Blinded In One Eye At 31, Ex-W Hotel Chef Sells Ondeh Ondeh Cake From Home
Her delish bakes help fund her annual $40K medication for a rare autoimmune disorder.
Those tucking into the sweet creations from one-year-old home-based outfit Ade’s Homebake might not know this — but each cake and cookie is part of a young woman’s fight against an incurable disease. Everything was going great in Adeline Ng’s life two years ago: she was happily employed as the pastry chef at five-star One Farrer hotel, and had just given birth to her first child. But everything came crashing down when she was diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) – a rare autoimmune disorder that affects one in 100,000 people. She was only 31 years old then. Autoimmune disease is a condition that causes a person’s immune system – which normally guards it against bacteria and viruses – to attack the body instead. This includes the optic nerves (which results in blindness).
Afraid to seek help initially
While grappling with the challenges of being a new mum, she started noticing that she was losing vision in one eye. “I was really scared,” recalls the soft-spoken lady. “I didn’t know what was happening.” It was only a week later that she sought a doctor’s opinion, and was subsequently diagnosed with NMO. At that point, her son was only one month old. What followed suit – as the doctors tried to get the incurable condition under control – was frequent hospitalisation. “I would be going in every three months or so, sometimes for as long as two weeks,” she shares.
Lost 15 years of hard work in one fell swoop
Apart from permanent loss of vision in her right eye, she also lost her job. Fascinated by cooking since young, Adeline enrolled in SHATEC straight after her ‘O’ Levels. After graduation, she started working in the pastry kitchens of hotels such as Orchard Hotel, The Fullerton and Capella, and was made pastry chef at W Hotel, which also sponsored her for advanced pastry training in Switzerland. Her last position was as pastry chef at One Farrer. It took 15 years of working at these hotels for Adeline to slowly rise through the ranks, but her illness robbed all that away from her.
Rising above depression
The subsequent emotional distress Adeline suffered was great, but she rose out of depression with the help of family and friends. “Seeing my son grow up helped to push me forward,” says Adeline (pictured above with her son and hubby). Her support group also includes her husband, who works as an indoor skydiving instructor supervisor at iFly, and members of the iFly community who have tried Adeline’s baked goods. “They liked my desserts and encouraged me to start a home baking business,” says Adeline.
While she used to create fantastical festive set ups such as a glass house for showcasing the Christmas bakes at Orchard Hotel and OTT Halloween dessert spreads for W Hotel, she now sells down-to-earth whole cakes, cookies and tarts from her flat. Ade’s Homebake (@adeshomebake) officially started in March 2019, almost a year after being diagnosed with NMO.
Medication costs $40K a year
It helps too that Adeline is now on new medication that has helped to stabilise her condition. “I haven’t been hospitalised for a whole year! That is something to celebrate!” she shares joyfully. However, the medication costs a hefty $40,000 a year, so she can’t afford to stay idle. Ade’s Homebake is thus more than a means to keep her occupied, but also an important source of income for their young family.
Pro touches
Going from enormous 13L-capacity industrial mixers in the professional kitchen to her 1.5L mixer at home took some getting used to. “It meant having to repeat the baking process many more times to fulfil my orders,” says Adeline. “It also limited the quantities I could produce each day.” When she first started, Adeline could make a maximum of 20 of her signature ondeh ondeh cake each day, but has since expanded her capacity to 35. However, Adeline maintains the same standards as she did in the professional kitchen, especially when it comes to sourcing for ingredients. “I work with the same suppliers as I did at the hotels, so I have access to some things that most home bakers might not have,” reveals Adeline. “For example, the pandan essence I use is a natural essence rather than an artificial flavouring, and isn’t something you can get from a bake shop.”
“Adult sweetness”
Those familiar with KitKat’s limited-edition creations sold in Japan might know the term “otona no amasa”, which translates to “sweetness for adults”. Adeline also likes to label her creations as less-sweet confections catered to adult taste buds. “I read about this term on a Japanese blogger’s site, and this is my USP. I want my cakes to be not too sweet, so that you can actually have a second bite!”
