Padma Renjith whips up treats at Buttercup Bakehouse

The day starts early for Buttercup Bakehouse at Sasthamangalam. The shelves are lined with jars and slices of cake, baked fruit yoghurt, sandwiches and pies. Founder Padma Renjith comes out of the kitchen smiling, yet a tad apprehensive.

Seating ourselves in the brightly done up room of the bakehouse — a cheery yellow; aquamarine and white being the signature colours of the enterprise, the effect is instantly therapeutic.

Jar cakes   | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA

Padma is no stranger to the world of butter and batter. The veteran baker is a different person as we start talking, her eyes lighting up as she recounts a journey of 30 years that has led to this charming bakehouse that draws a motley crowd of women, college students and children among others all through the day. “Teaching is my first love. My children initiated the idea of the bakehouse since it is something I have always wanted,” she says. Padma’s is a popular name for baking classes in the city. It is something she has handled with élan during her days in Dubai and since 2013, in Thiruvananthapuram.

“Everything on the menu is made in-house. It is what I would cook at home for the family, from the pizzas to the desserts,” she adds. Padma’s culinary adventure was never part of her plans when she moved to Dubai with her husband in the 90s. A love for cookery and craft led to attending classes and on spotting the student’s enthusiasm, her teacher Poornima Subramaniam encouraged her to begin teaching immediately. So, from sugar crafting to baking and on request from friends, cooking, Padma found a new love in teaching. At the bakehouse, the new venue for her classes too, Padma’s children Pooja and Rahul manage administration and front-end while she is in charge of backend operations.

The jar cakes in flavours of red velvet, vanilla and chocolate are already a hit with customers but that doesn’t keep Padma from adding new flavours to the counter every week. Ironically, Padma is allergic to milk and eggs so her family is the first to rate her experiments in the kitchen. Her jar of Sinfully Yours is a mix of four cakes and three sauces – that’s Red Velvet, chocolate and butterscotch, topped with cheesecake in a swirl of sauces — chocolate, white chocolate and butterscotch. Sinful enough?

A self-confessed perfectionist, she says it reflects in her work, including that as a teacher. “It is something I learnt from my teacher, to share the nitty-gritties. A majority of my students are now home bakers.” Though not much has changed in the basic art of baking and trends are bound to change, Padma says there’s a general leaning towards decoration whereas taste has taken a backseat. “People are now keen on how it looks rather than the taste. Even wedding cakes are not the same anymore. The tiers are dummies while the flavour of cake also depends on the couple’s choice rather than the traditional fruit cake.”

Cupcake at Buttercup   | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA

One would think that in the age of Google, cooking can be picked up with step-by-step instructions over the internet but Padma has come to see the disadvantages too.

“Baking is a science and there’s a reason why certain basic techniques are necessary. Many self-taught bakers who have attended my classes see for themselves how there’s more to it than what you see in a video or on a page.” While overseeing daily production at the bakehouse Padma is now looking forward to her next class. “Nothing compares to teaching for me,” she beams.