My sister-in-law Irish makes the best cakes. I mean, let’s face it: it can be quite hard to find good and affordable customized cakes in Manila, but every time I see a cake that Irish posts nowadays, I take a break on my Timeline to marvel at her creation and mentally taste it in my head.
And it’s interesting how this started. In 2011, Irish started baking cupcakes in a tiny convection oven that was sent to her – for their personal consumption during weekends. She then started to bring some of her goodies to work (she was a nursing clinical instructor back then) until orders started coming in.
After she got inspired by the vlog ‘Joy of Baking’, Irish shares that she stayed up late at night baking while watching instructional videos. Her new reliable Tefal hand mixer helpers things along. “As orders began to pile up and my knowledge about the craft began to grow, baking soon became a part of my daily routine and grew from there,” she shares.
And that’s when all the dessert-gasm photos started to pop up. It started off fairly innocently with a few cupcakes here and there – maybe an occasional small cake. And then there were more cakes. And more. And more. Fast forward to today and I don’t think a week goes by where I don’t marvel at one of her creations. Here are some of my favourites so far:
Being a Game of Thrones fan, this is my current birthday cake dream.
Star Wars cupcakes FTW!!!
My Kuya helped with the art of this cool Beatles cake. 😀
Awesome drip cake!
Irish shares that she always believes in quality over quantity. Her specialty cakes include her chocolate-caramel moist cake, red velvet and carrot cake. She also supplies a local coffee shop in Davao with her best-selling cheese muffins. Irish also makes fancy five-tier wedding and debut fondant cakes, though the output will be limited to the client’s budget, the equipment and the manpower at her disposal.
“My baking adventure is still a work in progress and each order is a learning experience,” she says. “I, however, am not into baking for the profit entirely. I enjoy what I do and it is also somewhat therapeutic. Baking has allowed me to showcase my creative and artistic side I never knew existed.”
Irish sees baking as more of a passion than a career. “his is why I go at my own pace, taking orders at my convenience and never compromise personal and family time,” she explains.
“Being a baker is a part of me, but it does not define me as a person. I am still a wife and mother above all else.”
Look at the detail put into this edible rose!
And this peony!
A lot of my friends who tried their hand at baking gave up pretty quickly because they weren’t happy with the initial output.
Irish explains that she was never in it for the money in the first place – and this is possibly what truly sets her apart. “It is convenient for me to be baking at home, so it feels less like work because I’m still spending time with my family even if i am baking and taking orders,” she shares.
Irish does believe that some people are born with the passion for it.
She points out:Â “If you love what you’re doing, you invest time and effort to perfecting your craft. That’s why there are a lot of flash in the pan bakers who quit as soon as they realize it’s hard work. Because they were in it for the wrong reasons, like instant profit and/or being part of a fad.”
Check out these adorable Minnie Mouse cupcakes!
Adorable Minions cake that kids will love!
This Avengers cake is too cool for words!
If you’re interested in ordering some baked goodies from Irish feel free to send her a message on Facebook. Please take note that it’s on a first-order, first-serve basis, though, and she can’t really accommodate rush bulk orders since she doesn’t have a staff and mostly does everything on her own. :p You definitely won’t regret ordering from her, though. I think her work speaks for itself. 🙂
Irish Rodriguez
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/irish.a.rodriguez
Instagram: @irish_rodriguez
