New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Watch Stamford baker’s sweet victory on Hulu
About two years ago, Stamford mom and avid baker Casey Hallen traveled to Toronto for what she calls a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” Her journey is now available to view on Hulu.
Hallen was one of 10 home baker contestants on the first season of “Great Chocolate Showdown,” a baking competition that aired in February 2020 on Food Network Canada and recently appeared on the streaming service. Through eight episodes, Hallen mastered the art of complicated chocolate creations and — spoiler — ultimately took home the $50,000 prize.
Hallen, a teacher and married mom of two daughters, is an art school graduate originally from Westchester, N.Y. She and her family moved in with her parents in Stamford during the pandemic, and have now settled into their own home in the city.
“I’ve always loved baking. I would bake for friends and family, and bring things into the faculty room,” she said. “People would always tell me I should sell my stuff, but I was never confident enough to do that.”
A friend encouraged her to apply for “The Great American Baking Show.” She didn’t get past the interview process there, she said, but she enjoyed the experience and kept applying for other baking programs. Even as she was cast on “Great Chocolate Showdown,” she said she didn’t expect to make it far into the competition.
Hallen and her co-competitors all had limited experience with chocolate work, she said. None of them had really tempered chocolate before
appearing on the show. But each week she kept going, describing the experience as “boot camp” for learning proper techniques.
She says she immediately saw the difference in her work. “On Instagram, if you look at my stuff before the show versus after, it’s night and day,” she said. “It’s really crazy the amount I improved in just three weeks [taping the series.]”
When she arrived home with her winnings, she immediately applied for her cottage food license, moving toward her dream of opening a home bakery. Casey H. Bakes, based in Stamford, specializes in all-buttercream cakes, entirely customized to the client’s wishes.
“I don’t have standard flavors,” she said. “Usually when a client contacts me, I ask them what’s your favorite snack, what’s your favorite dessert?, to help design a cake that is perfect for them.”
She recently crafted a cake for a client who said they loved tiramisu and mint, with chocolate espresso cake, mint mocha pastry cream, mint mocha ganache and an espresso Swiss meringue buttercream.
Other flavors have included vanilla cake with raspberry crunch and white chocolate, and brown butter cake with peach compote.
Hallen said her business started to pick up significantly during COVID-19, as clients seemed to be willing to spend money on custom cakes if they couldn’t have big parties. Business has kept up this year, as more clients are having gatherings again.
She is still close with her co-contestants and they talk daily, she said, sending each other words of encouragement. Like she has, many of them have gone on to open pastry and chocolate businesses. They share links for casting calls for upcoming baking shows, and “we joke around that we’d like to do an all-stars season,” she said.
Hallen said she’s thrilled with the outcome of the experience, and that goes beyond the financial windfall, she said.
“I had the confidence coming back to start my own business, my side hustle. And it also gave me a confidence boost in other areas of my life as well,” she said. “Plus, it’s such a cool story.”
Watch “Great Chocolate Showdown” on Hulu here. Visit caseyhbakes.com for more information on Hallen’s cakes.