Baked.cbr owner and baker, Chanel Roso. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
If you love scrolling through pictures of prettily decorated cakes and cookies, you have probably come across baked.cbr on Instagram. Think tall, pastel-hued cakes and uniquely flavoured cheesecake-stuffed cookies topped with themed biscuits and chocolates.
Owner and baker Chanel Roso began baking at the age of 12. Her mum gave her the freedom to experiment in the kitchen, baking cupcakes and decorating them.
“The moment I was allowed to watch YouTube when I was older, I would pore over the channels with girls making cakes, and I was just so inspired,” she says.
As a creative, Chanel says she loves the joy of sharing her creations. It’s a timeless art form that will always be used in society to mark big celebrations – weddings, birthdays and Christmas.
A trip to Europe turned out to be a game-changer, inspiring Chanel to think outside the box when it comes to flavours and decorating edible art.
“Europe is experimenting with very different flavour combinations; making simple things so elegant and over the top. For example, in London, there is a doughnut shop called Donutelier. They just sell doughnuts, but they add little flowers and toppings, turning them into beautiful pieces of art. It inspired me to see my own cakes as little pieces of art, right down to the packaging. I work hard for my cakes and cookies to look elegant and pretty—from the packaging to the taste.”
Cheesecake-filled cookies. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Narrowing down the flavours took some time. Chanel wrote out an extensive list of fun flavours that she wanted to incorporate into cakes and cookies. She experimented and taste-tested using some very fortunate friends and family to narrow down the original list to her staple menu.
“Now I have a very unique variety that showcases things I love,” she explains.
“My flavours are kind of more floral and sweeter – not heavy or overly rich, like chocolate. My cakes are gluten-free because I’m gluten-free. I use refined sugar in my cakes and cookies. I just use light milk instead of full cream milk, and light butter instead of heavy butter. These small adjustments mean that everyone can enjoy the treats without feeling guilty. This is important because feeling like you can only eat a tiny portion of your own birthday cake ruins a moment where you should be connecting and celebrating.”
A particular best-seller is the mini cake & flower box—a perfect gift for someone you love.
The mini cake and flower box. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
The cake range includes a coconut-mango cake: coconut sponge with coconut cream, fresh chopped mango in the centre, and mango icing. Perfect for an Aussie summer! Another favourite is strawberry matcha: a matcha sponge made from high-quality Kyoto matcha, filled with fresh strawberries, and topped with strawberry icing. A classic option is vanilla white chocolate raspberry.
I taste Chanel’s pistachio rose cake – pistachio sponge with a pistachio cream centre, finished with burgundy rose icing. The cake’s texture is firm yet tender. I love that the cake is not overly sweet, allowing the flavour to speak for itself. The pistachio cream centre brings an extra nutty punch.
In a market oversaturated with cookies and biscuits, Chanel’s cookies have a point of difference – they’re stuffed with cheesecake!
“Two of my favourite things combined,” Chanel says.
I taste Chanel’s four main cookie flavours. Cookies come in a minimum order of four. We get the mix box, featuring one of each flavour. The texture of the cookies is great, especially since they contain less sugar. Each bite is crisp and firm, yet without the brittle texture typically associated with a traditionally sugar-heavy cookie.
The Biscoff Dream fills a white chocolate & Biscoff cookie with Biscoff cheesecake. Biscoff-flavoured cheesecake tastes delicious.
The Strawberry Jam Dream pairs the flavours of white chocolate & strawberry cookie and vanilla cheesecake, while the pretty little strawberry cookie on top ties it all together just beautifully.
Pistachio Passion is a pistachio and white chocolate cookie with a pistachio cheesecake centre.
Matcha Heaven pairs a Matcha white chocolate cookie with vanilla cheesecake filling. There are earthy hits in each bite and it’s tempered by sweet white chocolate chunks. I like the touch of the Matcha KitKat on top, which is the sweetest part of the cookie.
Creating new cookie combinations brings Chanel joy. Check out what she has in store for the Christmas season!
Clockwise from top left: Dashers Delight, Candy Cane Lane, Santa’s Midnight Snack, The Gingerbread Man. Photo: provided
Order your own delicious cake or cookie box from Chanel by messaging her on Instagram.
