Tiny H Bakes is a small, home run cakery run by the adorable Haleema Nazar, who stays true to her name; she’s tiny! Although small in size, this lady sure knows how to bake some mighty fine cakes!

Haleema operates out of her kitchen in Dehiwala. The smell of freshly baked brownies greeted me as I walked through her doors and Haleema excitedly claimed that she just took a batch of brownies out of the oven; I was already drooling!

I asked her about how she started baking and she said that she started in December. "My first baking experience was so bad! I baked a butter cake when I was 10 and it tasted like rubber! I never baked after that! But in December I baked a batch of brownies for some friends and they insisted I keep baking, and things just sort of took off from there,". She also said she loves baking but cannot stand eating her own cakes anymore! (I don’t even know how that is possible!)

When asked about the reviews she’s gotten so far, she said that she's been very lucky. "Everyone says super nice things about my cakes, but then again they’re all my friends so I don’t know if that counts”. I started the tasting with a glass of thambili close by to cleanse my palate. First up was the red velvet; my favourite type of cake! Decorated with beautiful red icing and silver balls, this cake was a real head turner (and tongue turner too!). Incredibly moist and melting in the mouth, this cake was sandwiched with a delicious cream cheese frosting that was slightly sour (just how cream cheese should taste!). According to Haleema, some clients prefer a sweeter frosting, but cream cheese frosting is supposed to taste slightly sour! This cake was a definite party in the mouth!

Next up was the Kit Kat cake! Now let me tell you, Kit Kats are my ultimate, favourite chocolate ever, and I was eyeing this cake from the moment I entered the house! According to Haleema, this is a new cake on her menu. The batter was a moist chocolate fudge with a thick layer of Kit Kat in between (*drool*), topped with chocolate icing and decorated with white chocolate shavings. It was heavenly! Definitely fulfilled my expectations and my very sweet tooth!

Oreo cupcakes were up next. Having an obsession with Oreos, this was something I couldn’t wait to try!! Creamy Oreo butter icing decorated this soft chocolate cake and a beautiful surprise in the middle awaited us; an entire Oreo cookie! So I’m sure you can figure out how big my smile was, after eating this! Vanilla cupcakes - incredibly soft vanilla butter cream coated these delightful vanilla cupcakes! I’m personally not a huge fan of vanilla cakes (loyal chocoholic!) so these were a little too sweet for my liking, but for all you vanilla lovers out there, this is definitely a must try! She also does a chocolate cupcake with chocolate butter icing which is similar, except in chocolate.

At this moment, I was on a definite sugar high and my head was buzzing, but I refused to back down! Next up, M&M cupcakes! This was a definite personal favorite as it was made with the softest, most moist ganache and packed with M&Ms! While biting into it Haleema warned me about M&Ms spilling out and that’s exactly what happened! Absolutely divine!

And now for the best part... brownies! I’ve tried Haleema’s brownie based cake with chocolate chips, Nutella and strawberries before and it’s my absolute favourite thing in the world! (If you’re looking to order a cake for a loved one, you simply must try this! It disappeared within 5 minutes of cutting it) So you can imagine how excited I was! The brownies lived up to my expectations; gooey, moist and not overly sweet. You can get an assortment of toppings on your brownies, but I personally recommend the Nutella and strawberries (you can thank me later).

Finally, the cheesecake. I’m an ardent cheesecake lover, so when I saw that Haleema was now making cheesecakes, I wanted to kiss her! Since everyone does strawberry and blueberry cheesecakes, Haleema focuses on Nutella cheesecakes and Oreo cheesecakes. I personally prefer the Nutella one, because it’s incredibly delicious and the biscuit base is perfect! Although you might want to keep these in the freezer as they melt as soon as you take them out!

So with that ended my review and I went home a happy (and extremely full) girl! You can check out Tiny H Bakes on Instagram or call her on 0778550007 for prices and orders. (Prices vary depending on the size of the cake / order)

By Shenali de Silva
Photographs courtesy Tiny H Bakes