THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: This Christmas season might be the last for Santha Bakery in Statue junction, Pulimoodu which has been been offering plum and Christmas cakes for 82 years to capital city natives. The bakery run by the descendants of Mampally Bapu in Thalassery, who made the first Christmas cake in the state, is planning to shut down the shop after Christmas due to health reasons, said owner PMK Premnath. The outlet in Kowdiyar was closed five years ago.

The Christmas cake of the old generation was from Santha Bakery. Plum cake made using a special recipe which has been passed down through the generations, cream cake, cutler, samosa were all their specialities. People from far away places came here to buy this. AKG, EMS, Krishna Pillai, Sathyan, Shivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and many others have enjoyed the taste of cake from Santha Bakery, which is celebrating its centenary.

Story behind the birth of the cake

Mampally Bapu, the owner of the Mampally Royal Biscuit Factory in Thalassery, was asked by Murdoch Brown, an Englishman, to make a cake like a model of British cake. Bapu, who had only made bread and buns till then, made a classic plum cake in his native style. Brown was amazed at Bapu's skill and told him to make a dozen cakes. Perhaps it was Kerala's first Christmas cake. Santha Bakery was started in Travancore in 1940.

The owner said that their outlet in Vazhuthacaud would remain open.