Home baking heating up

A teacher from Pantry's Best demonstrates how to properly handle almond flour.

According to their survey, almost all participants in the course have ovens at home and more than 60 percent have baking experience. "Those mothers have acquired a surprisingly rich knowledge of food and food ingredients," she said.

Because many families have to purchase utensils from scratch and are unfamiliar with recipes and the cooking process, baking a cake is often seen as an immense project.

"The complication of baking for many Chinese families is the same level as for a Westerner wrapping a dumpling. But when you do this regularly, it can become a lifestyle," Shao said.

Sweet cravings have boosted the rising presence of bakeries. When Mark Huetsch from the United States started dating Wang Liang during his studies at Peking University, she took him to try her favorite cake. The disappointing taste encouraged Huetsch, from Illinois, to bake at home for her. She liked his pies and cakes instantly.

Four years ago, the couple founded Pantry's Best as an online store offering home delivery of pies, cakes and cupcakes.

Insisting on using only the best ingredients, such as 70 percent black chocolate and imported cream cheese, their brand was listed on a review website as one of the top three bakeries in Shanghai and they have since opened brick-and-mortar stores in both Beijing and Shanghai.