The times have changed, and in this new normal, Pasteleria Manila redefines delectable: Pastry perfection that’s accessible to everyone.
But this enterprise started by its founder Cecilia “Ces” Lopez in 2009 didn’t happen overnight. It took years of hard work, overcoming hurdles, and rising up again.
Beginnings
Ces’ early life already had a strong foundation in baking and breads, with her parents making a living out of their neighborhood panaderia. She has since then been observing her eldest brother, Paolo Lopez, who was chiefly helping in the bakery. Her kuya Paolo would later on develop his skills to become a successful pastry chef who has developed breads and pastries for celebrated homegrown brands such as The French Baker, Cravings and even international names like Starbucks and Le Coeur de France. Needless to say, this provided Ces inspiration and guidance in her venture into baking later on.
Fast-forward to the late 2000s, Ces wanted to circle back to this passion for baking and armed herself with an intensive baking and pastry course. She would be able to use these skills in 2009 when she helped her son Chester and his classmates from the Ateneo de Manila High School raise money for charity through the sale of baked treats. And just then her original creation BRAZO BARS was born—an innovation of the classic Filipino dessert Brazo de Mercedes that’s usually presented in a foot-long roll of fluffy meringue with stuffed sweet egg custard. Ces’ brazo bars are made into single-serve sandwiches, with the meringue as rectangular buns and the custard as filling.
The product served as fuel for a viable business concept, which Ces officially sold in her flagship store cafe Supreme Brazo Bars at the Alabang Town Center in July of the same year. Expanded into other brazo product lines that had a variety of fillings such as mango, strawberry, walnut and toasted coconut, as well as other pastry products like delectable cookies and quiche, Ces’ creations became a hit. This is especially after her brazo bars won the top spot at Anton Diaz’s Ultimate Taste Test 2.0. in September 2009, and her chocolate chip cookies similarly won in the Ultimate Taste Test 3.0 in November 2009.
Rising up
The same year 2009 was when the devastating typhoon Ondoy hit the Philippines, and Ces’ store and commissary were among the casualties. Ces had no choice but to stop operations, but she decided to carry on as a small home-based bakery despite difficulties. Little did she know that this pivot would lead to the social media sensation that it has turned into today.
Through the years, as Ces continued to improve and broaden her range of baked goods under her new brand, Pasteleria Manila. Under this new banner, Ces gave birth to other innovations like BROAS STICKS—a spinoff from the traditional broas that’s our local version of ladyfingers, which Ces turned into the same sandwich-like treat as her brazo bars: with two finger-wide red velvet, dulce de leche and ube broas functioning as “buns” enclosing fillings like cream cheese, ube halaya (purple yam) from the renowned Good Shepherd Convent and caramelized condensed milk.
Pasteleria also pioneered the generous use of the same kind of pure ube halaya as cake frosting and even filling, as Ces wanted to veer away from the usual so-called ube cakes elsewhere that had very little real ube in them. Thus, Ces has turned the underrated ube cake into an indulgent baked treat with her generous, pure Good Shepherd ube frosting. This all-out move did not go unnoticed, as food authority Yummy.Ph hailed Pasteleria’s ube cake as one of its 2018 Top 10 Best Desserts.
Changing the game with Caramel Cakes
The pronounced turn to caramel cakes in 2019-20 offered countless possibilities and opportunities for originality, creativity and innovation. Pasteleria Manila pioneered the production and presentation of very affordable caramel cakes in trays. For one, the flat and wide surface of the caramel cake, irrespective of size and shape, presented a new canvas for apt and eloquent messaging.
Dedications and messages—sometimes short, sometimes kilometric and letter-like that covered the entire cake’s surface, sometimes witty or naughty, sometimes profound or sacrosanct—were an early favorite of patrons and customers and became a unique selling point. That these messages were free of charge was another winning move. The incorporation of edible portraits, K-pop personalities, and cartoon characters also became a popular means to personalize the caramel cakes. Calendars soon became graphic reminders of the days or dates associated with the most important highlights of our customers’ lives—birthdays, anniversaries, promotions and what have you.
Caramel cakes are also new openings to move away from usually-trodden paths and add new product value. With the ample ‘canvas’ space available, a cake can incorporate a particular floral design such as cherry blossoms together with either a calendar or an edible portrait. And the fun does not stop there! Exuberant customers may also choose novel add-ons such as caramel- or chocolate-covered strawberries, salted pretzels, Ferrero Rocher, and peanut butter chips. As conceived, PasteleriaManila.com is an online store that seeks to raise awareness and broaden the market for Ces’ baked creations. It offers a modern and direct means to purchase and enjoy baked products through varying means of payment and access.
Through PasteleriaManila.com, she promises an enduring commitment to offer enjoyable, high-quality, and innovative baked products to as many discerning customers as possible. That commitment is being tested and proven by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic together with consequent restrictions. Almost without skipping a beat, Pasteleria Manila soldiers on and continues to be a friendly source of tasty treats for all.