A baker's treat for all to try

The hidden centre gravity defying cake made by The Student Baker Keevara Raidoo

The hidden centre gravity defying cake made by The Student Baker Keevara Raidoo

Published Feb 18, 2019

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Keevara Raidoo has been baking for the last two years and she has always had a passion for whipping up some magic in the kitchen.

“I have been doing it professionally for the last six months. I t hasn’t been long but I am very passionate about what I do. I do practise a lot.”

Raidoo was tasked by the team over at M&M's to create a cake that used the much loved chocolate candies inside and outside.

“The recipe is something that has been passed down from my grandma to my mom and I have tweaked it to suit me and make it my own. I used a lot of fresh ingredients and good quality butter and vanilla essence just to make it a bit more special.”

The 20-year-old said her mom and grandma were good home bakers and that is where she learnt how to bake and does orders through her own Student Baker profile on Instagram. 

“I actually used to watch my mom make our birthday cakes and that’s where I got it from and I am a full time student so I do this as  a hobby in my spare time. It is so rewarding when my clients say they enjoyed the cakes it makes me very happy.

The Chiropractic student is now in her fourth year at the University of Johannesburg. 

The Recipe to try your own cake

“Back in the day margarine was a thing, and we all know that is not healthy for you, so I changed that with pure butter and good quality vanilla essence that makes a big difference.”

Once she baked the sponge of her cake she soaks it in simple syrup which is equal amounts of sugar and water that keep the cake moist.

“It stays moist throughout the decorating process of the cake. Also the normal vanilla essence available in shops is artificial so you do pay a bit more for the quality one, but you can taste the difference, it is so much better. I can’t describe it so it is something you have to try for yourself.”

The recipe to try your own cake

Here are three tips Raidoo has for bakers in the making:

1. Find your own recipe, one that you are comfortable with and are sure of the outcome

“Often people start recipes and they come to the end and the cake doesn’t turn out the way they wanted. Before you start baking, decorating make sure that you are comfortable with it.”

2. Watch Youtube videos

“It sounds odd but in the modern generation that is how we learn. A lot of my tips and tricks for decorating I learnt on Youtube. You pick up more things and get to watch a variety of bakers around the world which you won't necessarily get the experience from locally. It's quite interesting. I watch videos, search for tips and read baking blogs which gives me insight into my baking."

Keevara makes time to bake for her clients in between managing her university studies

3. Patience

"As much as you follow a recipe. Things do go wrong. Everything can be corrected, you just have to be patient with it. My main tip with decorating cakes is if it messes up put it in the fridge for half an hour and start again. You will always fix your mess that way.”

As a fan of M&M's her task was that much easier.

"It was a big part of my childhood and still is, I mean everyone wants to be a child at heart and eat chocolate all the time.”

For the cake she created a secret chamber of M&M’s inside the cake that allow people to only see them once they have cut the cake.

“It’s like they explode from the inside of the cake. On the outside I did an anti gravity- gravity defying packet, so from the outside it looks like the M&M’s are falling out of the packet.”

You can try your own version of the cake and share it with Raidoo online. 

@mane_mpi 

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