It wouldn’t take a genius to understand why Gigi Gaerlan’s quirky creation, “Custaroons,” has become the talk of the town for all things yummy. A small bite from the creamy custard topped with a buttery crust of chewy desiccated coconut says it all; this pleasantly sweet and melt in your mouth confection will have you forget all the calories you dare not count.

And unlike other treats that took a lot of research and testing to concoct, Gigi’s Custaroons, which literally means custard macaroons, was created through Gigi’s failed attempt on her mom’s macaroon recipe and a little help from serendipity.

“It all started in 1999. I was thinking of baking something special for my friends for the holidays when I stumbled upon my mom’s recipe of macaroons. But somewhere in the process, I did something wrong and I ended up making a macaroon with a creamy custard underneath which for some reason tasted really good,” Gigi recalled.

It wasn’t long until her friends and cousins started ordering boxes and boxes of her Custaroons but since Gigi had to juggle baking with web designing and helping in her father’s business, she would limit the orders for a certain amount and only accepted orders during the Holiday season. It wasn’t until December of 2008, after some nudging from her husband, Patrick, did she decide to formally start a business and make it a year-round confection. She’s been baking every day, ever since.

“I never had any formal training on baking. I basically learned from my mom – who’s a very good baker and chef – after years of helping her in the kitchen. It was really hard at first, I would drive from our house to my mom’s in Green Meadows to bake and I’d stay up in the wee hours of the morning just to finish the orders in one go,” she shared.

But all those hard work paid off well now that Gigi has her own commissary and baking at least 50 boxes (1, 200 pieces) a day with a help from her husband and some hired workers. Since December of last year, she had bulk orders for weddings, parties, and holiday gifts. As early as January, she already had advance orders for February to April.

At the moment, Gigi is yet to open her own store, accepting orders from her website and marketing almost only through word of mouth. But in two or three years time, she plans to have her own store and possibly bring her Custaroons in the international market. “I have a lot of clients from the US, mostly balikbayans who hand carry the boxes back to the States as pasalubong. So I really hope and dream that I can bring my Custaroons overseas,” she mused.

Saying that Gigi’s Custaroons is a thriving home-based business is an understatement especially with a meager capital of R5,000.00. According to Gigi, her secret to success trickles down to a little bravado and a strong sense of faith in one’s product.

“You shouldn’t be afraid to take risks. If you believe in your creation, be confident enough to offer it to others and ask for feedbacks regardless of whether it’s positive or negative. I had people tell me that my Custaroons are too sweet; I gladly took that criticism and used it to better my product,” she said smiling.

Aside from her original Custaroons that come in regular three ounce cups and bite-sized pieces, Gigi also offers cheese flavored Custaroons and the sinfully delicious Chocolate Poppers, which are little custaroon balls coated with a special cocoa powder.

For more information on Gigi’s Custaroons visit www.custaroons.com.