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PETALING JAYA: There are many ways to express how proud one is to be Malaysian and Merdeka month sees no shortage of creative social media posts, paintings and writings on the subject.
Jessica Winston Jap, a 31-year-old baker from Jakarta living in Malaysia, dedicated herself to doing what she loves most: decorating a hibiscus-inspired cake to mark Malaysia’s 63rd Merdeka Day.
In addition to using the national flower as the theme for her main cake, Jessica also created a special ondeh-ondeh-flavored cake for Merdeka Day with Jalur Gemilang.
Jessica, who owns two burgeoning businesses, JessiCakery in Jakarta and Pétale Sucré in Kuala Lumpur, tells FMT that she has been baking and decorating cakes for the past 10 years.
But it has not all been jelly beans and sprinkles for her, as she had to make the difficult decision to permanently move here with her Malaysian husband.
“In Jakarta, I would be at eye level with at least 30 to 40 cake orders a month. I also taught students who were interested in baking and decorating cakes.
“I moved to Malaysia in 2017 and spent many of my days crying. Nobody bought my cakes because I was not the best at marketing my brand here, ”she explains.
Fortunately, her sister-in-law, who is a teacher, came to her aid, and by word of mouth, Jessica’s beautiful cakes soon became the talk of the town.
Jessica says there are big differences between her clients in Indonesia and those in Malaysia.
“In Indonesia, people love to buy artistic cakes, but Malaysians are often drawn to simple cakes, which can be frustrating for me because my passion is decorating cakes.
“Most Malaysians buy cakes just to celebrate special occasions, but in Jakarta, even if there is no celebration, they still buy whole cakes to consume at home,” he says, adding that Malays also tend to want to have the cakes delivered to them. cakes free of charge. , something she only agrees to if they are regular customers.
In addition to the typical red velvets, vanillas and chocolates that one can expect to find, Pétale Sucré also incorporates Indonesian flavors that are truly delicious and unexpected.
Fancy trying a slice of pancake ice cream with buttercream topped with grated cheddar cheese? According to Jessica, this is a home favorite, as well as his Belgian chocolate cake.
Jessica’s not-so-secret love is cake decorating and flowers, so she combined them, specializing in buttercream and sugar flowers.
Elegantly placed on a marble table in Jessica’s cake decorating room is a beautiful three-tiered cake, decorated in deep blue fondant icing with engravings from the various states of Malaysia.
The highlights of this cake are undoubtedly the realistic looking sugar flowers, which to the untrained eye look like real hibiscus. Adding an accent of elegance is a golden sheet of baked Vietnamese rice paper.
Decorating this fascinating cake was no easy task – Jessica says that the sugar flowers alone took three arduous days to bring to life.
“I was inspired by the Malaysian flag. The blue represents the unity of the Malaysian people, the yellow pays tribute to the rulers and the hibiscus is the obvious one, the national flower of Malaysia, ”said Jessica, who shook her head for five days to come up with the design of the Merdeka cake. perfect.
Meanwhile, Jessica’s Jalur Gemilang Cake is a fluffy and airy pandan cake ala ondeh-ondeh, as it is topped with a generous amount of grated coconut soaked in gula melaka and topped with a buttercream Prihatin Malaysia logo.
“During the Motion Control Order, I noticed that many people were selling ondeh-ondeh flavored cakes and that it is a true Malaysian dessert loved by many, so I decided to incorporate those flavors into this cake,” Jessica told FMT.
Like everyone else, the Covid-19 lockdown affected Jessica. She has not been able to return to Jakarta to teach her students, but fortunately the number of orders she has received during these difficult times has increased.
The most requested are their soft and chewy cookies and their buttercream flower cakes. Well, comfort food helps people get through tough times, so it’s no wonder.
This home baker dreams of one day opening her own cozy shop in Malaysia, filled with the most delicious cakes and pies. “I realize that I can’t just sell cakes, so I need to hone my pastry skills. I hope my dream comes true ”.
Jessica’s beautiful cakes can be ordered at Sweet petal and JessiCakery.
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