If you are one of those people who have all these business ideas that excite you when you daydream about them but terrify you when it’s time to make them happen, you must meet Karylle Abigail Mance, 32, Aby, as we call her.
Better yet, go try her Basque Burnt Cheesecake, any of her 19 varieties.
She’s new to the business—and she’s new to baking (she only started a few months into the pandemic last year), although let’s say she’s had a baptism of fire, having gone through the Christmas season while she was still wet behind the ears.
“I don’t have any background at all in baking,” says Aby. “I didn’t want to try it before the pandemic happened because I thought it was time-consuming, from the preparation to the actual baking itself.”
When the pandemic happened, it was big blow to their family. “I was worried. Money was going out, but none was coming in for months,” recounts Aby.
But then there was the Basque Burnt Cheesecake doing the rounds on the Internet. Aby was intrigued. She was interested because her kids, her brood of five ages 15, 12, 10, eight, and five, loved sweets, particularly brownies and chocolate cake.
So the pandemic was a blessing in that it gave Aby the opportunity she never had time for. Enter the trendy Burnt Basque Cheesecake, the crustless cheesecake that everybody called “the hottest dessert of 2020,” which to her, following it intently on social media, watching all the bakers having fun with it, coming up with all sorts of versions, seemed easy enough to bake. All she really wanted was to learn to bake something her children would like. In hindsight, although it never crossed her mind as she was doing her research online, Aby was in fact facing one of her greatest fears. “I guess I’ve always felt insecure about my skills in the kitchen even before the pandemic,” she admits. “I belong to a family where all the women know how to cook, which was something I felt I was never really good at.” I understand Aby completely. I know her mother personally, to whom food is a calling.
But with all the time in her hand, and also wanting to keep her family busy doing something new, Aby started to bake. “I wanted to do a mini version of this popular dessert because the Basque burnt cheesecakes I saw online were a bit pricey,” she says. “I wanted to craft something that was perfect for when you’re just craving for cheesecake and don’t want to buy a whole cake. So one day I made these small versions and decided to call them Baby Basque Burnt Cheesecakes.”
Out of her oven came the first four flavors—classic, ube, chocolate, and matcha—all made to suit her family’s tastes and her own. “And also because I thought they were fairly popular, except for the matcha,” adds Aby. “But I’m a matcha fan. When it became a business, I didn’t want to introduce our first batch of flavored cheesecakes without it.”
Yes, in no time at all, Aby’s mini experimentations in the kitchen became a full-blown eponymous business, which “I honestly never imagined,” she says. It was her husband Jerwin Allen Mance who pushed her to be entrepreneurial about it. Yet, it remains a family affair, with her husband and each of her five children involved in the operations. “When we decided to sell my baked products, my husband and I delegated tasks to our kids since we didn’t have anyone else with us,” she beams. “The kids help wash my baking equipment, form the pastry boxes that we use. They also let me know when someone’s at the door to pick up an order. It’s a group effort. Those first few months were challenging. I had to make time for baking and everything else, like doing the laundry, going to the grocery. On days I was too tired, my husband would cook and the boys would be in charge of the dishes and cleaning up.”
On top of those four original flavors, there are now 15 other flavors at Aby’s and bear with me because we need to mention them all here, all these flavors that should make you want to try an assorted dozen or more—mixed berries, classic strawberry, dark chocolate strawberry, milk chocolate strawberry, white chocolate almond strawberry, blueberry, Oreo, chocolate Oreo, cinnamon sugar, chocolate chip cookie dough, salted caramel almond, crème brûlée, winter melon, coffee, and mango graham.
And they’re really good. I’ve tried 12 of them, although I consider myself a stickler to the original stuff. They’re best with coffee after lunch, just brewed, not fancy, or sherry after dinner or sauvignon blanc, which should go perfectly with the varieties topped with strawberry, blueberry, and other berries.
They’re cheap, too. No minimum order. A solo box costs only ₱125, a box of two is by simple math double that price. You save ₱125 if you get a box of nine at ₱1,000 and P300 if you get a box of 12 at ₱1,200. Aby’s also has regular cheesecakes (strawberry, blueberry salted caramel almond, mixed berries, rainbow cakes, strawberry fault line cheesecake, and number cheesecake) on offer.
And the packaging? Classy. Muted gold with a bow, plus Aby adds a unique personal touch. “I put Bible verse cards on the boxes,” she says. “A lot of our customers they love the verses. The pandemic has been difficult for all of us and the verse cards help spread good vibes and keep the mood light and hopeful.”
Aby does bake with joy and she finds joy in baking. “Baking gives me hope in this pandemic,” she says. “It helps me cope with our stressful situation. It inspires me to keep on pushing myself even on the most difficult of days.”
When you’re happy doing what you’re doing, what you’re doing makes you happy. Now Aby’s, although still homemade, all baked in their Sikatuna home kitchen, is an establishment, with a pastry shop coming up in Kamias, Quezon City, officially opening in a week or two, where the products will be on display for walk-in customers. “With hope, when the pandemic is over, we can put up pastry shops in other areas, so that more people can try our cakes,” she says.
‘When I started baking, I burnt the first batch. I didn’t stop until I got it right. What I lacked in skill I made up for in perseverance.’
The business is now the cherry on Aby’s cake, not to say it has been a cakewalk, especially in December last year when meeting the demand practically stole Christmas away from her. She was too busy baking and baking and baking. “I slept through Noche Buena and Media Noche, too tired, and my family didn’t have the heart to wake me up,” she says with just a slight hint of regret.
The Basque Burnt Cake is a blessing, the way Aby sees it. “As soon as Aby’s started gaining momentum, it changed my whole outlook on our situation,” she beams. “We lost a lot because of this pandemic but it also taught me to appreciate everything I have right now and to discover something new about myself. If it weren’t for the pandemic and the home quarantine, I would never have tried baking at all. I would have never known that I would love it.”
Order through 09173150450, Aby’s on Facebook, @abyshomemade on Instagram, or foodpanda.