he cupcake may not be replacing the fruity Christmas cake this festive season, but it is certainly part of the sweet spread for Cupcake Central's Christmas. When entrepreneur Sheryl Thai, 26, became a victim of the financial crisis last year, she decided to busy herself by baking.

“I was made redundant, so I decided to start up my own online cupcake business and within three months I was baking from my own kitchen,” Sheryl said. She soon found she couldn’t keep up the demand and brought in boyfriend Thin Neu to open their first cupcake bakery, Cupcake Central, which opened in Glenferrie in August this year. “I was cooking cup cakes from my kitchen and we could only do 24 at a time, now with our commercial ovens we can do 120,” Sheryl said. Since Cupcake Central began the pair says they’ve churned out over 60,000 cupcakes.

“Red velvet is our most popular. It’s great as a Christmas gift for someone who you don’t know what to buy for or for business clients,” says Thin. So what’s the secret to silky cupcake goodness? “We really focus on quality ingredients. We get our butter from New Zealand and we use Homestead free range eggs. These things cost a lot, but we think it’s important [for flavour],” Sheryl said.

With plans for more Cupcake Central stores around Melbourne in the coming year, there’s nothing stopping the baking duo this Christmas.

Cupcake Central
Shop 7/672 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
(03) 9077 4542

cupcakecentral.com.au