Treat Box is owned and managed by Dots Mariano and operates at Carlingford and North Rocks for the local community and the greater Sydney region.
Using lovingly perfected recipes and made from choice ingredients and individually baked to order – our cakes are moist and simply delicious!
Each cake masterpiece involves meticulous
planning, attention to detail and extreme care
—if you can dream it, we can make it!
We don’t believe that a cake is the focus of the party – that goes to the celebrant or in the case of a wedding, the bride and groom. But a well-made cake can tell a story or capture the essence of the celebrant or occasion. In years to come, pictures of the celebrant with their cake can bring back the memories. And that is the value of a Treat Box cake at your party.
Want to know how it all began?
My love story with cake
I remember as a young girl in Manila, Philippines watching in wonder as my cake decorator aunties and cousin transformed eggs, flour and sugar into elaborate works of art – we are talking huge wedding cakes with mirrors and even gold fish in a pond! Needless to say I was fascinated and giddy with excitement when they would get me to do little chores like sift flour or count the number of eggs they broke. I remember the feeling of accomplishment when I got to decorate my first cake ever at the age of 11 with the assistance of my cousin Chel. And hence began my love affair with cake.
Fast forward to Sydney, Australia where I excelled in Home Science in High School and nurtured by Mum and Dad who didn’t mind letting me use the kitchen for some experimental recipes. My first ever “paying-gig” at age 16 was for a family friend’s wedding cake (and my, they were very brave and considerate …and very forgiving?!! Thanks Ate Dally and Kuya Julius!)
After graduating with a Bachelor in Medical Science from the University of Sydney, I felt the pull into food science and continued on to finish a Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics. Food continued to be a focus, however baking was put on the backburner for a while.
It was during the first year of marriage in 2001, when my husband Mitch gifted me with a lavender Kitchen Aid stand mixer (lovingly christened “Martha”) and re-awakened the sleeping giant. With plenty of opportunities to make my nieces’ and nephews’ cakes, my passion and skills for cake making bloomed to the next level.
I stopped dietetic work when my first son, Jonah was born in 2006 and went full time into juggling family duties with cake making. The home-based cake business Treat Box, launched with my amazing friend, Jasmine, was registered when my second son, Zac came into the picture in 2009. Each of my sons’ birthdays can be recalled by the design of cake I made according to their interest at that age. Each cake becoming more and more creative, ambitious and intricate, and in the same time, I perfected the cake recipes close to my heart!
After 10+ years of cake making, I can say that I feel I have found my own creative outlet which I hope spreads around a little sweetness into the lives of others.
Now, with the boys growing older and more independent, it is perfect time to pursue the dreams of opening up shop – where I can bake and create to my heart’s content, serve them out with a smile and then come home smelling of cupcakes!
My heart-felt gratitude goes to all my family, friends and customers who put their trust in me to make their cakes.