San Jose woman turns passion for art into baking business

A San Jose woman with a passion for art is channeling her creativity into making entremets: layered, mousse-filled cakes with shiny mirror glazes.

Gaurangi “Gauri” Malekar’s company, Better Butter Bakes, can be found every Sunday at the Cupertino farmers’ market at De Anza College from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Better Butter Bakes also participated in three San Jose Made events over the summer.

“I wanted to make cakes that weren’t just desserts but also pieces of art, where food and creativity intersect,” said Malekar.

“The process is meticulous,” she added, “and I take pride in offering cakes that not only taste exceptional but also stand out visually.”

Malekar said there weren’t many pastry shops focusing on mirror-glazed cakes, and with her background in art, she saw this as an opportunity to create something unique. Customers seem to enjoy the results.

“Gauri’s passion and artistry really shine in her entremets,” said San Jose resident Tacy Framhein. “They are almost too gorgeous to eat, but impossible to resist.”

“What impressed me most was the excellent presentation,” said Cupertino resident Hema Kundargi, who first tasted Better Butter Bakes’ offerings at the De Anza farmers’ market in August. “The taste was exquisite and the texture was just perfect. The cakes are a feast for the tastebuds and eyes, too.”

That Malekar is doing this solo is another point in her favor.

“I wanted to support a local, small woman-owned business,” said Framhein. “It was a total perk to find out the pick-up location is about 5 minutes from my house.”

“I am happy to encourage a young woman entrepreneur who is following her passion,” said Kundargi.

Better Butter Bakes’ “Brun” entremet is dark chocolate mousse and creme brulée with a chocolate sponge cake and a milk chocolate crunch. Customers choose the colors of the mirror glaze. “The Passion” has passionfruit mousse and a mango cremeux, with a hazelnut cake and hazelnut streusel.

“I ordered ‘The Passion’ for my husband’s birthday last year and ‘Brun’ for Christmas Eve and my husband’s birthday this year,” said Framhein. “Both are so well balanced in flavor and texture—not too sweet—and were huge hits.”

Malekar emigrated in 2011 to attend San Jose State University as an undergrad. Initially, she majored in interior design before switching to tech.

“I’ve always had a passion for the arts and creativity,” she said. “But living in the Bay Area, specifically San Jose, it didn’t take long for me to realize that tech is the dominant industry here.”

Malekar said she was encouraged to take a safe career path, so she chose to major in management information systems and eventually landed a corporate job.

“At first, I felt proud to be working in the Bay Area, but that pride quickly faded,” she said. “The long hours and the work itself left me feeling empty. It was clear that this wasn’t where I was meant to be.”

Baking remained her solace, she said. During the pandemic, Malekar decided to pursue what truly made her happy. She enrolled at the now-closed San Francisco Cooking School.

“For the first time in years, I felt like I belonged,” she said. “I wasn’t pretending to be someone I wasn’t. That’s when Better Butter Bakes was born.”

Malekar grew up in Dubai. “That’s where my love for baking first started, thanks to my aunt Arti Mhatre,” she said. “She was always hosting and creating delicious desserts, and I was her eager taste-tester.”

She said the “Blush” entremet was inspired by South Asian and Arabic flavors. It is a lychee and rose-flavored mousse, with pistachio cremeux, pistachio crunch and pistachio cake.

Inspired by those early experiences at her aunt’s, Malekar began experimenting with making her own desserts. She began with premade cake mixes and eventually moved on to more challenging bakes like eclairs and macarons.

Malekar is the sole baker at Better Butter Bakes, and she now uses a commercial kitchen at 1721 S. Rogers Ave. in San Jose. Her family helps with daily operations. Her parents still live in Dubai but visit at least once a year. Her aunt now lives in San Diego, and Malekar travels there often to eat her desserts.

“I have an incredible support system—my husband, my sister, my mom, my in-laws and, of course, my dog Mia,” she said.

To order Better Butter Bakes cakes, visit https://www.betterbutterbakes.com. Customers must pick up the cakes at the San Jose kitchen.