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I eat a lot of sweet things every day. It’s a very important part of my job to do so. It is not always a pleasant experience and I relate to the MasterChef judges who have to dig in to a dish, not knowing that it could be the worst thing their palate’s ever tasted.
Thankfully, most days are average-ish for me, with an exception here and there. I have very few things I’d go back to and while I’ll obv not name and shame, I feel alright sharing that most food we get outside is not cutting it. It’s not even the bare minimum and I don’t put anything in my mouth till I absolutely trust the brand/chef behind it. Don’t even get me started on the disappointed looks I get from these creative geniuses when I tell them I’m vegetarian. They behave as if there is nothing to eat except meat and fish. My one question to them remains unanswered to this day – how do you make that hunk of meat or the filet of fish shine without vegetables? How do you create a delicious dish without lentils, grains and salad? My conclusion is that maybe it is just easy to sell, easy to cook with? Maybe cause it’s satisfying for the one eating it? Try to make a main as fulfilling with just mushrooms. You will find them sweating bullets and give you a kaddu (pumpkin) risotto or a stir–fried mushroom salad, which is barely an appetiser, let alone a main.
But I digress. The Deliciousness Quotient of things we eat – that is the topic of this article. I find menus that sound exciting and oh–so–yum. I want to order the whole lot and just devour each creation, send my mind on this exploration of textures and flavours that these menus promise. I order these loaf slices that lay on their sides, garnished beautifully with meringues, gels, micro greens. Gorgeous pastries with a perfect ganache dollop and a lovely cosmos in full bloom. And that amazing sounding cheesecake with the perfect quenelle of ice cream. That’s where the dreaminess ends, though.
What looks and sounds like that, tastes like this – crumbly, dry cake with a meringue made five weeks ago. A gel that doesn’t go with the flavour of the cake. The ganache drops piped and frozen the previous night, merely placed on the pastry at the time of delivery. This particular aspect of piping and freezing free standing garnishes irks me. They look great but taste of neglect. From where I see it, improper storage and handling makes the ganache dry and believe me, you are eating dry ganache more often than you realise. It ruins the final customer experience and I’m not here for below–average dessert. It’s the end to a meal, the beginning of the next task I undertake. I don’t want it to start on this note.
And the sugar. Oh dear God, the sugar. Do eateries not realise how much sugar they are layering on in one dessert? The sponge has sugar, the soaking syrup, the frosting, the compote and the garnish – all predominantly sugar. The reason FMCG desserts taste over–sweet is because of every element of that product has sugar. Sugar (and, oil and salt) are natural preservatives that extend the shelf–life of any product so in some convoluted universe, it makes sense to add the amount they do. But in freshly prepared stuff – hard no for me.
Yesterday a friend told me, “My mum doesn’t eat baahar ka khaana (food prepared outside the home) but she ate the entire strawberry croissant from Baked Love,” and it reminded me of another such incident, where my friend’s grandmother wouldn’t eat out except Baked Love's fresh mango tart.
It brought home a point, which I’d never really thought of before: that we prepare desserts the same way you would, at home. In that sense, Baked Love by Vatsala is truly a homegrown brand that brings to the table which no other brand would dare, simply because of the commercials and time involved. I think I’ve been aware of this, subconsciously, for a very long time but never really had a conversation around it. We go slow but steady. For, there is no point in churning out 1000s of desserts a day if you are going to move on from it super easy.
Another thing my friend highlighted was that Baked Love isn’t as available as other brands and the turnaround time of 3–24 hours in this day of 10 minutes-delivery, might be a bit much for some. I’d like you to ponder on what you’re putting in your bodies when you’re getting piping hot food on your plates in under 15 minutes. Food prepped in advance is not a bad thing and it’s absolutely okay to figure out your own systems. However, to expect quality products, prepared with care and love, to be in your bellies within 15 minutes of you having the thought – that too, is a bit much, my friend. It takes courage, to continue to prepare delicious dessert (and other food) the way we do, in this day and age. It is made to order and we take into consideration every preference of the consumer – flavour, size, allergies, appearance, delivery time, location and everything else.
One young client designed her cake, literally inside out! That order discussion took up to 3 hours, with her mum flitting in and out of the conversation, several reference images for colours, shapes, the design edge of the top of the cake. And get this – it was all for a 1-kilo cake! Would you get the pleasure of this service, on an online platform that delivers within minutes? Nope. They can only give you what they have ready – take it or leave it.
To compare this to a highly customised service, which takes care of every single need of yours…I don’t think this exists in platforms offering instant solutions. What I am trying to say is simply this – good things take time. And they’re worth every moment you give to them. The Deliciousness Quotient of anything we make is the highest priority. I am of the strong belief that while you do eat with your eyes first, it’s ultimately your palate that decides.
Just like me, my cakes don’t fit into a mould – they have their own personality and it’s visible only to a discerning eye. Which, if you are a Baked Love customer, you have it.
Always up for a discussion on cakes, DM me.
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