The sweet pull

BENGALURU: When Jeena John launched her baking venture last month, she knew she wanted to do something different with the cakes she made. So, when the 25-year-old came across videos and pictures of some ‘pull-me-up’ cakes online, she knew just what she wanted to specialise in. Picture this: A decadent chocolate cake surrounded snugly by a see-through plastic sheet. Accompaniments include a gooey ganache, which is settled neatly atop the cake.

And as you slowly pull up the sheet... Some bated breaths and an explosion, of all things saccharine, as the ganache oozes down and covers every inch of the cake. This new baking trend, rightly named the ‘pull-me-up’ cake, has been making waves online these days and it was only a matter of time before city bakers like John hopped aboard with their whisks and rolling pins. 

 “We’ve been cutting the same old cliched cakes from such a long time. I wanted something fun and experimental,” says John, who offers these cakes, complete with customised packaging, in variants of Nutella, chocolate, tres leches, vanilla chocolate, butterscotch and chocolate velvet. Depending on the size, these are priced between `530 and `2,200.

John also runs an Instagram account. The bio’s description seems to be apt for this trend as well: Cakes that excite your tummy and your eyes. Or as Mona Kalro calls her creation:

Little drama cakes. Soon after putting out pictures of a Twix pull-me-up cake on Instagram. , Kalro received 12 orders in a day alone. And now, the home baker has been playing around with new flavours including Oreo, biscoff and tiramisu. 

Heena Poonawala, who runs a home bakery called F2O Bakehouse, says these cakes are a hit with children. “I’ve had five customers order this for their kids’ birthdays. Besides the ‘wow’ factor, these pull-me-up cakes get brownie points for their texture. Soft and moist on the inside, gooey and chocolatey on the outside. What’s not to like?” says Poonawala, whose pull-me-up creations retail for `800 and upwards. 

Others aren’t waiting around for an event to dig into this trend. “Most of my customers haven’t ordered this cake for any special occasion. And since it’s isn’t too big a portion, they’ve ordered it just to try something exciting in these times,” says Kalro, who sells these cakes, which are around `1,000 for half a kilo.