Cakes by Hoogy
“Bake-down Breakdown”

I started baking for money in 2019. I was trying to bake one thing a week from a French cake book someone gave me for xmas. It was so hard, but amidst the chaos of the baking ‘zone’ I found a sweet spot in which to channel my obsessions. Cakes By Hoogy was/is my NEIS program-supported micro biz…that I honestly gave up on. Meeting the NEIS projected profit margin in a sharehouse, with a puppy, no car and no baking know-how felt gratuitous for a hobby that no one asked for. 6 months into my baking quest and I remembered that monetising the things you love is a terrible idea. Now I have a desk job, bake 2-3 cakes a month, and have been working on the slowest book of recipes ever, to be published by flower books in 2022 onwards…

Below is a glossary of cake hacks in the format of a cookbook index. They are some tips and tricks from my cookbook scribbles to motivate and encourage fellow cake enthusiasts, and demystify the world of baking.