Delcie's still offering some of the healthiest cakes a decade on
Baker Delcie Lam celebrates 10th anniversary of selling healthy cakes with launch of recipe book
Ms Delcie Lam is proud that her bakery has been offering some of the healthiest cakes in Singapore for a decade now.
In 2011, the Health Promotion Board even gave Delcie's Desserts and Cakes the "Healthier Bakery" certification.
In its first year of operation, Ms Lam specialised in using organic ingredients.
A year later, she moved on to vegan baking, a skill she needed her six months to master.
Now, Delcie's Desserts and Cakes is famous for its vegan products that are free of dairy, sugar, gluten, cholesterol and trans fat, and are also ketogenic-, diabetes- and baby-friendly. Prices start from $50 for a five-inch round cake.
This year, Ms Lam is celebrating her shop's 10th anniversary with a recipe book launch, workshops, new product line extensions and a baking series alongside local celebrities like Jamie Yeo and Kate Pang.
She is also offering Mother's Day specials like cholesterol-free Raspberry & Pistachio Lemon and diabetes-friendly Rocher Chocolate cakes.
The 34-year-old mother of two girls aged two and one told The New Paper: "I'm really happy and relieved that we have survived 10 years in (this) industry, despite people telling me I was crazy back then.
"But it has never been about profits for me. I just want to help people eat as healthy as they can... without compromising on taste."
Ms Lam picked up baking by chance at the age of 12, after she won a cake mixer in a lucky draw.
A year later, a home economics class further ignited her passion for making cupcakes and kuehs.
This eventually led the former art director to open her homegrown pattiserie at Whampoa West in 2009.
Ms Lam persevered with her business through the personal challenges she faced.
When her mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, she started baking healthier by substituting regular ingredients with organic ones as her family were on an organic diet together.
Shortly after the bakery's launch, doctors put the terminally ill elderly woman on a strict sugar- and dairy-free diet.
This was close to her birthday, but Ms Lam's attempt to purchase a sugar-free cake did not succeed.
When her mother died three months after her diagnosis and a few days after her birthday, Ms Lam channelled all her energy into research for even healthier recipes that excluded the use of cane sugar, animal products and chemicals, enabling products to be vegan as a tribute to her mother and to help other patients.
She said: "My biggest regret is that I couldn't get my mum a cake for her to eat before she passed."
This episode served as a constant reminder for Ms Lam to continue with her pledge to eat healthy and help others - like her loyal customers - do the same.
This responsibility extends to sourcing ethically-grown ingredients, educating staff on food handling when baking with allergens and customising cakes for customers with complex allergies.
She said: "I always say - pay now for wholesome food, instead of doctor's bills later in life."
* With Father's Day and the June holiday around the corner, round up the kids and join Delcie Lam for a hands-on workshop to get an insight into healthy baking and bring home a Hazelnut Chocolate Cake and Nutty Ice Cream Dessert Cups. It takes place on June 15, 1pm to 4pm, at CulinaryOn@One Raffles Place. Visit www.delcies.com to find out more.
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