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When the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many of us had to spend more time at home, cooking and baking became some of the most popular pastimes. For full-time mom and budding entrepreneur Carol, this provided a unique opportunity to expand her growing business by offering online cooking lessons, working with students across the globe.
Having always had a passion for food, when Carol was younger, she used to love eating Hua Zai Bing, a delicious meringue-like sweet that is topped with pink frosting. As she grew up, she began to learn how to create them herself, and in recent years the popularity of these desserts has continued to grow. While they were once a simple shape, with the rise of social media and increasing demand, bakers are now creating an increasing number of unique shapes and colours.
Seeing the rising demand for these sweet treats, and finding friends and family could not get enough of her unique designs, she decided to launch her first business, Semisweets. These treats are made from egg whites and sugar and require low-temperature baking, which allows them to be formed into almost any shape.
Having previously been an assistant in her husband’s company, the new baking business allowed her to work from home and take care of her children. For Carol, baking is not just a profession but a passion, and seeing the smile and happiness that comes from people eating her creations is what drives her to succeed.
As Semisweets grew, she began creating increasingly more complex designs, from cute cartoon characters and animals to popular characters from the likes of Sesame Street, Snow White, and more. This made them the ideal treat for every occasion, including birthdays, weddings, and family dinners, and popularity boomed, seeing Carol working until late into the night, juggling her baking and family commitments.
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, she continued to make her delicious treats, but with her customers having more time at home, they began asking for instructions on how they could try to make these sweet treats themselves. In October 2020, she held her first online teaching course, and since then, she has helped over 1500 students from across the globe, including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States, Canada and Australia.
Formulating the complex shapes of these treats can be very difficult, so Carol’s courses take students through the process carefully. She walks them through, step-by-step, the methods to create their own beautiful sweets. Many of her students have turned to Carol, having previously tried to follow courses from other online platforms such as YouTube. However, with over 70 videos and nearly six hours of careful instructions, Carol ensures her students are able to have everything they need to start baking their own creations.
Carol added, “I have always loved seeing the reactions of people when they first see my sweets and then how they smile when they first taste them. After having dozens of requests during lockdown from customers wanting to try their hands at cooking them themselves, I decided to launch my online courses.
The feedback we have had has been incredible, and I’ve helped customers from across the globe understand the complex process of creating these unique delicacies. My goal is to continue to put a smile on people’s faces, and as more students learn how to make these sweets, they will be able to spread those smiles even further.”
For more information, visit https://semi-sweets.com and Facebook / Instagram.