The baker queen

MANILA, Philippines - All it takes is one bite and you’re definitely hooked! That’s how good pastry chef Millet Soberano’s Double Fudge Cake is. Make that doubly good! Just like Baker King — a popular Koreanovela on GMA 7 — Kim Tak Goo’s corn and barley bread, the cake looks simple but tastes divine. The perfectly moist, dark chocolate cake has layers of fudge in between, which makes it oh-so-heavenly. No wonder culinary expert and self-confessed chocoholic Sandy Daza couldn’t get his fork off this not-so-sweet, delectable treat.

“It’s one of Sandy’s favorites. He loves the consistency and the moistness of the Double Fudge Cake. We try to make desserts that are not overly sweet but offer varied textures or deep flavors using the best ingredients,” enthuses Millet, the amiable owner of Bean & Baker, a specialty baker café, which recently opened at SM Hypermarket, Tiendesitas, Pasig City.

The Double Fudge Cake has opened a lot of doors for Millet, who in 1999 decided to put up Divine Desserts, a desserts place on Katipunan Ave. in Quezon City, to satisfy the sweet cravings of those who got addicted to her Double Fudge Cake.

“Don’t give your cake creations complicated names because even if they taste so good, customers won’t buy them. They’d rather spend on something they’re familiar with. If it’s a chocolate cake, say so,” shares Millet.

Double yummy: Bean & Baker’s perfectly moist Double Fudge Cake has layers of fudge in between which makes it oh-so-heavenly! Photos by WALTER BOLLOZOS

Divine desserts, indeed!

Divine Desserts started out as a village bakery in Ayala Heights. Word spread and soon, Millet started getting inquiries from people she hardly knew.

Customers keep coming back for Divine Desserts’ signature offerings such as the rum cake (a moist and dense butter pound cake topped with walnuts with a heavy dose of rum glaze), Chocolate Blackout Cake (chocolate fudge cake topped with caramel and chocolate fudge icing), and Cookie Caramel Cake (layers of vanilla chiffon with caramel cream filling topped with almond streusel and Swiss butter cream) made only from the freshest ingredients with no preservatives or additives.

Divine Desserts also got into the business of supplying cakes and pastries to more established cafes and restaurant.

“We want our customers to have the experience of ‘newly baked’ and ‘fresh out-of-the-oven’ bakery products. Our cakes are all handmade and made only from premium quality ingredients. The end result is as good as the ingredients used,” she adds.

To date, Divine Desserts supplies cakes and pastries to eight cafes/restos in the metro.

 Millet is so passionate about baking that she left for the US and took up culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of New York years after she got her Communication Arts degree from Ateneo de Manila University.

Grab a bite: The Cuban sandwich is too tempting to ignore.

“Having a college diploma was something my parents, Rene and Marides Buhain, are firm on. When I told them I wanted to take up culinary arts, they advised me to finish college first, which I did,” shares Millet.

Her stint at the Culinary Institute of New York not only honed Millet’s baking skills but also exposed her to various cuisines. In fact, she can now whip up anything her daughter Bea desires — from gourmet sandwiches to pizzas and pastas — from scratch.

Let’s dough it!

The success of her first business venture, Divine Desserts, inspired Millet to open Bean & Baker, where she now showcases not only her baked goodies but also her gourmet delights, and ready-to-eat/bottled food items.

“We opened late last year and it took us only three months to finalize everything. The inspiration behind Bean & Baker is our customers. They always ask us for a venue to try our signature items, which some only read about in food blogs or from their relatives and friends,” notes Millet.

SM Hypermarket in Pasig City is a good location as they get feedback instantly from their customers.

Say cheese: The blueberry cheesecake is topped with caramel bits for extra flavor and added texture.

“In just three months, we already have regular clients. The men would grab a slice of cake, or order a sandwich and pasta while waiting for their wives to complete their grocery shopping.  Sometimes they would park their shopping carts and have a meal before going home,” says Millet.

I heart the Double Grilled Cheese Sandwich with honey mustard. It has layers of cheese pimiento on English bread (that’s so soft it melts in the mouth) topped with sweetened almonds. It goes well with a cup of freshly brewed coffee or a glass of guava juice.

The Cuban sandwich filled with roast pork and ham, drizzled with Russian dressing then topped with homemade pickles, is too tempting to ignore. The sandwich is big enough to share with your spouse or kid.

Pasta perfect: The sausage penne pasta is a must-try at Bean & Baker.

As expected, Millet’s divine desserts — Double Fudge Cake, The Date Cake, Blackout Cake, and the Blueberry Cheesecake Streusel — top the menu. Divine Desserts is totally different from Bean & Baker in terms of food offerings.

“Also, since we (Divine Desserts) supply cakes to restaurants and cafes, our clients dictate the volume and cake flavors we need to produce. That’s not the case with Bean & Baker. Now, I can experiment more in the kitchen since we also serve pastas and sandwiches. I can bake the cake in the morning and sell it at noon. I will know right away how the market responds to it,” Millet explains.

Well, that just leaves us waiting in anticipation for more of the baker queen’s one-of-a-kind treats!

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Bean & Baker is at SM Hypermarket, Tiendesitas, Pasig City. For inquiries, call or SMS 0915-9575854.