Packet-made cakes with that “really odd taste” bugged Megan Henry, creator of the beautifully crafted Littlesweet Baking brand of cake mixes.


With three kids nipping at her ankles, Ms Henry, a keen home baker, decided to hit the market with her own dry mixes that not only eliminated the common fillers and substandard ingredients found in mainstream supermarket brands but also tasted just like home-baked cakes and slices.

“It’s been baby steps, ” Ms Henry, right, said from her Hilton kitchen.

“I needed a big chunk of money to get the packaging done right and I was really fortunate to receive the finance I needed through a crowdfunding project . . . my loyal customers who believed in me made that happen.”

Crowdfunding is a fairly new concept in Australia but it works on the basis of customers, family or friends financing a new business venture to get off the ground.

The packaging is sublime and inside the handy metal canisters is a range that includes Belgian chocolate brownie mix, “old-school” chocolate and vanilla bean cake mixes and two buttercream frosting mixes — chocolate and vanilla bean.

There is also a frozen chocolate-chip cookie dough available from select outlets such as The Black Truffle in North Fremantle and Puck Espresso in Bicton.

“We shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality for convenience and Littlesweet is about baking at home . . . keeping it simple and real, ” Ms Henry said.

And delicious they are. Customers are raving while unsuspecting recipients often ask for the recipe.

“That’s the ultimate compliment, ” she said.

Available online at littlesweetbaking.com.au or try the Ingredient Tree, Churchlands, Divine Harvest, Toodyay, and Solomon Merchants, Albany, or alternatively phone distributor Daniel Jackson at Artisan Foods on 0426 213 368.

 

© The West Australian