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The batman of baking

Hindustan Times | ByRoshni Bajaj Sanghvi, Mumbai
Apr 20, 2013 02:37 AM IST

Is it a car or is it a cake shop? Both actually. Sweetish House Mafia dishes out treats from the back of an automobile.

Sweetish House Mafia
Where: All over the city. Follow @SweetishHMafia on Twitter, or
check
www.facebook.com/
SweetishHouseMafia for updates
Cost: Cookies and biscuits are usually Rs 70 per bag of about 100gm; cupcakes and brownies are Rs 60 a piece
Started on: April 3

HT Image
HT Image

For the past couple of weeks, a white Tata Nano loaded with sweet treats has been visiting neighbouhoods across the city, gathering fans in its wake. On Twitter, @SweetishHMafia describes itself as the ‘secret purveyor of all things sweet’ and has 271 followers; its Facebook page has 480.

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We tracked down the car on its fourth run, bought some of that day’s wares — shortbread pinwheels swirled with Nutella, called Inner Circles — and convinced the staff to give us the number of the woman baker behind the enterprise, promising to maintain her treasured secret identity on the condition that she told us everything else we want to know. Here’s what we found out...

The woman behind Sweetish House Mafia (let’s call her SHM) was an investment banker in NYC. She’s always had a huge sweet tooth and learned to bake alongside her mother. Soon enough, her friends fell in love with her wares and encouraged her to start selling her cookies and cupcakes. SHM says her concept gives her “the freedom to experiment, and to stick to her ideals of taste, quality and fun”.

As for the anonymity, SHM says she likes the idea of being ‘The Batman of Baking’. The name Sweetish House Mafia came when she was sitting with her family, discussing her concept.

This was just after electronica band Swedish House Mafia’s concert in the city. “My brother-in-law suggested the name as a joke, but we all found it so funny that I decided I simply had to stick with it,” she says. “It just sounded right.”

SHM’s first pop-up, at Carter Road, comprised only 50 pieces of ‘Nutella-filled chocolate chip cookies with a touch of sea salt’, because she didn't know what the response would be like to the whole idea. But word had spread on Twitter and they were all gone in just 20 minutes.

The menu so far comprises the Nutella-filled cookies, Nutella Inner Circles, and caramel cupcakes. Coming soon are red velvet cupcakes, champagne/lemon cupcakes, peanut butter cookies, s’mores cookies, and cinnamon graham crackers.

SHM does not currently take orders or retail at stores. “I like the flexibility of making the sweet treats I want, in the quantities I want, and also when I want,” she says. “I can take the risk of a batch not coming out right. And my only responsibility is to the people I sell to directly,” she adds.

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