International Diplomacy Through a Roll Cake: How Audrey’s Cakelicious is Reshaping the Next Generation of Culinary Arts

By Jenny Liang, Associate Reporter at China Insight

*all pictures provided by Audrey Williams

Audrey Williams may seem like any other Chinese American teenager: She played the piano and the violin, is active in extracurriculars, and juggles an ambitious academic schedule. However, one thing sets Ms. Williams apart – At sixteen years old, she has run her own bakery for four years. As the young baker has continued to expand her horizons, her business, Audrey’s Cakelicious, is now gaining traction within the local community.

Above: Audrey Williams featured with her cake!

Baking has always been a part of Audrey’s life. A core memory growing up was seeing her mother in the kitchen, either baking or cooking. “The ironic thing was,” Audrey stated, “she never got into baking until after she immigrated to the United States.” Perhaps it was the need to transition to a culture entirely different from one’s own that caused her to embrace her identity.

Audrey fondly remembers mixing the batter with her mother, a spark of passion that continues to fuel a lifetime’s mission. What started out as box mix has transitioned to a registered local bakery that rolls out (pun intended) a wide variety of fluffy Asian-flavored roll cakes, moist cupcakes, and rich brownie donuts. Bolu Gulung, or roll cake, is a staple in the Southeast Asian dessert scene and her signature dessert. “They are simple, but the best pick-me-up for a bad day,” Audrey told me. I agree. Her Bolu Gulung is both aesthetically satisfying and incredible to taste, with a soft texture that melts into your mouth. The flavors lingered long after my bite.

Over time, she has perfected both the vanilla and coffee mocha bolu gulung. She also features pandan chiffon, a light and airy dessert made from pandan leaves, as a primary ingredient in cakes and cupcakes. Audrey balances Southeast Asian flavors and ingredients for a largely Western population. But even her cupcakes and brownie donuts are praised by all as “not too sweet,” the highest honor a Chinese customer can give.

Above: Now introducing … the vanilla bolu gulung ($25.00)

Audrey’s recipes are inspired by her patchwork of different identities. Officially, she is Chinese-Indonesian, with great-grandparents who migrated from the Mainland to Indonesia. “There was some kind of war,” she told me. “So they got on a boat and ended up in Indonesia.” So although Ms. Williams is ethnically Chinese, much of her nostalgic food memories come from the East Indies. Her family would frequently return to Indonesia during the holidays, where she would enjoy nasi goreng and mie goreng, fried rice and noodles. The colorful street food scene wouldn’t be complete without the sambal, chillies featured in local curries and simmered with an intoxicating blend of garlic, onions, and vinegar.

Just like Indonesian food, which includes a dizzying variety of spices, including garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves, Audrey Williams herself speaks four languages: Mandarin, Indonesian, Hokkien (Chinese language), and English. Despite being quadrilingual, she still has the same experience as many other Chinese Americans, going to Chinese immersion school and taking AP Chinese as an easy language credit.

Above: The Williams Family!

Audrey has a younger brother, Edward Williams. Their last name, Williams, confuses many expecting a Caucasian face. But the name is a deliberate choice made by her father, who changed the surnames of his children, from Widjaja to Williams, to assimilate and be more Western.

Audrey was deeply impacted by that decision to cater towards Western society and her own unique identity. How do I represent my culture? she often asked herself. “When I had an opportunity,” Audrey told me, “I would go all out.” Unlike many Asian Americans who experience an identity crisis, Audrey Williams became inflamed with a passion to embrace Indonesia, the nation that welcomed her ancestors. Her diplomatic tool of choice? An oven, some ingredients, and a treasure trove of memories.

Mind you, by this point, Audrey was only ten years old. When the COVID pandemic slammed the breaks on society, Audrey Williams was a fifth-grader. The pandemic pushed the bored girl into the kitchen, where her love for making desserts led to the decision to bake professionally.

Her mother held a cottage producer license, which allowed individuals in Minnesota to sell food. Audrey’s mother primarily focused on bread, whose techniques would inspire Audrey on her own journey. The decision to get a license, Audrey told me, was fueled by a desire to share Indonesian desserts with the public, as well as a hope, shared by every middle schooler, to make some money. A year later, Audrey received her license and began taking orders when she was twelve.

Above: The pandan chiffon cake from Audrey’s Cakelicious ($25.00)

The first dessert the pre-teen perfected was a vanilla-and-strawberry jam roll cake, which took almost two years of consistent tries. Audrey also has to balance Western and Asian bakery techniques: With roll cakes, she told me, there must be flavors at least some people can recognize. Strawberry was an obvious choice, a popular flavor in both nations. However, Audrey continues to alter for Western preferences: She uses raspberry jam, an unheard-of flavor in Indonesia. Audrey Williams also had to adapt the ingredients, as Indonesian eggs are much smaller and come from village chickens (unlike the massive commercial farms in America). New Zealand’s butter brand commonly found in Indonesia, Anchor Butter, also lends a richer taste to desserts, something that American recipes lack.

Nonetheless, her items have received praise and earned the loyalty of several customers. Audrey continues to perfect her recipes, providing tips to amateur bakers:

When baking, roll cakes, take them out of the oven and roll them immediately after baking.
Although steaming hot, leaving it to cool leads to a drier cake.

“Get used to rolling a really hot cake,” she laughed. She burns herself a lot, Audrey told me.

Above: Cupcakes, a customer favorite.

Now, Audrey dreams of attending LeCorden Bleu, the premier pastry school, and eventually starting her own baking business selling elevated desserts. Her bakery would be a landing hub for both those wanting a social spot with friends and students who want to get work done. And it would feature her beloved roll cakes, cupcakes with exotic flavors, and a coffee and boba menu.

Above: Audrey’s Cakelicious at the Twin Cities West Metro Asian Fair

“My mission,” Audrey said, “is to bring unique flavors and desserts to the public and Chinese-Indonesian culture into baking.” In her years of professional baking, Audrey’s Cakelicious has been centered on being customer-oriented and sweet in both taste and kindness. Currently, Audrey Williams uses time management to juggle school work, baking, a social life, and contributing to her church community at the Twin Cities Chinese Christian Church.

Any advice for those balancing hobbies with school or work? I asked.

“Everyone is busy,” she said. “But take advantage of breaks.”

Now, Audrey Williams continues in her journey. She currently has a Linktree and Instagram, and is planning on launching a website by the end of 2025. She also envisions taking custom cake commissions after she improves her skills and techniques. When she has time, Audrey features her baking business in pop-up events, where she offers discounts for repeat customers and offers flavor testing. She is also experimenting with brown butter frosting, a profile that will hopefully appear in her new menu.

Above: Snapshot of cupcakes.

Reflecting on her life, Audrey muses that a simple dream from a young age became her reality. “My dream as a child was to own my own bakery – Now, it’s true.”

And as the seasons pass, the dream stays just as strong as ever, marked by a young girl who simply refuses to give up.

Order from Audrey’s Cakelicious!