Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
A baking passion takes off at 3
My love of baking began at the age of three, when I would help my mom make cakes, cookies, and various desserts for parties. I became increasingly interested in baking myself and did small projects like baking cookies for my class on Valentine’s Day or my teachers’ birthdays. It was such a fun hobby and I loved eating all my creations!
Because I was so young, I wasn’t able to use the oven or the stove myself, so I made a lot of chocolates. We started giving these as party favors for my birthday parties and our annual Diwali party. I loved experimenting with different flavors, like mint, raspberry, and s’mores. My favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip, so my friend and I tried to make our own peppermint extract. We thought we were being really smart when we collected mint leaves from the garden and pulled out Mom’s super spicy chili flakes. Luckily, mom entered the kitchen at the right time and swiftly took the chili flakes away from us before we got any in our eyes or mouths. We have wised up since then!
‘Poop emojis are my signature cupcakes’
I first turned my hobby into a business when I was nine years old by participating in the Mountain View Children’s Business Fair and a Children’s Business Fair in Burlingame, which were great lessons in pricing and time management; I baked over 200 cupcakes for each of the fairs. I was so excited about the money I made at the fairs that I even decorated my little treasure chest!
The fairs also helped me improve my mental math skills as I had to exchange money. I also kept a secret cheat sheet – my mom didn’t know – of what I thought would become common orders, and how much change I would have to give back.
Soon after, I got my first real order. It was for my friend’s birthday, and I was both excited and nervous that she would trust me with such an important order (you know how picky a seven-year-old can be!).
I spent two days after school making these cupcakes, and my mom and I worked hard to make sure they looked perfect. Guess what the order was? Emoji cupcakes! The poop emoji cupcakes became my signature cupcakes with every kid wanting them for their birthday. I must have made hundreds of them! It’s still my least favorite emoji, though.
I remember being so nervous to charge my friend $1 per cupcake; who would pay me so much money? Little did I know they were worth a lot more!
I saved up all the money I made and I still do to this day. At 11 years old, I opened a bank account for the first time, which made me feel very proud!
Mango lassi cupcakes & paan trouffles
Slowly, I started receiving more orders. I began branching out into cakes, ice creams, and desserts – mostly for children’s birthday parties. It has been almost six years since I officially started my business, and I have had the opportunity to make desserts for 40th, 50th and 75th birthday parties, baby showers, Diwali, Holidays and corporate events.
In the summer of 2023, due to popular demand, I ran my first baking camp and taught my campers how to make desserts such as brownies, cookies, ice cream, cupcakes, and ended the week with a Nailed It! style competition.
My inspiration stems from two powerful sources: my mom, who not only taught me the art of baking but also runs her own business, and my love for baking shows like Kids Baking Championship and Nailed It! I loved watching these shows with my parents and I always pretended to be on the shows when I was baking (Of course, I always won).
Growing up as an Indian-American, my mom always encouraged me to make Indian and fusion desserts, especially for Diwali. My mango lassi cupcakes and paan truffles are very popular at Diwali parties. Last year, I had a Diwali bake sale over the long weekend and sold over 400 pieces of dessert! This included paan truffles, gulab jamun trifle cups, and, of course, mango lassi cupcakes.
Another milestone was hosting my first cupcake decorating party. I was nervous to lead over 20 children who had never held a piping bag before! But luckily, I had my friend to help and once we started teaching the kids, the fear faded, and it turned into a fun and rewarding experience. Seeing how excited the kids were was heartwarming.
‘School and business can get tiring’
While it is exhilarating to be able to follow a passion, it requires discipline and being okay with the inevitable long hours of hard work. Balancing school with my business is tiring. I have put in many late nights after tough weeks at school, but it has taught me valuable lessons in time management and perseverance.
A typical school day for me usually means I come back from school and immediately start baking. When I was in middle school, I took orders all through the week. It meant I would come home to start baking. On many days, I also have to leave for sports practice, come home, finish up the order, and do my homework. Now that I’m in high school, I try to keep most of my orders for Fridays and the weekends.
While baking takes a long time, it’s important to learn how to maintain quality while baking fast, because I don’t have unlimited time in a day. It can get stressful to meet school deadlines, especially if they are early in the morning, as I am often up until midnight or longer working on an order. It can be challenging when an order is very detailed or large. During COVID-19, I stayed up many nights baking for different causes, including Black Lives Matter and Ukraine fundraisers.
These experiences are very valuable to me as they showed me that my baking can have a great impact beyond just delighting people with my creations.
Embrace challenges, enjoy the journey
I’m not sure if I would want to pursue baking as a career in the future. While I love baking very much, it is a hands-on career that is physically and mentally exhausting, and I would not want to lose my passion by burning out in my future career. Right now, though, I’m focusing on enjoying every moment and learning as much as possible. Whether or not I pursue a career in baking, I will always value the experiences I have gained.
To other young dreamers out there, my advice is to pursue your passion with dedication and creativity. Embrace the challenges, celebrate your successes—big or small—and most importantly, enjoy every moment of the journey. If there were one piece of advice I would want to share, it’s that you must be passionate about your business. Entrepreneurship comes with many ups and downs, and at the end of the day, only your passion for what you are creating will motivate you through them all.
I run my baking camp usually in late June. But don’t worry, I have another one coming up! I will be running a business and entrepreneurship camp called Project BUILD with my friend the week of July 21st.
To see my creations and learn more about how to order or attend my summer camp, check out my website or reach out to me via my contact page.