Tucked away on Brixton St. in Pasig City, Tilde Bakery operates from a bright, bustling neighborhood store, with locals dropping by for their sugar fix alongside a steady stream of riders dispatched to bring the confections across the city.
Inside, the air hangs heavy with a butter-rich smell. Rows of cookie jars line the shelves. The refrigerators hum, stacked with fresh cakes—no nonsense fondant sculptures or architectural feats, just honest, unfussy, and beautifully simple baked goods that taste as good as they look.
At the helm are Ginny de Guzman and her daughter Sabrina—a duo whose sweet creations have become something of an open secret among cake aficionados who prefer substance and good taste over show.
View this post on Instagram
Beginnings in baking
It all started with Ginny, who began baking at the age of seven, using a Betty Crocker for Children’s cookbook. By 11, she was taking orders for cookies and cakes, and by 13, she was giving cooking lessons to neighbors.
That early entrepreneurial streak eventually led to opening Sugarhouse at only 26 years old, a household name known to many, that started elevating the Philippine dessert industry in 1983.
It was at Sugarhouse where Ginny’s Chocolate Truffle cake became the stuff of legend. One of the first chocolate cakes that was neither dense nor heavy, the cake was refreshingly light and fluffy, with powdered chocolate dusted on top. It’s the cake that launched a hundred imitations, though none have quite captured the original. Her Honey Cake, too, with its caramel crunch and soft chiffon, set a standard that competitors have chased for years.
Ginny developed another delicious, denser chocolate cake called Jerry’s Chocolate Cake, between selling Sugarhouse and opening Tilde. “I set up a commercial kitchen at home for a food chain and with the help of Jerry, baked chocolate cakes every day, six days a week… Jerry got so good at it that on his own he could produce more than 100 cakes a day… a chocolate cake outlier. He definitely deserved to have a cake named after him.”
Tilde’s early days
In 2016, Tilde started as the business venture of two retirees, Ginny and Chiqui Lara. It originally began as Tilde Café in Poblacion, taking its name from Matilde street it was on, and quickly became a favorite among “a mixed crowd of artists and rebels… Maria Ressa and her staff would meet there and stay for cake and coffee,” Ginny recalls. “We wanted Tilde Café to be a testing ground for ideas and experiments.”
The move to their current Brixton, Pasig location came with a slight shift, retaining only the retail store. While letting go of the café element, the experimental spirit stayed, and with it, Ginny’s daughter Sabrina, “joined to inject young blood in,” as her mom states.
Like mother, like daughter
Sabrina didn’t initially plan to follow her mom’s floury footsteps, despite growing up in a home where baking was the norm.
“I was so happy to be around food growing up—my brothers and I would always taste test my mom’s kitchen experiments. Some were weird, but most were delicious,” she muses. “Not many moms made their own cheese or baked their own bread from scratch, and I only really appreciated that as I got older.”
After returning from living in Sydney, Sabrina dipped into the family business in a manner that happened naturally. “I started taking over social media and then hanging out in the store more,” she explains.
What was meant to be a temporary stint helping before job-hunting became something more. “Slowly I saw that Tilde had way more potential, and I wanted more people to be able to access my mom’s creations.”
The perfect family recipe
As mother and daughter move through the store, there’s none of the tension you might expect when a parent and a child work together.
“At work, we are both professionals, we each have our roles,” Ginny explains. “Production and R&D for me, operations and marketing for Sab. We complement each other.”
Sabrina agrees, “It’s very easy and very collaborative. We don’t really separate work from home life. We’re always talking about Tilde while doing other things, so it just naturally blends into our everyday conversations… My mom is always coming up with new cakes and pies, drawing inspiration from our travels. On the product front, she’s got it covered.”
On Sabrina’s end, she is always on the lookout for pop-ups and markets, as well as cafes and restaurants that might want to carry Tilde Bakery’s desserts, or specific breads they can make for them. “Presentation and packaging are key, too, which is why we recently rebranded to give our branding a younger, funkier vibe,” she states.
When it comes to testing in the kitchen, the two share a similar palate. “We usually always agree on the taste of the product,” Sabrina shares. “I feel like my mom has trained my palate really well over the years. We never like anything too sweet, and we always love to add texture or something surprising–something crunchy or salty.”
Although, as expected, they don’t agree on everything. “Most of the time, we agree on taste. We may differ in opinions on packaging and pricing, but at the end of the day, it’s just work,” Ginny remarks.
Still, both believe in the same fundamentals when it comes to Tilde Bakery. “Quality ingredients, unexpected combinations, and a good relationship with suppliers,” Ginny lists as her principles.
While her mom has worked through strict principles in her baking career, Sabrina reflects how lessons from her mom go beyond recipes, “My mom is incredibly generous with her knowledge—she loves helping out small businesses and young people just starting out. I think that’s why she has so many foodie friends (and keeps making more!) who always come back to Tilde.”
“She’s taught me that building community matters, and that kindness and generosity always come full circle,” Sabrina adds.
Tilde Bakery favorites
While the operations run like a well-oiled machine under Sabrina and Ginny, it’s the sugar and spice that keep customers coming back to Tilde Bakery.
Among the bestsellers are the Carrot Cake Cheesecake and Pistachio Sansrival, layered with crispy meringue and pistachio buttercream, best kept in the freezer to keep that mix of crispiness and chewiness.
View this post on Instagram
For those who prefer desserts that aren’t too sweet, the Orange EVOO is one such unique cake made with extra virgin olive oil and fresh oranges, topped with pistachios.
My personal favorite is the Limoncello cake, always a hit at special lunches or dinner parties. Its citrus notes are just right—bright, but not sharp, with just enough tang and sweetness.
While I’ve never been a fan of cheesecakes, the Strawberry Cake Cheesecake won me over, loaded with strawberries over soft sponge cake and cream cheese icing.
Among the cookies, Ginny lists the unique range: “We have Champorado cookies, our interpretation of the Filipino chocolate rice pudding, Mango cookies with bits of dried mango, and Malted Chocolate Chip.” Then there’s the dangerously addictive Parmesan Shortbread, with its savory-sweet balance of salty parmesan and perfect buttery-sweet shortbread.
Coffee lovers should try the Espresso Brownies, too—fudgy squares with a genuine coffee kick.
**
Lately, with fresh sugar flowers under their belt and their signature style of long cakes, Sabrina has been pushing Tilde in new directions with “Tilde Occasions,” their line for special events, particularly wedding cakes.
View this post on Instagram
“It’s such an honor to be part of someone’s big day,” she says. “My favorite thing is when brides tell me their guests actually ate the cake—and loved it.”
I had one at my own wedding: a relaxed, elongated cake overflowing with sugar flowers that echoed the tropical environment. It was gone in under 30 minutes, far faster than expected, with a few guests even squabbling over who got the bigger slice. A far cry from the usual towering confections where entire sections go untouched, with some parts made of styrofoam.
As Tilde Bakery continues to grow, Ginny shares, “One day I will be 100 percent happily retired knowing that Sab is very capable of continuing the Tilde legacy.”
For now, they share the simple pleasures of having work and home in one place and in one another.
“The best part is when we both end up by the counter sharing a slice of something new—tasting, giving each other feedback, and almost always agreeing,” Sabrina states.
Tilde Bakery’s mother-daughter duo shows that culinary legacies aren’t always just measured in exacting, passed-down family recipes, but with a shared taste of how to make something worth eating, worth sharing, and worth coming back for, again and again.
Tilde Bakery is located in Three Brixton Building, 3 Brixton St, Pasig City. Their cakes and pastries are available for pickup or delivery at https://tildebakery.com/
