Han says she intends to grow Not Yo Mama’s Cupcakes into a family business, most likely recruiting her sister to handle design and the back end. Keeping in line with hip hop’s varied elements, a dance challenge is also on the horizon, with apparel hopefully dropping sometime this year.
This month, Han will be doing five pop-ups - including this weekend’s NTMRKT and a wine pairing with Infinite Monkey Theorem on January 30, where customers can enjoy an original lineup matched to each sip, both onsite and to-go. “I wanted to cater to the local crowd.” While flavors like the Strawberry Shorty - a strawberry cake filled with strawberry cream then topped with frosting and strawberry shortcake crumbs - will be immediately recognizable to any western palate, the lower sugar content recalls the beautiful moderation of many Asian pastries. “It took me going to Hawaii to get back rooted in those roots,” said Han. “It’s dentist approved,” she laughed, noting that her dental office had in fact given its blessing. Components like passionfruit, matcha and black sesame make frequent appearances, with the frosting - a combination of cream cheese and whipped cream - toning down the overwhelming sweetness often associated with the form. Of all the flavaz, the Cocobae - an ube or purple yam and haupia or Hawaiian coconut cream cake topped with ube frosting and coconut flakes - is the most popular. This month, the Dis ish iz Bananaz - a cinnamon cake filled with caramelized banana butter and topped with dulce de leche and pecans- sits front and center. “I like doing drops that are not available all the time,” she said. Eight standard “flavaz” are joined by limited releases. “I’m trying to create a common ground with nostalgia where it’s common for my culture and American flavors,” said Han. Featuring names like Matcha-ma-call-it, Cuppa Quoffee and Nutty By Nature, the brand epitomizes hip hop’s penchant for the jocular - the puns upping the grin-factor of each colorful bite. If cupcakes are inherently playful, Han’s are damn near mischievous. “I’m just paying homage in a playful way,” laughed Han. Citing Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott and Outkast as the big three, Han seems to eat, sleep and breathe the culture - the flavaz drawing from a more general commitment to the game. Beginning with Korean hip hop - with artists like Drunken Tiger, MC Sniper and the Honey Family keeping in steady rotation - it didn’t take long for her to become intrigued with American rappers. “I wasn’t always dancing actively, but I was always actively listening to music,” she continued. “According to my parents, I’ve been dancing since I was a kid,” she said. While this may have been Han’s first active intersection between rap and baked goods, the music has always been clear creative fodder. “The name stuck because we were shouting it at jams,” she said. Long before the business was a twinkle in anyone’s eye, Han peddled her sweets at local hip hop jams, calling out what would eventually become her trademark. Han says she first started baking in high school, preparing early models mostly for friends and family. While the line is relatively new, Not Yo Mama’s cupcakes have been developed over a lifetime.
Online ordering is also available, to be picked up at the flagship Dae Gee on Colorado Boulevard. The pop-up friendly treats have been available at multiple events - including NTMRKT - and can be consistently found at all five Dae Gee locations. Not Yo Mama’s Cupcakes took a brief hiatus before Han relaunched it locally on October 10, 2020. “A lot of my flavors were really established in Hawaii,” she said. In Hawaii, she taught dance - specifically hip hop - and launched the brand to quick acclaim, before returning to Colorado in 2020 to be closer with her family. After graduating from Grandview High School and Metro State University, Han moved to Las Vegas in 2016 before hopping over to Hawaii the following year. At 11 she moved to the Bay Area, before relocating to Colorado to finish out most of middle school. Han was born in Guam, where she spent much of her childhood.
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