Erika from Sumopocky describes herself as a baker of edible art. “The ingredients are my canvas, the whisk is my paintbrush. Baking is my therapy,” she writes on her website, somewhat poetically. Her website offers a collection of recipes that are simple, unique, and very much delightful—anything from macaron towers to Japanese-inspired cakes and decadent fudgy brownies.
Based in Singapore, it was a half-year stay in Tokyo that initially inspired Erika to recreate the delicious and very cute Japanese desserts she had eaten there. Thus began her baking journey, which she documented on Sumopocky in the hopes of inspiring others to bake too.
“I embarked on this baking journey by learning how to make macarons,” she further explained in an interview with SimplySxy. “It was an ambitious choice of dessert for a beginner with close to zero experience. While I had to go through multiple batches of failed macarons, my first successful batch marked the launch of my baking endeavours.”
According to Erika, in retrospect, these initial failures were beneficial in setting the foundations of basic baking techniques. “From then on, it was much easier to approach other recipes,” she notes. “Now and then, I still experience failures in the kitchen. But that is fine! It is part and parcel and helps me to grow as a baker.”
Returning to the therapeutic qualities of baking, Erika explains that the process of mixing the ingredients together in an electric mixer or kneading the dough as though it were a stress-ball, keeps her calm and allows her inner artist to thrive. And when sailing is smooth, witnessing the dessert come miraculously together, using plain ingredients only, is beyond satisfying.
“Inspiration comes from a non-exhaustive list of sources,” says Erika. “From fellow bakers online, to gourmet magazines, to trips to bakeries and patisseries. Sometimes, inspiration strikes from the most unexpected places such as nature, the city skyline, a piece of art, a beautiful film, or even a well-written novel.”
