Winnipegger’s cake baking business started as a pandemic hobby

Jellah Villaflor started Hanabaekss in 2021, baking out of her parents’ home during the pandemic. (Submitted: Jellah Villaflor)

For years, Winnipeggers ordered cakes from Hanabaekss without ever seeing who made them.

The Instagram account showed bento-style cakes and vintage-inspired designs—round and heart-shaped, piped with ruffles, borders and soft details—but never the baker behind them.

That anonymity was intentional, preferring instead to let the cakes speak for themselves.

“I’d never shown my face,” said Jellah Villaflor. “I never did any stories or posts of me.”

Villaflor, 26, started Hanabaekss in 2021, baking out of her parents’ home during the pandemic. It began with a single cake made for a friend.

“They really liked it,” Villaflor recalled. “That was the first time I thought, ‘Maybe I have something here.’”

She opened an Instagram account soon after. Orders came in steadily, and by December 2021—just months later—a customer placed a large order for Christmas mini cakes.

That moment marked a shift for Villaflor.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I think this is going to be a hit,’” she said.

How inspiration was born through the pandemic and YouTube videos

Born in the Philippines, Villaflor moved to Canada at 15 with her parents and two siblings. She said, like many children of immigrants, she once imagined herself in careers framed as secure.

“I wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer,” she recalls. “Literally all of those good professions that people say are good.”

She enrolled in different programs before realizing she was drawn to business more than titles. However, she explained that baking was not part of a long-term plan. It emerged through observation and repetition.

“I always watch YouTube,” she said. “I always watch those Korean cafes, baking designs, just everything.”

During lockdown, she spent nights watching K-dramas and baking videos. She taught herself by watching and recreating what she saw, gravitating toward Korean-inspired bento cakes and the viral vintage-style designs.

“I didn’t take any courses or anything; I literally just watched YouTube. I’m more of a very visual learner,” she said.

Building towards the perfect taste

Taste mattered as much as appearance, though she said she relied on others to judge it at first.

“Fun fact, I’d never tried any of my cakes until, like, two years or three years after I started,” she said, chuckling.

Family members ate the trimmed pieces from stacking and levelling cakes, and friends gave feedback. Villaflor adjusted recipes instinctively, aiming for balance rather than sweetness, she said.

When she finally tasted her own work, it confirmed what she had been building toward.

“It was the way I actually wanted it to be,” she said.

She works primarily with Swiss-style buttercream and says her base recipes have remained consistent for years.

Today, Hanabaekss offers more than twenty cake flavours, including matcha, Earl Grey, cookies and cream, black sesame and ube, along with just as many filling options.

She also makes cream cakes, seasonal mini cupcakes and rotating specials, including Dubai chocolate.

But what she enjoys most comes after the baking.

“I don’t like the baking itself,” she laughed. “It can be draining, but I do love the designing.”

Hanabaekss is known for polished designs, but Villaflor’s custom work allows for play. Alongside vintage piping and florals, she creates anniversary cakes topped with teddy bears holding messages like “my love,” butterfly-covered cakes, even character-inspired orders—including a Labubu-inspired cake—and an expanding line of custom floral cupcakes.

“I sell pretty cakes; if it’s not pretty, I don’t want it,” she said.

A growing business and expanding opportunities

Over the past five years, her business has grown steadily and now has more than 3,000 Instagram followers, many of them returning customers.

Even gender reveal cakes and monthly baby cakes have become part of the mix, which Villaflor says she enjoys. “I’m honoured, because I’m the only one who knows the gender,” she said.

This year, Villaflor also delivered her first wedding cake—a three-tier design that tested her nerves.

“It was so nerve-wracking,” she said, reflecting on her milestones.

In 2024 she expanded her business to more than just cake orders.

After moving out of her parents’ home and into her own apartment, Villaflor launched cake decorating classes. The workshops are small and hands-on, allowing participants to design their own cakes.

Each session ends with a Polaroid photo and a handwritten letter—to a future self or someone meaningful. “I want them to feel like it’s more like they’re having fun,” she said. “More like therapeutic than being stressful.”

She’s held a few decorating classes so far and this year she hosted her first corporate cake-decorating event.

“There’s a high demand for it, so I’m starting bigger-scale workshops next year,” she said.

Check out more of Hanabaekss’ creations:

Behind the scenes, Hanabaekss has become a small, family-run operation. Her partner helps with baking. Her brother builds carpentry pieces for pop-ups, and friends step in when needed.

Advice to beginners? ‘Just start.’

After five years of anonymity, Villaflor made her first public appearance this past fall at the Lantern Festival, standing beside treats many people already recognized.

“It was just so much fun,” she said. “And I could hear people around me saying, ‘Oh, that’s Hanabaekss.’”

Looking ahead, Villaflor’s goal is to open a cafe that reflects her aesthetic and brings her work together in one space. For now, she said she’ll continue building deliberately, guided by experience.

Her advice to others considering starting something of their own remains simple.

“Just start,” she said. “You wouldn’t learn unless you experience it.”