Bake it ‘til You Make it: The Caker’s New Celebrity Collaboration

We spoke to New Zealand Entrepreneur Jordan Rondel of The Caker about the launch of her new Carrot Cake Kit Collaboration with American Model and TV Personality Chrissy Teigen. 

How did you and Chrissy connect with each other?   

Chrissy actually tagged me in an Instagram story, resharing one of my posts saying "I'm obsessed with everything The Caker does." I obviously freaked out when I saw this and instantly messaged her saying we should work together. The next day I was connected with her team and the rest is history!

What was that first discussion like? Was there a clear goal from the beginning? 

Yes, we knew we wanted to create a cake mix together from the beginning. And we quite quickly decided on carrot cake because it’s her favourite kind of cake, and it just so happened that we had already been testing some carrot cake recipes for a cake kit of our own. The collaboration was just so meant to be.   

Tell us about Cravings and why it’s such a great match with The Caker brand.

The reason Chrissy has always been my 'dream celeb’ to work with is because she is a fellow female entrepreneur in the food space. Her company Cravings has a lot to do with baking and they do collaborations with other brands I really love. Our brands together are a pretty seamless fit.   

How have you adapted the original recipe for this collaboration?   

Developing a recipe for a cake mix is a very in-depth process because it has to be able to be made in one bowl with no special equipment and must be fool proof for the user. One thing I did have to take out from the original recipe was the pecans because oily nuts can be a bit volatile, but they aren’t missed and the user can add their own if they want.   

Describe the flavour of the cake for us, what makes it so special? 

The cake contains cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in just the right quantities to lend warmth but not to overpower. It also contains Zante currants which are tangy yet sweet and burst with flavour when you bite into them. The cake gets topped with a super classic cream cheese icing, and decorated with a drizzle of organic salted caramel to make it even more sticky and delicious.   

Is there anything else you hope home bakers will enjoy about this luxury cake kit? 

I think aside from the eating pleasure of the finished cake, the beauty of my cake kits is that you get to enjoy the therapeutic process of baking a cake, without the pressure of buying the individual ingredients and weighing everything out etc. And then you get to have your house fill with the aroma of a cake turning golden in the oven and tell all your friends you made it from scratch!    

Did John Legend have anything to contribute to this collaboration?  

John was involved in the taste testing of the recipe and in the photoshoot. He's such a lovely guy!

Have there been any discussions about future collaborations between yourself and Chrissy? 

Nothing is set in stone but we shall see!

Who would be your dream celebrity to team up with for your next collaboration? 

I would love to do more work in the fashion space. Demna is my favourite fashion designer of all time and while he's not a traditional celebrity, and also a very high target, I would DIE to work with him in some way, shape or form.

The limited edition kits are available to purchase in New Zealand now at thecaker.co.nz