The fragrance of vanilla envelopes the kitchen at Sudhaa Iyengaar Bakery in Ramanathapuram. “It’s the cakes in the oven,” laughs Nagaraj R, the proprietor.
After 10 minutes, the cakes are brought out, warm with a brown crust, and cut into the desired shapes. This leaves behind a bunch of crumbs when the crust is removed. While the cakes are frosted, the trimmings are collected in a basket. Nagaraj says these are then packed and sold. “It is popularly known as cake thool or podi,” he says.
Nagaraj has been selling cake crumbs for the last 20 years. “We received requests from parents of young children,” he says. “They found that their children could not manage the full pieces and this was an easy and cheap treat.” Now he sells a 150gm packet for ₹10. “It has assorted flavours including vanilla, chocolate, pineapple and orange,” he says. The number of packets depends on the number of cakes made that day, though “we even get pre-orders for the packets. The demand is high and we sell only a maximum of two packets to one customer. If you want to buy it, you have to come here by 4:00 pm. It vanishes off the shelf in two hours,” he says.
The crumbs taste like the original cake, but the texture is coarser. Sophy Mathew, a home maker from Saibaba Colony has been buying cake thool from Kovai KRS Bakery, RS Puram for 25 years. “My kids loved snacking on them when they were young. I also add it in my puddings,” she says. Kovai KRS Bakery has been selling these crumbs from 1960 and the propreitor Naresh Kumar says, “Back then, cakes were considered a delicacy that only the rich could afford. My grandfather, K Rangasamy, wanted to give everyone a taste of it and started to sell crumbs.” Kovai KRS Bakery sells crumbs in two flavours: vanilla and chocolate and a packet of 300 gm costs ₹20. Naresh also uses the crumbs to make cake pops and puddings according to order.
- Selling crumbs prevents wastage
- Many bakers repurpose the crumbs by using them in cake pops and puddings
At JM Bakery, Avinashi Road, salesperson Mahalincam says that people “love to add it to icecream and fruit salad.” The bakery does not have crumbs of individual flavours. “It is a packet of assorted crumbs, which will have bits from different flavoured cakes baked on that day. Usually, it has pista, pineapple, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. We stock up as we get cake orders and are sold out by the end of the day,” he says. A 500 gm packet costs ₹35. “My kids love it. I usually take a packet home after work,” he smiles.
