SHAH ALAM: Single mother Hazlin Howzin is a cancer patient but she puts her sufferings aside to bring smiles on the face of her customers by baking them the mouth watering fermented cassava cake with cheese (kek tapai ubi cheese).
Throughout this Ramadan, 41-year-old Hazlin has been working overtime to keep up with orders, which can reach up to 60 loaves a day.
Hazlin, whose husband died of kidney complications in March this year, learnt to bake the cake from her younger sister.
She said at that time, she wanted to earn extra income after quitting her job as a driver with a women-based non-governmental organisation in Jalan Kebun here.
"My sister bakes and sells the cake, too, and her customers are mainly from Klang. She could not cope with the growing number of orders so she wanted me to help out. If there are customers from Shah Alam, she will pass the orders to me.
"There are many customers who have never heard of 'kek tapai cheese'. I tell them it’s a Malay version of cheese cake."
The mother of a 16-year-old boy said it was important to use fresh fermented cassava to make sure the cake turns out light, fluffy and spongy.
She said she managed to find a shop which was willing to supply her with about 40 packs of the cassava on Mondays and Thursdays every week.
"The 'tapai' is blended. I then add ingredients such as pure butter, sugar and flour into the mix. Shredded pieces of cheese is sprinkled on top before it is baked," she said.
Hazlin said she had her hands full trying meet the overwhelming number of orders as she was doing all the baking herself.
"My late husband used to help me. Being stricken with thyroid cancer seven years ago, I get tired easily. I bake for two days and take a day’s break to recover.
"However, this does not dampen my spirit. I look to my son as a source of strength and inspiration as I need to care for him," she said.
The seven-inch fermented cassava cake sells at RM20 a piece.
Apart from the cake, Hazlin also makes sambal kentang goreng which she sells for RM12 a container. She earns earn about RM2,000 a month from her business.