Hashtags and Malayalis — it’s a possible love-hate relationship. Examine the many hashtag campaigns that broke the internet, our participation stands out. We love to make things heard out loud. In the food scene now, a trending hashtag campaign triggered off by a magazine in the UK is creating ripples along the Kerala shores — the #7DayArtChallenge.
Bakers here are thrilled to the very bones, kneading, baking, posting, tagging and passing on the challenge to the ones of their ilk. The Cake Masters magazine’s challenge, intended to promote cake decor, has inspired our participants our participants to redefine the challenge by adding art into anything that can ‘go down’ well and digested. Warning, most of the things you see here could have made their way to somebody’s tummy and are existent only in their photographic self!
A sit-at-home, work-from-home entrepreneur mommie, Kavitha Rajeev Kumar from Kadavanthra has carved a niche in homemade chocolates many moons ago.
The business continues to grow from strength-to-strength with a slew of products including cookies, fondant cakes and fruit syrups to pick a few.
A challenge as this was just another platform for her to showcase her multi-pronged talents. Look at the posts on all seven days and she has not restricted her works to swirls or fondant fountains. It can be seen on chocolates, cakes and even wall hangings. “I got an invite from a hobbyist baker Bharat Kumar. I was not sure if I could do it for seven days. Also I need to invite one person on each day to continue the challenge. Throwing this challenge on social media, the Cake Masters magazine meant to showcase the best cakes. It is irrelevant how many items we make during these days. It’s mainly to inspire, share.”
Cakes by Kavitha
A tour through these photographs probably has one thing in common — the interesting and somewhat inspiring stories behind the creation of these drool-worthy delicacies. Here’s Palakkad-based baker Vaishnavi Mahesh’s note on her first-time encounter with a three-tier Minnie Mouse-themed cake posted on day four of the challenge.
“This Minnie Mouse-themed three-tier cake was the one that gave me confidence that I too can do tiered cakes reasonably well. Doing this cake was a challenge as I had minimal knowledge of tiered cakes, dowelling and so on. The client had more confidence in me than myself that I was given barely 20 hours to do it right from scratch (order confirmation came at 6 pm on a Saturday and cake had to be delivered at 4 pm the next day) with minimum materials available in my place, Palakkad, and very less time to source from elsewhere the next day being a holiday,” the note reads. So adamant that she won’t repeat the ideas she had once applied, Vasihnavi keeps on experimenting incorporating new themes, which could clearly be seen in her posts.
Cakes by Rehana
The challenge offers room for all who come and it is not something only professional bakers can attempt.
After having shifted base from Malappuram to Palakkad post marriage several years ago, Rahana Manaf took to baking as a pastime. That she is a baker was a fact known only to her close friends and family and anything she bakes, in limited numbers, were for them. Slowly her recipes walked into Facebook group ‘Malabar Adukkala’. Unlike others, she prepared a butterscotch cake in this seven-day challenge period. See how things have changed.
“The Facebook group was the only place where my bakes were taken to public. The posts earned comments and likes in good numbers. The photographs were clicked after doing cakes demanded by acquaintances. Once I became part of the challenge, the scope widened. The demand has gone up,” she beams.
So, what are you waiting for? Face the challenge and eat it too.
