Cake in Action is a family-run cake shop in Ang Mo Kio, founded by Forest Lim, who grew up playing in his father's bakery kitchen before taking over the family business out of filial piety when his father retired after an operation. Forest's wife Joanne joined him in the business in 2012, and together they rebranded the shop from "New Generation Confectionery" to "Cake in Action" in 2014.
The shop specialises in customised cakes — birthday cakes for all ages, festive cakes, auspicious Heng Ong Huat cakes, and theme cakes — alongside the fresh bread that first brought generations of regular customers through the door. Joanne has built a reputation for 3D cake decoration, representing Singapore at the Taiwan Happiness Pastry invitation contest, and the shop has also placed in the SBCTA Bake-A-Star Championship Singapore, taking first place for cake decoration and third for bread.
For co-founder Forest Lim, the bakery kitchen was his childhood playground. While other kids played with toy cars, Forest spent his time surrounded by flour and baking equipment, watching his father and a team of bakers turn out fresh bread every day, rain or shine, for a loyal community of customers — many of whom had watched Forest grow up.
Years later, when the elder Mr Lim needed to retire after an operation, Forest — then working at an architectural firm — made the decision to take over the family business out of filial piety. Standing in the kitchen one day, he realised that to him, bread wasn't just food on a table; it was part of a commitment to bond with customers through the love kneaded into it. That realisation became his calling.
The path wasn't easy. Forest had to learn everything from scratch — kneading dough, sourcing raw materials, hiring and training staff — driven forward by the loyalty of returning customers. In 2012, his newly wedded wife Joanne joined him, starting out making waffles and scrubbing baking trays as she learned the business alongside him.
In 2014, to stay relevant in a changing retail market, Forest and Joanne rebranded the business from New Generation Confectionery to Cake in Action — a change that also coincided with the birth of their second child. Their philosophy: every cake has a story, and their job is to "take action" to recreate customers' memories and love through the cake, with the birthday cake as the star of every celebration.
Over the following year, Joanne honed her cake decoration skills, and by 2015 her 3D cakes had won a following of new fans. Determined to push further, she represented Singapore at the Taiwan Happiness Pastry invitation contest, competing against pastry masters from Japan, Taiwan and Korea, and took third place on her first attempt. Cake in Action went on to compete in the SBCTA (Singapore Bakery and Confectionery Trade Association) Bake-A-Star Championship Singapore, placing first for cake decoration and third for bread — recognition for years of dedicated craft.
Today, the shop's customised cake range spans birthday cakes for both seniors and younger celebrants, festive cakes, Heng Ong Huat cakes for auspicious occasions, and theme cakes built around a customer's vision — often the elaborate 3D designs Joanne is known for. Fresh bread remains part of the shop's daily offering too, a link back to where the business began.
Forest describes Cake in Action as a place where regular customers still come daily for their bread, where mothers come to design a customised 3D cake for their little ones, and where the next generation gets to play with the dough, just as he once did. As he puts it: baking equipment and ingredients may change over the years, but the reason to bake — creating memories that last a lifetime — never should.