hope to evolve the business in this direction, and expand into something greater at some point,” says Lydia.

Lydia is very creative, and it flows so naturally. She’ll be brewing kombucha or coming to me with a new idea of what to launch, or infusing this tea into the cake. She has great perseverance and she never gives up on her goal.

– PAULYN

Double Chocolate and Kaya & Coconut Mochi Muffins, $18 for a box of six The perfectly crisp exterior and soft, chewy centre make these stand out, as do the very thick chocolate, and rich, almost caramel-like kaya-honey flavours respectively. Order from doughterbakery. com.

Biscoff Mochi Brownies, $25 for a seasonal box of six assorted bakes The duo constantly do R&D to come up with new flavours and products as some customers prefer trying new things each time. The Mochi Brownies with gooey centres are a seasonally changing item.

Ferrero Rocher with Gold Flakes Mochi Donuts, $22 for a seasonal box of six assorted bakes The mochi doughnuts are baked, not fried, and made with fine Belgian chocolate for full flavour.

Sea Salt and Chocolate Chip Cookies, $20 for 14 pieces Brown butter gives these cookies an extra nutty oomph, and each soft, chewy cookie is packed with gooey chocolate chips.

Da Hong Pao Cheesecake, $51.90 Da Hong Pao is a dark roasted oolong tea from Wuyishan, China, that takes well to the richness of cheese. Using a blended Da Hong Pao gives fruity, peach notes with a burnt caramel, toffee-like flavour.

Cold Brew Teas (launching in May) The ready-to-drink teas (image not available) come in two flavours: Pheonix Oolong Honey Orchid, picked from a 90-year-old tree, and Earl Grey Milk Tea, made with Chinese black tea infused with bergamot.

Earl Grey Pineapple Tarts (seasonal) Paulyn’s speciality combines melt-in-themouth pastry and bergamot oil from South Africa, and is infused with ground tea. Start ordering in December.

Camellia Ceylon, $34 for 50g This delicate yet malty black tea with a natural citrus and magnolia scent comes from an organic estate that’s also a social enterprise.