From chocolate and mocha to lemon passion fruit, Thru’s soufflés are delicious hot or cold
KUALA LUMPUR, September 6 – If you have read Elizabeth Gilbert Eat Pray Love, you may remember a remarkable word that the author uses with enthusiasm and empathy. The word is Attraversiamowhich means “let’s cross” in Italian.
Maybe just a change of perspective, maybe a journey. A transcendent experience.
Which one could we use to describe these modest soufflés: an impossible triumph of sweet and bitter, soft and creamy in equal parts. The intense dusting of cocoa powder, the deep flavor of chocolate and hints of coffee.
These are the chocolate and mocha soufflés from Thru, an online micro-bakery at home.
What sets it apart from the usual dishes you’d get in a fancy French restaurant is the urge to enjoy these soufflés both hot and cold.
Thru is run by 23-year-old Yong Yun Ling, who studied psychology. However, the self-proclaimed foodie has always been interested in baking.
She recalls: “Like many people, I started cooking more frequently during the lockdown when I was still in my final year. After graduating in 2020, I worked as an ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapist ) for a year and a half before deciding to pursue my master’s degree, a few months before starting, I thought of taking on a new challenge.
Thru is run by 23-year-old Yong Yun Ling, who has always had an interest in baking.
This new challenge turned out to be the pursuit of his longtime dream of owning “a small bakery or a coffee truck, with the concept of grab and go or drive. It’s something I want to do in the future, so I thought about starting small with an online business first.
This truck and drive-thru idea stuck with Yong, so she decided to name her fledgling business “Thru” or as she puts it: “It can just mean something – chocolate and australian soufflés. mocha – comes to you We bring you happiness through our baked goods.
Thru’s first offerings are chocolate and mocha soufflés. Chocolate is still popular, of course, and a hint of coffee in the mocha would appeal to many espresso drinkers.
Yong explains, “As my family loves coffee, I tried adding coffee grounds to the soufflés, which was good too! The hint of bitterness of the coffee complements the sweetness of the soufflés.
Instead of porcelain ramekins, paper cupcake liners are used, lined with butter and sugar.
Yet even the simplest products require quite a bit of trial and error. Yong says, “I remember baking chocolate souffles for the first time using a 6-inch cake pan because I didn’t have a ramekin at the time. I chilled it in the fridge because I didn’t know soufflés were meant to be eaten while they’re hot!”
However, even novices can run into happy accidents. Yong explains, “After cooling them overnight, I cut the soufflé like I would cut a normal cake. My family and I tried it and the texture was like cheesecake or tiramisu, it was so moist and rich in chocolate flavor.
What the soufflés lost in the iconic vaporous, almost creamy texture, Yong found they gained in flavor intensity. The texture, while different, was appealing in a different way, especially to an audience that was unaware of how soufflés “should” be eaten.
Yong adds, “I shared it with my friends and they liked it too. Some of them mentioned that they had never seen or tried anything like it before. So I did some research. on soufflés locally and found that soufflés are mostly sold in a pancake shape in Malaysia, but rarely in a ramekin.
An intense dusting of cocoa powder deepens the chocolate flavor of the soufflés.
After further testing, trying her soufflés both while they were hot and also after cooling them, she decided that both were winning approaches. She explains, “The texture was chewy and moist anyway. That’s how I thought about selling them because it’s a niche in the market.”
In addition to capitalizing on a relatively untapped market segment – soufflés are typically made to order in restaurants or cafes, rather than sold via delivery or pickup – Yong also wanted to position his brand as something more down-to-earth. -earth, rather than a perfectionist.
Case in point: Most customers identify with soufflés as hot, straight-out-of-the-oven desserts, but Thru is currently an online/delivery setup.
Yong says, “Yes, the downside is that soufflés fall as soon as they come out of the oven. So they may be less appetizing after cooling than when served hot, straight out of the oven. Flavor-wise, it has still taste the same after dropping.The texture will be less smooth, but many of our customers think it is still soft and moist.
Naturally, to ensure that products reach customers in the best possible condition, certain adjustments must be made. For example, instead of porcelain ramekins, paper cupcake liners are used, filled with butter and sugar.
The new Lemon Passion Fruit Soufflé contains passion fruit pulp and lemon juice.
Yong adds, “We prepare the chocolate base the night before and mix it with whipped egg whites (meringue) the next morning before baking, and customers received them between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Take the time to explain how to get the most out of their products, how a Ramenya who specializes in tsukemen could offer instructions on how to dip the noodles in the condensed broth, is now standard procedure for Thru.
Yong says, “We recommend our customers taste our soufflés at room temperature and also after cooling them in the refrigerator, so they can feel the difference. According to the comments we have received, some like them fresh because the soufflés are then cold and moist like a tiramisu.
Currently, Thru Soufflés are available for delivery and pickup on Fridays and Saturdays only. Yong says, “Preparation takes place on Thursday and Friday while cooking takes place on Friday and Saturday morning. My sisters help me with operations and recipe modifications.
An explosion of tangy and lemony flavors!
The rest of the week is spent taking orders, planning social media content, and buying ingredients. Recipe development is still ongoing as Thru plans to roll out more soufflé flavors.
One of those new additions, which just came out last month, is their Lemon Passion Fruit Soufflé. Yong shares, “This tangy soufflé contains passion fruit pulp and lemon juice. It is topped with icing sugar, passion fruit, lemon zest and dehydrated lemon. It gives you an aroma of refreshing lemon and a fruity taste that cleanses your palate, perfect for a light dessert.”
Whether you opt for chocolate and mocha or the tangy lemon and passion fruit pairing, Thru’s soufflés invite you to cross, to transcend, if only for the duration of each bite and its lingering aftertaste. .
Take a spoon, taste, savor the taste and texture. And maybe whisper softly, “Attraversiamo.”
Through
DM to pre-order 2 days before. Self-service delivery/pickup in Klang Valley on Friday and Saturday only.
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