Freaking-ly wholesome bites

WHEN Lim Ee Lin told me to meet her at a hotel lobby in Bangsar South, I naturally thought she had a bakery there.
However, as it turns out, she lives in a highrise apartment with her husband and son, operating her raw, vegan dessert business Freaking Wholesome out of her own home.
Her customers make their ­orders online, and then collect them at the very same hotel lobby where we are meeting.
I looked up Freaking ­Wholesome’s Facebook page prior to meeting Lim, which features an impressive selection of cakes, cupcakes and wholesome bars.
Most of Lim’s orders are for cakes, or a box of cupcakes, or a box of dessert bars.
For bigger orders – such as an office party of 200 people – it is best to give her a week’s notice, as Freaking Wholesome is a one–woman operation.
Despite being in business for a year–and–a–half now, Lim has no ­immediate plans to expand and hire more staff.
However, she is slowly making waves among those who like a healthier option when it comes to desserts.
Lim was working in the ­banking industry before she moved to ­Bermuda in 2012, after her husband relocated there for his work as an actuary.
She became a homemaker, raising their then–toddler son. The family would occasionally travel to the United States.
She recalls: “The healthy eating trend was really picking up there. There was a cafe that was serving raw food and raw ­desserts.”
The raw food diet involved eating food that was unprocessed or uncooked, and has numerous nutritional benefits, especially for people with food allergies.
“I was pretty intrigued by it. Prior to this, I had never heard of raw desserts.”
In 2015, the family returned to Malaysia, but Lim’s mind was still on those desserts.
She looked for them here but discovered raw desserts were pretty hard to come by. So she decided to learn how to make them online, and also by experimenting on her own.
She recalls: “I let my family and friends try them first and they were surprised that the desserts were made of nuts, seeds and fruits. Initially, they couldn’t tell what they were made of.”
Her desserts are also gluten– and dairy–free.
“I wanted to create something niche and also cater to people who are allergic to eggs, dairy and gluten.”
Lim was initially surprised to hear there were many people who have these allergies, especially children.
It makes her happy when ­parents tell her how much their allergic children are able to enjoy a dessert they can eat.
Lim gets her ingredients from ­suppliers and local bakery stores
When she first started, Lim offered five different flavours of cake, and later added cupcakes to the list. In February this year, she added Wholesome Bars, which are now her best sellers.
The bars come in three varieties (sea salted caramel, peanutty nougat, and orange cranberry), and there are four types of cupcakes (coffee caramel, coco pineapple, triple choc and ­strawberry beet).
The unfamiliar flavours from the raw ingredients can be a bit overwhelming for some initially. But others really enjoy them after a few bites.
Lim uses extra virgin coconut oil or coconut cream to bind ­everything together.
For one of her products that has salted caramel, she uses dates because of their natural caramel flavour.
Instead of cocoa powder, she uses raw cacao powder, which is not exposed to heat higher than 44°C, keeping its nutrients intact.
Due to the fact that they are raw, the products must be kept refrigerated and consumed within three days.
Those interested can ­contact Lim through her Freaking ­Wholesome Facebook page.