Rhea Castro-Sycip has been baking since she was eight years old. “It was my aunt who introduced me to it. She gave me a stove top steam oven, more of a pan, actually. I started with coconut macaroons and just followed the recipe at the back of the desiccated coconut pack,” she fondly recalls. That experiment was followed by baking lessons with Heny Sison and Dorothy Ferreria.
“Techniques wise, I learned a lot from Jill Sandique and took classes with her when I was 15,” relates the Communications graduate of University of Santo Tomas who later took formal culinary education at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and Le Cordon Bleu Dusit.
Encouraged by family and friends to turn her passion into business, she recently started to accommodate orders for some of her specialties. Topping the list is her signature Rum Butter Cake which took a year to develop. “I am very critical of my work. I want it to be perfect,” she says. The rich, golden ring-shaped treat is whipped up with free range eggs and artisan butter from Bukidnon then carefully soaked in rum sauce using local and premium small batch rum. Packed in a pine wood craft gift box that adds a huge wow, it definitely makes an impressive gift. It is available in two variants, plain original and nut crumble. There are two sizes to choose from, 7-inch bundt pan and 9-inch bundt pan.
Other items on her menu are the Hummingbird Cake (spiced cake made from sun-riped bananas and fresh Tagaytay pineapples in light buttercream frosting), Strawberry Shortcake (light sponge cake with pastry cream, dressed with chantilly cream and topped with Benguet Shoga Strawberries), Tres Leches Cake (yellow pound cake soaked in rich milk mixture), Malacanang Roll (sponge cake with dark chocolate ganache filling covered in boiled icing frosting), and On the Fence Brownies (chewy and moist, topped with roasted walnuts).
“I love desserts but I do not enjoy them overly sweet. A lot of those who have tried my cakes say they love it because they can have another slice,” she guarantees.
For orders and inquiries, chef Rhea can be reached through Flour Pot. Email hello.flourpot@gmail.com or call (0917) 7892352. Visit their Facebook page and Instagram account, @flourpotmanila.
