Chocolate & Diamonds: Carol Chow of CCSweets

When it comes to cupcakes and sweets, CCSweets owner Carol Chow has the recipe for success. She has traveled and tasted desserts in France, Italy, Austria, Mexico, England, Spain, Australia, and lived in New York for 20 years. The deserts she makes here in Beijing use no shortening, only pure butter, and are made with primarily imported or organic ingredients. The Cs in her company name are not only her initials; they can also stand for cupcakes, cake and cookies, chocolate and caramel, ice cream, candy, or custom created sweets. Carol puts a lot of time and love into her creations, which helps make them the sweet masterpieces that they are. Agenda spoke with Chow about her business, and why there are no shortcuts in baking.

You have lived all over the world. What brought you back to Beijing?
I believe that China is forever chang-ing and developing, and that it really is the place to be right now. Recently the changes I have seen in China have been very positive, and people’s lifestyles have been improving. The energy here is strong and quite addicting. This is what brought me back to Beijing. Since I opened up my business here, I have felt that Chinese people are very open, curious, and accepting of new things.

Who is your clientele?
Right now my clientele is mainly Chinese, and a lot of them are younger. This is the market I have been focusing on. I also have expat clients as well, but many of them don’t think my cupcakes are sweet enough. After some experimenting, I have found a good balance. I know what the different tastes of Chinese and expats are like. I feel that American cakes are too sweet, but after you live here for a while you lose your sweet tooth.

The love of baking has been passed down through your family for generations. At what age did your love of baking start?
My grandfather had a bakery in Singapore, but I didn’t really know him that well. As a child I would hear stories from my mother about the bakery, and how she got to help decorate cakes when she was young. As a child I got all these images of sweets and baking in my mind, and it really stimulated my curiosity. When we moved to the US we used to do Christmas baking every year, which was a lot of fun. So I guess you can say that my real love of baking started when I was eight years old, and living in the US.

Beijing is not known for its chocolate. As a chocolatier, how do you go about searching for good quality chocolate?
I source all my chocolates from abroad. It’s not only Beijing that uses bad chocolate, but there is a whole history of chocolate that has changed throughout the years. Even brands in the US, such as Hershey’s, don’t use 100% pure cocoa. This is because cocoa butter costs are really high. However, in Europe it is still more traditional, which is why I source all my chocolate from Belgium or France.

What is your secret for making the perfect cupcake that everyone loves?
(Laughs) I am not sure that I really have a secret, but I take a lot of time and care with every recipe that I make. I usually experiment with hundreds of recipes before I decide on the one to use. I do a lot of research and experimentation before I decide on how I want the final
product to turn out and what it should taste like. All cakes are made from the same ingredients, and the differences are subtle. You really don’t know what they are until you bake them all at once and you try them all next to each other.

You are also a certified gemologist. What influence has this had on your work? My parents were both geologists, so their careers definitely influenced me to study gemology. Our whole family has always shared the love for stones. Being an artist and designer, my gemology background helped me to create new art pieces and help develop new artistic ideas.

Having grown up in two different worlds, how does your cross-cultural experience influence your cupcake creations, if at all? I’ve tried a lot of desserts from all over the world. Every culture has its own characteristics, and no two desserts have the same taste or feeling when you eat them. A dessert can invoke an emotion, a memory from the past, or remind you of someone you know. So, because I have been able to try so many things, I can bring together all the different tastes and create something of my own.

Being a successful businesswoman, how do you build a business around a family?
How do you build a business around a family? (laughs) I actually just live right upstairs from my shop. Because baking, and anything related to food is very time intensive, you can’t make something and let it sit there for an entire season. That’s the main reason why I chose to have my shop in this location.

I read an interview you recently did online saying that you are collaborating with artists for some limited edition work. Can you tell us a little more about what’s in store?
Yes, right now I am working with a local Beijing artist, who is creating a chocolate rabbit for us since the year of rabbit is coming up.

As a mother of twin girls, how do you balance motherhood and your professional life?
Balancing motherhood and a career is always a struggle, no matter how many children you have. Every night I make sure to go upstairs and say goodnight to my two girls before they go to bed. But it’s also really easy for them to come downstairs to the shop as well. The reason that I like baking is that I feel like it’s really creative, so I try to get them involved as well. I would also like to add by saying that as a mother, and as an individual, balancing the professional life and family is difficult. It doesn’t matter if you choose to return to the working world or not, or if you just choose to put all you energy into your family. It’s just plain hard. I think the reason I started my own business was because I needed another creative outlet. The most important thing in life is to try to figure out what you need to have a fulfilling life, and try to balance every part of that.

Where do you go to get a break from the sugar rush at work?
In regard to restaurants, we usually eat around here, and I can’t say that I have any real favorites. We are always trying to find a better restaurant. Madam Zhu’s is a favorite of ours. Their food is always flavorful, the atmosphere is family friendly, and it’s not too far from where we live. All the restaurants that we like in Beijing are Chinese. I think there are some foreign restaurants that are okay, but I think once you have had really good food in other cities, it’s really hard to compare. Even the same brands that come here are just not as good here as they are in their native countries. For me, I think you should just find the best of what’s available to you locally.

The year is almost over. Any New Year’s resolutions?
Hm, I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions because I never seem to be able to keep them. Right now I am just trying to enjoy my time here.

Interview by Marla Fong

Madam Zhu’s Kitchen 汉舍中国菜馆. Daily 11am-930pm. B1/F, Bldg D, Vantone Center, 6A Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District. (5907 1625) 朝阳区朝阳门外大街甲6号万通中心D座地下1层
CC Sweets, Central Park, Tower 11, Shop 109, Chaoyang District (6533 6973, 139 0116 8097). www.ccsweets.cn 朝外大街6号，新城国际T11.109店

Article from Agenda, issue 71, Jan 13-Jan 26. To read more from the most recent issue of Agenda, download the PDF here. To find a copy, contact our distribution department at distribution@agendabeijing.com with an idea of where you work, live or play and we'll tell you where you can find one near you.