PETALING JAYA, Dec 8 — It’s been a dark year for most but Ryan Kok Yik Lerk hopes his baking skills can bring a bit of light to sick children this Christmas.

The 11-year-old from Subang Jaya has been busy whipping up and selling chocolate chiffon cakes to raise money for Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia (CWS), a charity that grants the wishes of children living with life-limiting or terminal illnesses.

Kok told Malay Mail that he was inspired to give back in the spirit of the holidays after seeing his younger sister Emma Rose donating her hair to charity recently.

“I also felt like I wanted to do something (for charity). I love baking so I thought I could do a bake sale.

“If I do this, I could make someone’s wish come true and they’ll have a better Christmas,” said Kok.

The Standard Five student developed a knack for baking after learning it from his mother and grandaunt and he hopes to sell 50 five-inch cakes by December 20.

Kok (left) and his sister Emma Rose are working together to pull off the bake sale. — Picture courtesy of Ng Si Hooi
Kok (left) and his sister Emma Rose are working together to pull off the bake sale. — Picture courtesy of Ng Si Hooi

The bake sale has also been a great bonding activity for Kok and his sister as she helps him with the baking process and designs the posters and thank you notes included with the cakes.

“We will coordinate with each other (for the bake sale) and it’s helped us grow a lot closer too,” said Kok.

The Covid-19 pandemic means Kok has been spending extra time at home especially since schools were shuttered for the majority of the year.

The young man has been using that time to catch up on his reading and honing his baking skills even further.

Besides chocolate chiffon cakes, some of the other sweet treats in Kok’s repertoire are butter cake, butter cookies, and Basque burnt cheesecakes.

He also plans to learn recipes for Chinese New Year snacks before the Year of the Ox rolls around.

Each five-inch chocolate chiffon cake retails for RM12 and delivery or self-pickup can be arranged in the USJ area. — Picture courtesy of Ng Si Hooi
Each five-inch chocolate chiffon cake retails for RM12 and delivery or self-pickup can be arranged in the USJ area. — Picture courtesy of Ng Si Hooi

In the meantime, his wishes for Christmas are simple: he hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine to be available soon and for everyone to stay in the best of health.

Kok’s chocolate chiffon cakes retail for RM12 each and delivery is available in the USJ area (self-pickup can be arranged).

All profits will go towards CWS to help fulfil the wishes of a child living with life-limiting or terminal illness.

Interested customers can contact Kok’s mother Ng Si Hooi at 012-3059852 for more information.