Radio Journalist Sells Homely, Tasty Loaf Cakes Branded "Heng Sweet Kek"

Andrea, her partner and his brother all work in the media industry and reported on the recent General Elections for work. When Andrea floated the idea of doing the cake business, it was her partner’s brother who came up with the name, and it is pretty perfect given Andrea’s family name and her Chinese-Malay heritage (“kek” being the Malay word for “cake”). “I will take it upon myself to be the more attractive HSK in this town!” jokes Andrea. Would she consider sending Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat her sweet cakes? “Yes!”, she quips.

“I like things that are hearty and homely and unpretentious,” says Andrea, who says that the only tedious things she ever makes are pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya. “I don’t like cupcakes and layered cakes. I am really not a pretty cakes kind of person.” That loaf cakes are absolutely fuss-free to make is another reason to love. “Also, loaf cakes keep well both on the dining table or in the fridge. The whole family can enjoy it over a few days – nothing goes to waste,” says Andrea of her bakes. The 21-cm loaves from this single-woman-operation are 600g to 700g each (with the lemon cake being the lightest and chocolate the heaviest), and serves about 10 people.

Only eight loaf cakes are available each week. Andrea starts taking orders on Thursdays, bakes them on Sunday mornings from the kitchen of her HDB apartment in Bukit Merah (not East Coast, ahem). For freshness, the cakes are immediately delivered in the afternoon (the price includes complimentary islandwide delivery) on the same day – sometimes by Andrea herself. “Thanks to my mum, I always see loaf cakes as an afternoon treat, enjoyed with a cup of tea, with pinky finger stuck out,” says Andrea. “So I deliver them just in time for afternoon tea.”

There are many reasons behind the super limited quantities. Firstly, Andrea would like to keep her day job and her sanity: “You know, I would still like to have a life, go to East Coast (Park), have a plan…”. Secondly, she wants to maintain the quality of her cakes by controlling the production quantity. “When I bake for friends and family, it’s all done with a lot of love and attention – that is how I like to bake for my customers, too,” says Andrea. “A lot of times when home-made items are commercialised, the taste of love and joy is gone. My objective is not to turn this into a second career, but really just to spread joy, so I am not going to sell [my bakes] in large quantities.” If you are wondering: yes, she does make some money out of this venture, even if it is done purely for fun.

Andrea might open up additional slots soon. She might also increase the quantity to nine loaves for each batch, but 18 loaves are about as many keks she’d bake in a week.

Andrea has just three loaf cakes on the menu. And while the Ginger Pisang Emas sounds super local, the cake actually evolved from something Andrea learnt while attending a master class by Irish TV chef Rachel Allen. “This was a mainstay in my family home before I moved out,” shares Andrea. “My mum likes the cake because of the ginger, and always asked for it. Once when she wanted the cake, all we had at home was pisang emas (Lady Finger bananas) – which we use to make jemput jemput (Malay deep-fried banana fritters), which my father likes. So, we decided to substitute it for Cavendish banana.” Andrea says that the small pisang emas has a honeyed sweetness, which adds to the appeal of the cake. And a new recipe was born.

The cake (or rather, banana bread as Andrea tells us) has a good spring to it and Andrea doesn’t skimp on her ingredients, resulting in big, honest-to-goodness flavours. We especially love the zing and warmth from the ginger.

Using Australian chef Damien Pignolet’s recipe, Andrea creates a confection as moist as a pudding, and best eaten – we feel – with a spoon rather than a fork. Andrea drenches the cake with a syrup made of freshly squeezed lemon juice, giving it extra hit of tang in spots.

The chocolate loaf cake recipe is modified from a recipe on New York food blog Smitten Kitchen. While simply a plain chocolate cake devoid of chips and chunks or adornments and decorations, it is a really good cake that's robust in flavour and tender in texture.

Apart from the three mainstays, special flavours will also be introduced periodically. For the month of August, Andrea is offering a Nutty Gula Melaka ($50) – a palm sugar cake studded with pecan and brushed with a salted gula Melaka drizzle.

To order, drop Andrea a DM at @hengsweetkek or Whatsapp 9154-8827. ​​​​​​​

Photos: Dhany Osman/ Koh Yuen Lin