Bakerrae is a Filipino-inspired bakery and cafe in the Upper Beaches serving up freshly baked buns, cookies, and coffees.

It houses two businesses under one roof, also being home to Chachalate, an ethical handmade chocolate factory. The space is mainly for takeout as the retail and cafe area consists of just a small bar and display shelves. 

It's a dream come true for real-life partners Rae Abayan and Ry Lee, who have joined their culinary forces to open a physical storefront. 

Lee started his journey first, picking up chocolate-making as a hobby while working at a video agency in 2019.

"I needed to find something that excited me again," he explains. "I made bars out of my condo kitchen and rented commercial kitchen spaces."

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Abayan would join a year later, having picked up baking as her quarantine activity. Long hours working as a nurse in the hospital during COVID led to her being burnt out and dreaming of opening a coffee shop instead. 

"We've walked two separate but similar paths and we just decided it was time for us to look for our own space, get bigger equipment, and make a bigger impact on people who eat our goods," they tell blogTO. 

All the production is done in the vast open kitchen that takes up most of the store. The main star of the bakery is what Abayan calls Rae Buns: laminated dough shaped in low bun-donut like circles. 

The centre is left hollow to be filled by one of four flavours. For Abayan, developing the menu was a chance to reconnect with her Filipino heritage, having immigrated here at the early age of three. 

All Rae Buns use ingredients popular to Filipino cuisine, and Abayan spends her time making all the toppings from scratch. 

The Ube Flan ($8) is first filled with a layer of ube flan cream before being topped with a perfectly symmetrical disc of flan and a dusting of powdered sugar. 

Mango Float ($8) features graham cracker crumble under a sweet cream layer. Fresh mangoes and more crumble finish this sweet bun.

Calamansi Meringue ($8) is a spin on a key lime-lemon meringue hybrid. A bright layer of tart curd fills the middle, while a squiggle of Italian meringue is torched before serving. 

My personal favourite was the Ube Tsokolate ($8), with boiled milk frosting and a base of rich pure cacao custard. A homemade ube marshmallow square is torched and drizzled with dark chocolate from Chachalate. 

The texture of the marshmallow is perfect and the dark chocolate doesn't overwhelm it at all. 

No matter which bun you try, you're guaranteed to get a beautifully laminated pastry with crisp layers. 

There's also a Chachalate Cookie ($4.50) that uses chunks of pure Tanzanian chocolate inside a skirt of homemade caramel baked to a crisp. This is a toffee nut dream come true. 

The same laminated dough is used to make Cinnamon Rae Rolls ($5), which are rolled in Muscovado sugar and cinnamon and drizzled with dark chocolate. Abayan has been working on a soft-serve Rae Bun to model a mini Halo Halo ($13). It's finished with all the usual fixings.

On the cafe side, espresso is pulled from Dispatch beans and there's a Kape menu full of drinks with Filipino twists. 

Lattes can come with Pandan ($6) simple syrup or Coconut Cold Foam ($6.50) for a frothy sweet drink. 

For a refreshing sip, there's a Calamansi Cold Brew Tonic ($6.50). It's light and mildly sweet. 

Hot Chachalate ($6.50) is made by steaming Chachalate chocolate ganache, milk, and crushed soba. The drink is then poured through a sieve to catch any soba bits for a smoother drinking experience. 

The Chachalate production happens around the clock in the back kitchen, and Lee continues to stand by his commitment to using only ethically sourced beans — something that has set him apart for all these years. 

There are only two ingredients in a Chachalate bar — organic cane sugar and cocoa beans — that undergo about 13 steps over the course of a week to come to life. It's a three-day process to grind the fair-trade beans alone. The minimal ingredient list makes the bars vegan and gluten-free. 

Lee is interested in the subtle notes different beans have — much like wine — and experiments with his process to bring out specific profiles in his products. He promises, "Good chocolate is unique — it doesn't mean it's going to be bitter. " Bars are $12.99 each and they rotate seasonally. 

The duo are infectiously passionate about their craft and just happy to be able to do what they love.

"We took leaps of faith to get to this point and it's been one big adventure. We're just having fun and hoping to make people happy when they visit us."

Bakerrae is located at 149 Main St.