The Night Baker

Corporate lawyer Lelen Lim on her nighttime pastime

What do you bake?
I make chocolate cake, banana cake, carrot cake, apple pie, cheesecakes, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal caramel bars. I bake in the evening and on weekends. I don’t usually advertise. It’s just my friends who know my price list. Orders come in mostly for Valentine’s, summer, and Christmas.


What was the first thing you ever baked?
I started late already. I was 25 years old and I baked chocolate chip cookies. It looked like a pizza afterwards. I think the recipe had an error—there was too much butter—and I didn’t get the temperature right. It was a failure.


Did you study baking?
I’m self-taught. I just bought recipe books. I started with Pillsbury books—super galing ng books nila.


Your favorite part of the baking process?
When you start to smell the aroma. Sa amoy palang, alam ko na na sisikat ako sa anak ko.


Which three words best describe your baked creations?
Flavorful. Simple-looking. Straightforward.


What’s the most fun thing to bake?
Cookies and bars because they’re the easiest. They are best fresh out of the oven. 'Pag may biglaang bumisita, I can make them right away.


Your favorite ingredient?
Bensdorp cocoa powder.


And what ingredient would you like to experiment with?
Splenda. Kasi lahat ng friends ko syempre nagta-tandaan na, diabetic na, so hindi ko sila mabentahan. They always request for sugar-free stuff.


Who is your baking idol?
Heny Sison. She was the one who made my wedding cake.


Favorite baking book?
Pillsbury Best Desserts. I think I have five or six Pillsbury books.


Most valuable business lesson you’ve learned so far?
There was one Christmas that I wanted to be different, so I sold samplers with four bars in a box. In principle, OK siya because I didn’t want my product to be compared price-wise to others, but mahirap pala execution-wise. I had to bake everything so they were all on standby. I think that if I’m going to fully engage in it, I need to identify just a few pieces to become my expertise. Because now I dabble in everything—if my daughter likes something, I want to try it and include it in my menu. I think I should focus on three or four and master those.


Share one tip for home bakers.
For home bakers, I think the first baking experience is very important. If they fail, they might be disheartened and they won’t continue. So I would suggest they get a good baking primer and read through it—how to measure ingredients, how to convert temperatures, which ingredients may be substituted. And then they need to get complete and accurate measuring cups.


Aside from your own stuff, what are your favorite desserts?
The Mango Torte of Mrs. Cuerva in San Lorenzo. I also like the Frozen Brazo of The Sweet Life by Ange. I like the Chocolate Caramel Cake of Cravings, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream.


Aside from baking, what are you passionate about?
I am passionate about teaching. I studied philosophy in college and I taught philosophy for 10 years. I also teach law and conduct bar review classes. I love going to the gym—I’ve been going for 21 years consistently. I also love going out and experiencing new things—zipline, river rafting, biking with my daughter.


After this interview, what will you bake?
I have orders for two chocolate cakes and two apple pies so I’m going to bake tonight.

To see Lelen Lim's recipes, click below:
Choco-Caramel Oat Bar
Banana Streusel Muffins




Photography by At Maculangan │ Interview by Becky Kho │ Makeup and Grooming by Benjie Angeles

• Be the first one to comment...