Mumbai bakers celebrate strawberry season with special cakes, delicious desserts
Who can’t resist biting into a juicy vibrantly red strawberry when you see one? And, as the winter season rolls through the city, these succulent berries are taking over Mumbai markets. Currently at their peak freshness, these fruits add sweetness with a hint of tartness to sweet treats and are wonderfully easy to incorporate into baked goods for pâtissiers. They are also a delight for dessert lovers, who can find several special menus around the city, which are dedicated to this fruit.
Baking up a cake storm
For Anannya Borgohain, a self-taught home baker who is based in Andheri (W), strawberries are the star of her new menu. She has over eight varieties of this succulent berry-based desserts that range from ₹2,400 to ₹6,300. She says, “Our Strawberry Charlotte is a vanilla sponge cake with strawberry sauce, apricot preserve and pistachios. For those who love lemon, the strawberry lemonade cake is infused with the zest and juice of Italian lemons, along with a lemon-flavoured whipped cream cheese, and strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream. We also have homemade strawberry ice cream, cupcakes and even a tart with freshly cut berries.”
Founded by the mother-son duo Deepa and Rohit Desai, Vanilla Beans has a new seasonal Strawberry collection with seven cakes. Based in Bandra (W), Rohit says, “The Nutella strawberry cake is our best seller and the star of the menu. We use fresh strawberries to make homemade compote that adds a tartness to the desserts. The other items on the strawberry menu are Belgian dark chocolate with strawberries for people who don’t like their cakes too sweet and the boozy Strawberry Nutella Cake, which is an indulgent adult twist on our bestseller with some rum for a kick. We also have a sugar-free vegan chocolate strawberry cake – a revolutionary addition that’s gluten-free, added sugar-free, and completely vegan while maintaining the decadent taste we’re known for.”
Dainty desserts
At Zinque Patisserie in Lower Parel and Santacruz (W), founder Pragati Virdi has three exciting strawberry dessert variants on her menu. “We have a Strawberry Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau, Strawberry Mascarpone and Ruby Crunch Gateau and a Strawberry Nutella Cheesecake. We also do a special strawberry box with an assortment of four mini cakes, that range from ₹1,900 to ₹2,500. Each of the cakes is infused with luxury that lends a sense of grandeur to any occasion,” she says.
A completely Jain-friendly and eggless cloud kitchen, 60-year-old Jagruti Parikh serves up Bengali sandesh-based desserts at Mithaas. She says, “I began as a simple endeavour to make a cake for my granddaughter. What sets Mithaas apart is all our desserts are made with Sandesh that’s made from paneer. We use natural ingredients like khadi shakar (unrefined sugar) and avoid artificial colours and fondant. We have cakes that have chocolate or Biscoff base, along with a creamy sandesh filling. Our strawberry shots have layers of fresh strawberry juice that’s made into jelly, sandesh and topped with berries, too.”
For this new season, at Éclat Pâtisserie in Andheri (E), Rhea Rhea Mirchandani’s cloud kitchen has some unique desserts on her menu. “We make a fraisier, a classic French dessert with a vanilla sponge, crème mousseline (custard-based frosting), strawberry compote and fresh strawberries. It is super light yet rich.” The strawberry tres leches tub has a sponge cake soaked in strawberry milk with layers of whipped cream and fresh berries. For cake lovers, the chocolate brownie strawberry cake is a 55% Belgian dark chocolate brownie, topped with strawberry compote, Belgian chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries, and is very indulgent.
Rushina Mehrotra, the head pastry chef at Daffodils Patisserie at Andheri (W), is a master at the French pastry Enremet that’s made up of multiple layers, encased in mousse, and topped with a glaze. For her new seasonal menu, she has a “vanilla strawberry Enremet, Biscoff strawberry Enremet and a Nutella strawberry Enremet, along with cakes and cheesecakes”. They range from rs 1,450 to rs 2,300 for 1200gms and 650gms, respectively.
