Written by: Aiman Javed
Posted on: May 31, 2019 | 
| 中文
Several orders of Super Moist Cake Dessert ready for delivery
Avid readers of social media food reviews and especially residents of Islamabad would be familiar with the name of Pink Ivy. In early 2018, this home based venture took the city by storm due to one particular dessert on the menu: the Super Moist Cake Dessert. Reviews of the dish became so viral that the baker had to stop taking orders. Praised by nearly everyone who tried it, it was in high demand for several weeks, and still remains a popular dessert.
Fareeha, the cook behind Pink Ivy, is a graduate of Computer Sciences from COMSATS University. She describes herself as a housewife with two young children. Her entrepreneurial dessert venture kicked off around 3 years ago, and she manages it completely on her own. “I have always loved making fancy desserts,” she tells me, “but when someone suggested that I should turn it into a commercial venture, I laughed it off. A few years later, I started Pink Ivy as a hobby. I began with a limited menu and didn’t even have a Facebook page. But due to the positive response of clients, I felt motivated to add more items.”
I tried four items from Pink Ivy’s menu: the Super Moist Cake Dessert, the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, the Rainbow Ice cream, and the Salted Caramel Trifle.
The first item I tasted, of course, was the Super Moist Cake, which has an interesting origin story. One of Fareeha’s clients had contacted her and shared the image of a dessert she’d seen on a Thai food facebook page, asking her to recreate it. With no recipe, Fareeha had been at a loss but decided to get creative, and figured out the layers herself. “The client tried it in her car after picking it up and absolutely loved it. She shared her review on some online food groups and the very next day, I received two more orders. This became a never ending cycle, and I was overwhelmed by the response,” she tells me.
Delivered in a tin foil box, the 1 litre helping consisted of a soft and light chocolate brownie base, covered by a vanilla creme layer and topped with chocolate ganache and chocolate flakes. For Rs. 750, the serving size was good enough for 3-4 people. The dessert was light on the stomach, had a creamy and smooth texture, and we ended up finishing it in the packaging only. Truly delectable and worth the hype!
The red velvet cupcakes also turned out to be remarkably good. The cream cheese frosting had a smooth texture with a balanced sweetness, while the cake was soft and moist – in short, the perfect combination one seeks in red velvet cupcakes. With four cupcakes for 560 PKR, they were reasonably priced and everyone who tried them agreed that they were delicious.
The hand-churned Rainbow Dream Ice cream turned out to be decent. For 700 PKR, the 1 litre box was good enough for three to four people. However, this colourful swirl of purple, yellow, pink and green was slightly heavy for me. The ice cream is made from real milk so that’s hardly surprising, but perhaps I had been expecting a less creamy consistency. However, it’s definitely worth trying and comes in several flavours. The chocolate combinations sound particularly mouth-watering, such as the Cookie Monster Ice cream.
Unfortunately, the Salted Caramel Brownie Trifle turned out to be too sweet for my palate. The small cup priced at 470 PKR, was a two person serving, which consisted of a layer of brownie, covered with home-made salted caramel sauce and chocolate pudding, topped with whipped cream. While each individual layer was tasty, as a whole the dessert couldn’t be easily gobbled down, so I had spoonfuls all day long. It’s not an item I’d order again, since I prefer my desserts to be more mildly sweet, but depending on how extreme your sweet tooth is, this may be perfect.
All in all, Pink Ivy’s desserts turned out to be a delightful experience. Her other popular items include the Nutella and Whole Wheat Banana Bread, Panna Cotta and Fruity Cheesecake Trifles. I asked her what she’s learnt from her experiences, and was told that she values her interactions with people, since it allows her to learn customer service, as well as become a more patient person. “I have tested my own resilience, as well as a learnt to maintain a work-life balance,” she further added. I asked her what she attributes her success to and she said, “My hard work, zero compromise on ingredients, and there was definitely a demand for a good dessert delivery service when I started out.”
For the upcoming Eid, you can also order more traditional desi desserts such as Sheer Khurma, Kheer and Shahi Tukray. Eventually Fareeha aims to open her own bakery; here’s to hoping she expands soon, so that even more of us can relish her delicious creations.
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