Moomina Ahmed’s Moom’s Delights

Moomina Ahmed (Moomi) is an entrepreneur who runs a home baking business called Moom's Delights and we catch up with her to talk about her love for desserts, the goodies she offers, and the future of her business among other things.

Lonumedhu: Let’s start by talking about what you offer at Moom’s Delights. What are your most popular items?

Moomi: Kashikeyo cake (screwpine cake) is the most popular item at the moment. Tres Leches cake is quite popular too.

Other than that, the items I make include Kanamadhu cake, brownies and also a really delicious coconut cake. You can of course check out all the items from my page.

The newest additions to the menu are caramel bars and a no bake chocolate biscuit cake that I introduced just this year.

Lonumedhu: All of them sound yummy Moomi. How’d you learn to make all these desserts?

Moomi: I haven’t had any formal training. I did a basic cake course in Male’ sometime back and did a two day flavoured cake course too, but that’s it. Mostly I learn by watching videos on YouTube. I’ll experiment and of course put my own spin on the baked goods though. However, I am planning to go to Sri Lanka around May or June this year to complete a three months course though.

Lonumedhu: That’s Great!

Moomi: I am hoping to open Moom’s Delights shop at the end of the year and want to learn some more before I do that.

Lonumedhu: Tell us more about the shop.

Moomi: It’s going to be a place where people can enjoy my desserts with a cup of coffee or tea. Additionally, I want people to be able to place orders from the shop too. And by that time I want to be able to offer wedding cakes, dessert tables and so on. 

Also a good thing about having a shop would be that people could just buy cakes and other items in slices without having to buy them whole.

Lonumedhu: How long have you been baking?

Moomi: It’s been a really long time. I think I started baking and making desserts when I was 17, now I am 53. I’ve always loved desserts and in those earlier days I’d be making them for family events. That was before YouTube so I was learning things by asking my mum and others. The desserts I made back then were much simpler too. And there was a lot we couldn’t make because not many ingredients were available back then.

Lonumedhu: Since you’ve mentioned Youtube, do you have any channels you are particularly fond of?

Moomi:  Yes. Bigger Bolder Baking, Pinoy Cooking and Home Cooking are some of my favourites.

Lonumedhu: What about savoury items. Do you like making them too?

Moomi: Not really. I’ve always been into desserts. I can of course make all the traditional Dhivehi items that we eat daily. But I am not really drawn to them in the way I am drawn to desserts.

Lonumedhu: So how did you come to start your business?

Moomi: I think it was around 4 years ago that I started taking orders via Moom's Delights' Facebook page. I was taking orders before that too. But that was just for friends.

Lonumedhu: You were on TV last year too right?

Moomi: Yes I was on TVM’s Rahathafaathu programme during last year’s Ramadan and on the programme I made something called a coconut delight.

Lonumedhu: We’ve reached the end of our interview, so last question, what’s your personal favourite off the Moom’s Delight menu?

Moomi: My favourite is my Kashikeyo cake. People have told me it’s the best Kasikeyo cake they’ve had too. It’s got Kashikeyo in the batter as well as a Kashikeyo sauce drizzled on top.

Lonumedhu: Thanks so much for having this chat with us Moomi. We wish you all the best in your future dessert ventures. Is there anything else you’d like to add before we sign off?

Moomi: I just want to thank my three boys and my family. They are very supportive and help me out a lot. I also want to thank team Lonumedhu for giving me this opportunity.