SWEET TEMPTATION

pastry chefs

Part-1

During the lockdown, many women started home-based dessert businesses, and still more saw their brands expand and become real contenders, especially when bakeries were closed. We at You! explored many brands and have selected some exceptional wow items that are sure to not only impress your guests, but dazzle them. Check them out here, along with some details about the amazing patissiers behind them.

GATEAU BY SHEHLA @gateaubyshehla

There are many dream chocolate cakes, but the minute we saw Rich Chocolate D’Or by Gateau by Shehla, our jaws dropped. Yes, literally. Without a doubt, the ultimate chocolate cake, it looked so good, it would be easy to think that it wouldn't be able to taste as good as it looked, but it did. We fell as much in love with the inside of the cake as the outside, and went back for seconds... and thirds. The cake was topped with ganache and could be filled with multiple options. We tried with a Nutella-ganache mix, with less sweetness, and it was simply incredible. Whenever you want to impress a chocolate lover, this is your go-to cake.

Shehla Arsalan, the professionally trained woman behind the brand, shared her insight on how to choose the perfect cake, saying, “Don't compromise on taste for look or presentation. Even though decoration or presentation is a big temptation, it is taste that will make you eat more.”

“My biggest challenge is to find the right people to make a team,” she adds, “My goal is to have my own outlet. But I like the flexibility of working from home.”

DOLLY'S DELICACIES @dollys.delicacies

Dolly's Delicacies’ fruit flower cakes are the definition of wow. They actually look better in real life than in pictures, and the taste is perfectly light and delicate. We tried both the peach and the mango cakes and both had perfect giant fruit flowers on top. What was unexpected is how dramatic they are to slice, as the flower is not aligned with the slicing. However, that became part of the charm.

Afsha Khan, the woman behind the brand, has 40 years of experience in baking in three different parts of the world - Kenya, England and Pakistan - and shares with our readers what they should look for when selecting a dessert, stating, “It depends - whether it's for yourself or you are giving it as a gift. Personally, I look at the freshness, quality of ingredients, taste, presentation, and price point. It is extremely important that the four have the right balance to make a premium product.”

THE SWEETEST AFFAIR @thesweetestaffair

Dubai-based Rida Siraj is creating quite a name for herself on the Karachi dessert party scene as the go-to brand for stunning desserts. She has many wow creations, but we fell for her Jiggle Me Cake. We were scared of the mess, but it was a charming experience - jiggling the cake - and the taste, texture and even scent of the cake is truly magical. Rida describes, “The Jiggle Me and Pull Cake is a combination of one component i.e. ‘chocolate’ in multiple forms. An airy light chocolate sponge smothered with layers of Java chocolate truffle cream topped with a rich and decadent nutty chocolate sauce. It's been confined to months of R&D, ingredient sourcing, taste tests, quality, temperature and transportation control.” Congratulations to her on this phenomenal invention that's a must try for chocolate lovers and the adventurous among you.

She shares her biggest challenge is temperature. “Coming from Dubai, I thought I could deal with the heat, but a chocolaterie has got to be extremely temperature controlled and so does the environment in which the products are stored or transported.” After being a homepreneur for 12 years, she has just opened a Gifting and Edible Art Studio.

CREATIVE TREATS @creativetreats.pk

Upon first sight, Creative Treats’ streusel coffee loaf looks quite simple. Once you taste it, however, there is no other word than ‘wow’. Absolutely magical. Made with brown sugar, it's supremely soft with a crumbly texture and not overly sweet. It's a particular favourite with the elderly or those who don't like too much sweet, but is really something for all ages. Perfect to serve at tea time or for an after dinner snack. There is also something really elegant about this dish. It's somehow more sophisticated than a Banana bread and yet feels wholesome. It's also so cutely packaged, that it's easy to bring if going over to a close friend's place for tea, as a no effort gift that will be loved. “The biggest challenge I am facing right now is the customer base that I have is not big enough to let me use all the talent that I have,” says Meghani Suhana, the woman behind the brand.

SHAHEEN'S KITCHENETTE @shaheenskitchenette

If you want to wow your guests with a more traditional dessert, we can't recommend enough traditional kheer by Shaheen's Kitchenette. Rima Aziz, the woman behind the brand, said, “My kheer is cooked over a period of 18+ hours i.e. slow cooked with the highest quality ingredients. Its sweetness comes from many factors and various ingredients involved throughout the process (not just sugar)." She is a former Montessori school teacher and enjoys the homepreneur environment, saying, “My kitchen is my workstation. The effort I have put in my kitchen to meet all the culinary requirements under a suitable budget would not be possible in a commercially open bakery. Working from home also helps in staying connected with my family and tend to my cooking at the same time.”

N.K. @nk1_99

There is one up and coming home dessertpreneur NK that we simply had to mention. Her marshmallow brownies have become our obsession and they are a certain wow dessert for a kids birthday party, or even for a soiree, especially if you order them in bite-sized version. Natalia Karanjia, the woman behind the brand, said, “It's good working from home as slow and steady wins the race. Before making, I mostly research about the things I want to make and then I think of all possibilities that I can do with that dessert.” She certainly is innovative with her culinary creations and has some other fun treats on her menu including a skillet cookie, which is an ideal way to bring a restaurant favourite dessert home, as you only have to heat it in the oven and serve. However, it was her marshmallow brownies that were ooey, chewy, pure delights that had to make our spotlight.

LITTLE CRISPS @crispslittle

Kudos to Faiza Salman for her Little Crispsroulade. The mango meringue roulade is a chilled cross between a pavlova and a light creme caramel. Light flakes of nuts, perfect meringue texture and fresh chunky mango filing; this is the ideal dessert to serve for non-chocolate lovers, on a hot summer day, or even as part of a dessert buffet spread. The off white colour and meringue texture with flakes of nuts is quite eye-catching and beautiful. The inner layer is a smooth, soft one, and the dish needs to be cooled for at least two hours before serving.

"I love being at home. I feel more comfortable. And it's just the beginning...” stated Faiza. “I started 'Little Crisps' originally as a home-based cooking school for kids. Due to Covid-19, I had to discontinue the cooking classes and took up creating and serving homemade desserts and platters."

T. U. Dawood is CEO of 786 Investments Ltd.,

President of Dawood Global Foundation, and sits on the boards of Pakistan State Oil and Pakistan Refinery Ltd.