Sweets from the skies

AFTER 17 years of flying around the world, former flight attendant Kongkrid Ninwichian decided to settle down at home and turn his hobby into a business. He opened his Cake Code Cafe, which is conveniently located just opposite the main office of his former employer, Thai Airways, in 2011 and has earned himself a justifiably good reputation for his healthy cakes, easy-to- eat Japanese fusion dishes and terrific service. 

He made the decision to go professional, he says, after baking sweet treats – mainly butter cake, chiffon cake and cupcakes – during his leisure time and selling them to various bakeries in the area. He has since expanded his menu and offers a variety of fruity layered cakes, fresh coconut juice and a selection of quick dishes. 

“I started dreaming of having my own business when I was a child and the idea was further reinforced by seeing all the sophisticated food and patisserie items produced by Thai Airways’ catering department. I learned the basics with my aunt, who operated a home-made bakery on Soi Thonglor for decades. I learned more from the Internet and adapted and created recipes in my style,” Kongkrid says. 

Cake Code is furnished with simple wooden tables and chairs. It seats 30 and can be converted into a multifunction room for Kongkrid’s Sunday Baking workshops, where he demonstrates how to prepare butter cake, muffin, cheesecake and brownies.

He currently offers more than 30 different kinds of butter cakes, chiffon cakes and cheesecakes using olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil and mineral water to give a melt-in-the-mouth texture to his creations. 

Flavours include chocolate mint, Swiss dark chocolate, pistachio, green tea, very young coconut, Ferrero choco, Oreo choco and strawberry shortcake. Prices start at Bt95. 

“My cakes have low fat, low sugar, no margarine, no trans fat and no preservatives. I do reduce the quantities of butter, sugar and cream but use enough of each to maintain the flavour. Cake Code caters to health-conscious people who want to enjoy a dessert without feeling guilty,” Kongkrid says. 

A new addition to the menu is Cake Code Dome, which is perfect for sharing. It’s essentially a layered chiffon cake with fresh coconut meats at the base. The dome is a coconut whose shell is removed but fresh juice still remains inside. It’s available at the special price of Bt290 through the end of July. 

“I use two kinds of coconut – Maprao Namhom Tae and Maprao Namhom Kon Jeep from Amphawa in Samut Songkhram – to make my signature Very Young Coconut cake, Cake Code Dome and coconut water. Maprao Namhom is the best because it has a creamy texture and sweet, aromatic juice,” Kongkrid says.

Other best sellers include Load of Vitamin C (Bt100), a layered chiffon cake topped with kiwi, strawberry and Sunkist orange slices and refreshing passion fruit sauce and Cheery Choco (Bt120), a full-flavour chocolate cake filled with fresh cream and adorned with fresh cherries.

Fresh drinks that go well with the desserts include Coconut Almond Blend, coconut juice mixed with almond and syrup (Bt75), and Coco Cof (Bt85), a blend of coffee and coconut juice. 

For a quick lunch, Kongkrid offers Tuna Japanese Curry Rice (Bt95) cooked with potato, carrot and onion and decorated with green apple slices and Khao Pad Nam Liap Song Krueng (Bt95), stir-fried minced pork with Chinese black olive served with rice, chilli, lemon and deep-fried garlic. Both come with a cup of soup. 

  

 

PERFECT PATISSERIE

Cake Code Cafe is on Vibhavadi Soi 22, opposite Thai Airways headquarters. 

It’s open Monday to Friday from 7am t 6pm and Saturday from 11am to 5pm. 

Call (089) 030 6748 or visit the “CakeCodeCafe” page on Facebook.