On a sunny Friday afternoon, Helen Hồng Nguyễn showed up at Ki Coffee & Brunch in Beaverton, Oregon, but Nguyễn didn’t go in as a customer. Instead, she set up a table to sell freshly-made cakes and cookies as part of a pop-up event for her business, “The Cake Batch.”
“Food to me is just basic necessities, but it also means a huge deal of creativity. It means togetherness. It means an abundance of love and unspoken language,” she said.
As the crowds slowly poured in to get their coffee and sandwiches, some couldn’t help but delight in seeing Nguyễn’s table, stationed right across from the cashier, decked out with intricate desserts that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a show like “The Great British Bake Off.”
But there was a slight twist — the cakes were all made with Asian ingredients.
As a baker, Nguyễn incorporates her Vietnamese identity into her desserts by combining Asian ingredients with Western baking techniques.
“For instance, soursop, tamarind, coconut, and mango, I really like to add those in addition to American flavors. Instead of lemon, I’d like to substitute it out for Yuzu,” she said.
One of her most popular dishes is an ube velvet cake — a unique twist on the traditional red velvet cake.
“Somebody with the flavor compositions I do have when they come to a pop-up and they see my ube velvet cake and they’re like, that’s really unique!” she said.
Baker Helen Hồng Nguyễn, also known as "The Cake Batch" on social media, decorates a vanilla-and-berry cake in her home studio in Beaverton, Ore., on April 18, 2025.
Steven Tonthat / OPB
Nguyễn’s family played a big role in shaping her views on food. Her parents fled Vietnam and came to America in the early ’90s. They eventually settled in Seattle, where she spent a significant portion of her youth with food insecurity.
Nguyễn said her earliest food memory was that of her father going to prison, and her seeing how hard her mother worked to support her family.
“She probably put in 14 hours a day, owning a nail salon, and so I just knew that she exerted herself mentally, physically, and just taking all those fumes in,” she said.
“And so I really wanted to give back to her. And the only way I knew how to was utilizing the ingredients that we had at home,” she said.
As she got older, Nguyễn looked for different ways to make her love of food into a career.
“I always loved math and I always loved art, and so I really went back and forth between being an architect or a baker or a cake decorator,” she said.
In 2010, she followed her passion and went to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland.
“I wanted to really make sure that it stood out and represented me. Something catchy, something sweet, I actually have tattooed on my arm that says ‘Talk Sweet to Me,’” she said.
As The Cake Batch, Nguyễn used her cooking expertise and love of food to connect with her community.
“I think whenever there is food involved and people, there’s always a good time. And I think that’s really when I connected the two of what food can do for people and what community can do with food,” she said.
Nguyễn said she started The Cake Batch to show young bakers that no matter what their life situation is, they can always find a place in desserts.
“What The Cake Batch means for me is leaving behind a legacy that not only represents Asian Americans and the flavors that I grew up knowing and loving,” she said.
Through social media, Nguyễn amassed a large following of people who admired her intricate cake designs, which led to more job opportunities creating custom cakes for weddings and birthdays, and teaching decorating classes.
She hopes to set an example, especially for Asian bakers, who might not feel like they can make a living through baking.
“When you’re thinking about just Asians in the culinary world, I think we have imposter syndrome, like how is this going to be profitable but also something that my parents are going to be proud of,” she said.
Helen Hồng Nguyễn smiles and shows a cake that she decorated in her home studio.
Steven Tonthat / OPB
While Nguyễn enjoys creating custom cakes for clients, she said the most fulfilling part of her job is connecting with the community through her cake decorating classes.
Those classes provide a space for Nguyễn to explore topics that affect underserved communities and communities of color, like mental health and racial identity.
“I really like to tap into the topics that are taboo within the Asian community. For instance, when I speak about my family, I try not to shy away from it,” she said.
Nguyễn hopes to set an example for the younger generation to chase their dreams.
“If you want to dream, dream big and do all that you can to really not only make your parents proud, but yourself proud.”
And maybe have a sweet treat along the way.
