Pastry Chef Pooja Dhingra
Can it truly be the season to be jolly without some decadent desserts? December not only brings with it elegant soirees and outdoor parties, but also a sense of guilt at binging on sweet treats. However, a clutch of bakers from Mumbai, who cater to the rich and famous, are whipping up delicacies that are both decadent and healthy. They customise each creation to match the fitness needs of their celebrated clientele, and are becoming just as feted and popular as the people they cater to.
This set is rustling up healthy alternatives to cakes—both classic and contemporary—to add guilt-free cheer to the festive season. Divya Ranglani, founder, Healthy Treats, Mumbai, recently baked a quinoa, zucchini and roasted almond cake for actor Arjun Kapoor and his sister Anshula. When they mentioned the ingredients at dinner, there was a collective groan about why dessert needed to be healthy as well. “But the entire cake was wiped out in minutes,” says the 54-year-old baker.
She has just hit gold with an increasing number of customers wanting her latest creation—a moist granola cake made with yogurt, cranberry and nuts. This was part of the birthday hamper actor Alia Bhatt got as a gift from her mother Soni Razdan.
It is not just parties that these celebrity bakers cater to but weddings as well. Deliciae by Bunty Mahajan, for instance, was the choice of the Ambani family for the multi-tiered, 100kg engagement cake for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant last year.
Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt chose Pooja Dhingra of Le15 Patisserie to create their towering wedding cake in 2022 in exotic Swiss cream with dried-pressed flowers. Katrina Kaif loves the jowar dark chocolate cake and off-the-menu pancakes that Juhi Pahwa of The Better Binge is known for.
PATISSIERE GOING VIRAL
Dhingra, also known as the “macaron queen”, made a Parle G pudding for fashion designer Masaba Gupta’s baby shower earlier this year, and the dessert went viral. Dhingra is an extremely popular figure herself, having earned accolades ever since she started the first Le15 store in 2010 in Mumbai. This is not the first time that one of her cakes has turned into a social media sensation. The gigantic six-tiered cake, with one of the layers studded with macarons, which she created for actor Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja’s wedding in 2018, became just as famous.
“It’s been 15 years since I started in the world of baking and it is tough to pinpoint a specific occasion when I was ‘discovered’ by a celebrity,” says the 38-year-old. She attributes Le15’s popularity to the fact that the team has been doing something unique from the beginning.
Dhingra’s popularity also has something to do with the way she engages directly with people on social media. One often sees her posts, asking people to suggest three ingredients, which she then turns into unusual desserts. “I get the most bizarre combinations but it’s so much fun. One which worked well was bitter gourd, cream cheese and sour cherries.”
Bunty Mahajan started on this journey 20 years ago, bringing together her twin loves for jewellery and desserts. Her cakes are showstoppers at any event, with their edible lace and detailed stencil work. Geode cakes are her signature creations. Her clients include the likes of Farhan Akhtar and Malaika Arora.
“For Anant and Radhika, I created a 100 kilo off-white cake, divided across nine super tiers, with hundreds of tiny red roses as embellishment, keeping with the theme of the engagement. I then assembled it at the venue,” says the 69-year-old.
Mahajan is currently in expansion mode—she not only operates out of 11 cloud kitchens in Mumbai but is taking her creations to Bengaluru as well. “Perhaps, early on, someone gifted a cake by me to a movie star, and that’s how it brought in others,” says Mahajan.
She hasn’t ever found a reason to gauge the impact of having a celebrity clientele on her sales. “I believe that word of mouth is a driving factor in building business for all kinds of clients,” she adds.
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
Juhi Pahwa of The Better Binge makes a conscious effort to use mindful ingredients such as nut milk, almond flour, coconut sugar, palm jaggery, organic honey, pure maple syrup, flaxseeds and plant-based protein powders. At this moment, she is busy giving her signature jowar cake a seasonal makeover for Christmas with a mulled wine version. This will be created with strawberries and chocolate sprinkles for Valentine’s Day.
Next year, the 34-year-old will launch a limited menu for pan-India shipping. Pahwa is a favourite with actor Rajkummar Rao for his birthday cakes. While he enjoys the caramel vanilla cake and the vegan cheesecake, his actor wife, Patralekha favours the 35-calorie coconut cookies. “I feel healthy cakes were so drab and boring earlier. I always wanted to give them a glamorous avatar,” says Pahwa.
WORD OF MOUTH
As with Mahajan, Ranglani too found fame through word-of-mouth feedback. Her gluten-free cookies, almond biscottis and banana bread are staples at actor Kriti Sanon’s home. Ranglani started Healthy Treats from her home in Bandra 16 years ago.
“It began with making healthy desserts for my family. Actor Anita Raaj tried my date and carrot cake, and loved it. She, in turn, recommended it to celebrity trainer Zarine Watson, who started stocking it at her gym for clients like Sonam Kapoor and Lara Dutta to satisfy their cravings for something sweet,” she says.
Ranglani is known for using only whole wheat flour, natural sweetening agents and other conscious ingredients. She says Malaika Arora trusts her to take care of all her Christmas gifting, while Jacqueline Fernandes carries her brownies to shoots.
Posts by celebrities about her desserts do draw people in. But ultimately, each creation has to be flavourful, healthy and customised to requirements for clients to repeat their orders.
It goes to show that bakers who dare to go beyond a template, while being mindful of both health and taste, are changing the dessert landscape, one cake at a time.
Shilpi Madan for Mint Lounge