Aru De Silva bakes mouthwatering, picture-perfect cupcakes. Cute cupcakes with dollops of buttercream or cream cheese frosting, sprinkles and such. Sometimes a generous spread of lemon curd, sometimes a fat strawberry halve and sometimes chocolate fudge in the centre. She has been running The Sugar Shack single-handedly since December 2010 and she proudly tells me that she is actually a third generation baker.

Her grandfather owned a bakery that is now managed by Aru’s mother. “I have always had a passion for baking and cooking because it’s been in the family. I decided to venture out on my own and The Sugar Shack is completely different to what my mum does,” she explains. 

She started baking while at university. For fun and for her friends, she would bake brownies and plain vanilla or chocolate cupcakes. She would venture out into coffee cupcakes if she was feeling adventurous. Aru bakes a variety of cupcakes, the plain ones, which consist of vanilla, chocolate, or coffee, which can be done with buttercream frosting and sprinkles. She does a mean chocolate cupcake with a fudge centre and nougat on top of the frosting.

The Milo cupcake is a superstar. A vanilla or chocolate cupcake with a Milo mixture centre complete with Milo frosting and the powder sprinkled on top, this is definitely an incorporation of a favourite childhood treat into dessert. Her peanut butter cupcake however brings a lot of nostalgia into a single bite. It is a chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter centre and frosting.

Lemon curd, with a lemon meringue on top and a sticky centre I savoured this cupcake in two quick bites. A definite must try from The Sugar Shack. But the one cupcake I savoured the most was the strawberries and cream. “People are mental about this cupcake. It is definitely the current favourite and I have some people calling and ordering this nearly two to three times a week. This cupcake is a definite frontrunner,” says Aru.

With fresh strawberries in the centre and topped with cream cheese frosting and a strawberry halve, I will admit that this cupcake is the true star at The Sugar Shack. After all, how can you go wrong with strawberries and cream?

The Sugar Shack also does brownies and cakes, specializing in novelty cakes. The most interesting order that came in recently was for a raunchy cake for a hen party and another one for a person who turned thirty, the cake being a timeline of his life.

She also did a barnyard cake for a newborn baby and the Avengers themed cupcakes for a Dialog event. The journey has been challenging but a very exciting one at that. “Each order is different. Each person wants something else and it is fun to always look at things in a different manner. I owe a lot to my friends because they have helped with every single step in the way. They’ve helped me with emergency orders and I am thankful for that.”

Contact Aru De Silva on 0777711718 or email her on [email protected]. The Sugar Shack can be found on Facebook as well. 

By Sarah Kellapatha

Photos by Kushan Pathiraja