Home baker turned entrepreneur raises bar for Indian baking

Food is universal. Food is personal. We laugh and cry for it, and if it’s tasty desserts and cakes we’re speaking of, we’re ready to even fight for it. That’s what Sheena Singhania specialises in.

Singhania started baking when she was eight years old, impressing her family by creating new and artistic goodies. Brought up in Shillong, Meghalaya, her passion for baking led her to pursue baking and cake artistry as a career.

As a child, Singhania used to spend a lot of time with her mother in the kitchen, paying attention to the details. She moved to Delhi to pursue her B.Com. Honors degree from Sri Ram College of Commerce. She soon realised that she wasn't the kind of person who’d be satisfied with a desk job. She chose to go to the Culinary Institute of America, New York, to learn what makes her truly happy, baking.

“Today, I run Pearl Boutique Bakery Café, a bakery named after my mother Pearl, the person who taught me how to sift flour for the first time. My vision is to eventually have a lot of beautiful places for people to come and enjoy our food, plated desserts and all natural ice creams,” says Singhania.

Singhania caters for weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. She is known for her edible life-like sugar flowers. She creates a high volume of artisanal cakes that are preservative free, margarine free, and have no artificial flavours. Her background in nutritional studies caters to the specific nutritional needs of individual customers leaving them delighted with the end-product.

Singhania incorporates her attention to detail and is able to produce a variety of flavors from her unique and thoughtful cake and icing combinations that are way beyond the standard offerings. Her bakery creations range from Rs.3,000 - Rs.6,000 per kg for customized cakes. She has even sold 24 carat edible gold plated multi-tiered wedding cakes ranging between Rs.8-10 lakh for a cake, making her exclusive.

In a short span of time Singhania has earned herself a reputation. Recently conferred with the prestigious “Cake Artist of the Year 2019” and “Young Rising Chef - All India 2019” awards, it is safe to say that in India, Singhania has raised the bar for the baking and cake artistry.

“I wish to design cakes matching bridal outfits and to be known as one of the greatest cake designers our country has seen. Being an artist that brings a smile to everyone’s face on their special day keeps me motivated to do even better. I strive to make cakes that taste as good as they look. Our slogan being, ‘A slice of art with a touch of glamour’, I wish to extend our offerings to multiple cities and eventually countries in the coming few years,” concludes Singhania.

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.