Ondeh Ondeh Cake, from $32 for 600g
While working at One Farrer hotel, Adeline developed a recipe for an ondeh ondeh cake – so she decided to recreate a lighter version of it when she started her home-baking business. “I think this version is nicer,” she says with a giggle.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ade's Homebake (@adeshomebake) on Jul 29, 2019 at 11:45pm PDT
Each cake is stacked with layers of pandan sponge cake, desiccated coconut and gula Java (Indonesian palm sugar which Adeline says has a fuller and less cloying taste than gula Melaka). To make the overall taste lighter than the usual ondeh ondeh cake, Adeline also uses fresh cream instead of buttercream. The cake proved to be a crowd favourite and became the signature item for Ade’s Homebake. In fact, celebrity blogger Mr Miyagi is also a fan.
Photo: chaneeyap/ Instagram
A durian version using Mao Shan Wang from family’s plantation
Building upon the popularity of the ondeh ondeh cake, Adeline went on to create a version layered with durian for Father’s Day last year. She uses pure Mao Shan Wang flesh for the cake, and doesn’t skimp on the good stuff either: there is 300g of durian pulp in a 600g cake. “My extended family from my mother’s side has a durian plantation business in Muar. One of my cousins brings the durians into Singapore and I get my supply of Mao Shan Wang and D24 durian flesh from him," she says.
Durian Ondeh Ondeh Cake, from $50 for 600g
The Durian Ondeh Ondeh Cake is a happy hybrid that reminds us both of Goodwood Park Hotel’s delectable Mao Shan Wang mousse cake and homebaker Chris Mok (@beelibakes) ethereal ondeh ondeh cake (which this writer thinks sets the gold standard for ondeh ondeh cakes). Even though it didn’t wow us as much as the other two cakes did at first taste, this is undoubtedly a well-executed stack with excellent balance. The fluffy sponge, light fresh cream, finely textured desiccated coconut and creamy durian pulp all came together perfectly to form an overall light texture. And even though adding the intensely sweet durian to a cake already featuring palm sugar could easily tip the flavour balance over, it’s just sweet enough, with a slight hint of the MSW’s characteristic bitterness to make it “adult” tasting. “I don’t blend the durian flesh, so you can really taste the pulp,” says Adeline.
Durian Pengat, $20 for 10 cups (8 DAYS Pick!)
The D24 flesh Adeline gets from her cousin is cooked with fresh coconut milk and a bit of palm sugar into a creamy durian pengat. Hers is much thicker than the traditional version that is usually eaten with bread or glutinous rice. In fact, it’s pretty much like eating pure durian puff filling. Rather than blended into a homogenous smooth texture, the durian flesh retains its pulpy texture. Served chilled, each scoop of Adeline’s durian pengat is a dream come true for durian enthusiasts – it’s like eating a perfectly ripe fruit without having to deal with the seeds.
Chendol cake soon?
Ade’s Homebake has been pretty popular so far, and Adeline has had to rope in her mother to help with large orders. “The biggest order I got for a day was for 500 pieces of mini fruit tarts, 30 boxes of bite-sized ondeh ondeh cakes, 30 boxes of cookies and another 200 cups of durian pengat!” she recalls. She is often so busy pushing out orders that she hardly has time to do R&D — but she's toying with the idea of offering a chendol cake in future. “However, I am super busy with making the ondeh ondeh cake right now,” she confesses. “After the ban on home-bakers was lifted (during the Circuit Breaker), business has been good – even better than before. I guess when people are stuck at home with nothing to do, they can only think of what to eat!”
Baking with vision loss
Adeline talks about her life and work calmly and nonchalantly, as if her experiences are nothing out of the ordinary. She emphasises that her daily life isn’t much impacted by the loss of vision in one eye. But when she says matter-of-factly: “Well, you never know, one day I might lose [sight in] my other eye as well,” one can’t help but admire her resilience and strength at living with the burden of such uncertainty. Yet, she doesn’t want anybody to buy her wares out of sympathy – but by their own merit. And based on the durian ondeh ondeh cake and durian pengat we tried, you really don’t need any reason to order them apart from the fact that they are so delicious. Besides ondeh ondeh cakes, her other popular item is the Sea Salt Chocolate Cookie (from $15 for 10 individually-packed pieces, pictured).
The details
Whatsapp orders to 9855-4339 at least a week in advance. Self-collection is at 477a Upper Serangoon View, but Adeline is also happy to arrange for delivery. “I know of many people who have lost their jobs. The delivery work is passed directly to them and they get the full fee – in times like this we should just help one another out,” she says. https://www.facebook.com/Ades-Homebake-313799779324859
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