Shru’s Kitchen's Stunning Plant-Forward Cakes Baked to Order
Along the Peninsula’s innovation byways, a rising cottage-industry baker whips together inspired plant-forward cakes, many decorated with a crescent moon of edible flowers or other toppings identifying one of the unexpected edible ingredients baked in. Cakes are made to order in baker Shruti Boddu’s San Mateo vegan home bakery Shru’s Kitchen, and picked up weekly at arranged locations by a growing Bay Area following.
What started as a way for Boddu to share her passion and recipes for vegan cuisine soon turned to plant-based baking projects for family, coworkers and friends. By early 2020, a rise in orders led Boddu to formalize her business by becoming a registered cottage food operator, enabling her to sell from her home-based kitchen and farmers markets.
Shru’s Kitchen bakes a range of made-to-order vegan cakes with sweet notes and surprising Indian-cuisine-inspired combinations. “I feel like some of my flavors might not be otherwise available, even in the non-vegan world, like, for example, the pistachio-cardamom,” says Boddu, who grew up in India.
“I try looking for something more universal, but still speaking to the appeal of these floral, tea, subtle, not-too-sweet flavors that are lighter, easier to eat and more elegant.”
-Shruti Boddu
Beautifully presented and seasonally rotated on Shru’s Kitchen’s web-based bakery display case, you’ll find classic chocolate and vanilla cakes alongside other top sellers like Matcha Pistachio, Earl Grey with Rose, and Flavors of India with cardamom and pistachio. Filter Kaapi, inspired by South Indian filter coffee, sells briskly, and Shru’s Kitchen has just debuted a Cardamom Caramel Coconut cake for fall and winter gatherings.
“I genuinely love floral and tea flavors,” says Boddu. “I try looking for something more universal, but still speaking to the appeal of these floral, tea, subtle, not-too-sweet flavors that are lighter, easier to eat and more elegant.”
All Shru’s Kitchen cakes provide a balance of healthfulness and taste with minimal ingredients. Boddu selects largely organic, plant-based ingredients to create a flavorful base. The cakes’ light, fluffy texture comes from her special almond and wheat flours blend, applesauce and homemade vegan almond buttermilk. Most cakes are topped with her favorite frosting—whipped coconut cream with maple syrup—and crowned with a decorative crescent hinting at the cake’s flavor profile: edible rose petals, dried fruit, hazelnuts, a sprinkling of tea powder.
Her goal is simple: “Try a really unique, interesting flavor that is also vegan and good for the planet.”
As orders and cake clientele continue to rise, Shru’s Kitchen looks forward to baked-in growth opportunities. Renting a commercial kitchen is next in Boddu’s sights, though she’s cautious about leaving room for continued creativity in her business’s future. “There’s the scaling factor, but also the passion of being able to introduce new flavors and really getting those rolling,” she says. “That’s an equal priority for me.”
For now, everything is made to order via Shru’s Kitchen’s virtual website display case filled with lip-smacking photography and delectable descriptions. Fill out the online order form, schedule a weekend-morning pickup and enjoy a flavorful treat inspired by Boddu’s celebration of seasonal ingredients and the traditional Indian sweets and flavors of her childhood.
Here’s to sweet celebrations!
