This Bakery In Kerala Baked India's First Christmas Cake Back In 1883

Thalassery town in Kerala's Kannur District has a unique distinction. It is often called the city of 3Cs - Cricket, Circus, and Cakes.

Many people, including ardent Cricket fans, may not know that it was in Thalassery, then known as Tellichery, where India's first Cricket Club -- the Town Cricket Club, was founded.

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Cricket was introduced to Thalassery by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and the club was founded in 1830.

The town along the Malabar coast was also home to one of India's oldest circus schools, founded in 1901. Its founder, Keeleri Kunhikannan, a martial artist, was the trainer of some of India's best-known circus performers and promoters, including Gemini Shankaran, the owner of Gemini Circus.

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How the Kerala plum cake was born

The third C in Thalassery's legacy is cakes.

If you ever had a friend or colleague from Kerala, there is a high chance that you have tasted a delicious 'Kerala plum cake' during Christmas and have craved more.

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You can thank Mambally Bapu for the masterpiece that has, since the 1880s, become the benchmark for plum cakes.

Bapu, who hails from Kerala, is based in Burma and is involved in the export of milk, tea, and bread to British troops in Egypt.

First bakery owned by an Indian

During his time in Burma, Bapu also mastered the art of baking, and in 1880, he returned to his hometown, Thalassery, and set up Mambally's Royal Biscuit Factory.

mambally's

It was the first 'borma' and bakery in India owned by an Indian and had over 40 varieties of biscuits, rusks, bread, and buns.

The bakery became an instant hit among both locals and the British, who became Bapu's regular customers.

Mambally's

An experiment that struck gold

In 1883, just days before Christmas, a British customer approached Bapu with an unusual demand, changing Mambally's destiny forever.

Murdoch Brown, a British Cinimon planter wanted an English-style Christmas cake. Since Bapu was unfamiliar with cakes, Brown gave him a recipe and the ingredients.

But a key ingredient from Brown's recipe was missing - French Brandy, which the British planter suggested Bapu can purchase from Mahe, a French colony.

Mambally's

Since Mahe was 14 km away, Bapu instead used a locally made alcoholic drink prepared from cashews, apples, and bananas to prepare the cake.

And on December 20, 1883, to the delight of Bapu, the cake turned out to be even better than what Brown had in England.

Impressed by his rich plum cake taste, Brown instantly ordered a dozen more.

Mambally's

Still going strong

There has been no turning back for Mambally's since then, and even today, the fifth generation of the family keeps the bakery business, which has since branched out under names like Santha Bakery, Cochin Bakery, Modern Bakery, Best Baking Co, and the legacy alive.

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