Sweet-tooth cravings go beyond digging into Tiramisu and the sugar-and-ghee fare from the neighbourhood store. The newest dessert outposts promise novelty and that substance of the soul.
Bombay Sweet Shop: When a halwai harnesses the glamour of a pastry chef, modern mithai is born. For example, a three-layer Chocolate Fudge at the Bombay Sweet Shop is 70% dark chocolate peda stuffed with peanut chikki and dark chocolate ganache. This decadent combo is lightly topped with a peanut cashew tuile (wafer biscuit). The result is a warm, comforting texture of a sandesh infused with the kick of a nutty-gooey fudge brownie. Other delectable experiments being undertaken at the Bombay Sweet Shop---owned by Hunger Inc. Hospitality, the parent company of celebrated brands The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro---include Coconut Caramel Patissa Bar, Ghevar Tart and Ferro Rocker Laddoo where besan ladoo plays tango with hazelnut. If the sacred Mysore Pak decided to have some fun, you might consider Kaapi Pak which is injected with a hint of coffee and crunchy sesame seeds. From Nolen Gur & Coconut Kheer Kadam to Kaju Marzipan Bon Bon, Indian jujubes--a take on Karachi Halwa---to a whole bar dedicated to chikkis, head to the Bombay Sweet Shop to lap up some of the most innovative dessert mithais you probably didn't know existed. Started in 2020 in Byculla, Bombay Sweet Shop is now delivering across India. For their all-India shelf, they have Chocolate Butterscotch Barks, inspired by the brittle candy texture of the Karak Sohan Halwa from Lucknow. Bombay Bhel Chikki is packed with chakli, salli, chips, sev, gathia, nuts and bhel held together with jaggery. Their Khasta Kachori is a combination of two ‘kachori’ and ‘bhakarwadi,’ stuffed with a spicy filling of dried coconut, sev and moong dal. Don't forget the Chilli Cheese Bhujiya and the delightful jujubes.. Prices of boxes range from Rs 600 to Rs 4,000.
Le15 pâtisserie: The reigning queen of macaron, Pooja Dhingra, perfected her dream cookie recipe after years of testing and tweaking. The constant trials at Le15 pâtisserie--her brand which made French macarons marketable in India---has finally yielded an all-new cookie collection range in four exciting flavours. Launched in January, they come with the same passion for creating a confection that is truly heartwarming and easily accessible. The Crunchy Toffee Cookie is a nostalgia-laden ode to the taste of butterscotch and cashews with coarse sea salt and cornflakes; Brown Butter Pineapple Cookie is a mix of almond, corn flakes and candied pineapples. Signature Pink Cookies are made with cherries, almonds and corn flakes while the Dark Chocolate Hazelnut cookies come with a hint of sea salt. Perfect for days that are awful and those that are bright and cheery. Shipping across India now, a box of four cookies costs Rs 1,250.
Colocal: This is a veritable chocolate factory, or India's first live bean-to-bar chocolate factory along with a cafe. This artisanal chocolate brand is hidden oasis in the quiet lanes of Dhanmill Compound. The factory gives chocolate aficionados a chance to experience the process of chocolate-making like roasting and conching while they dine. The brand opened a new branch in Khan Market last year. Last month during Holi, they introduced chocolate bon bons in six flavours, thandai, gulkand, pistachios, gujiya, elaichi and nariyal. They also made a heel-shaped chocolate sculpture the same month.
Love & Cheesecake: Entering its 10th year of operations, Mumbai's Love & Cheesecake opened its doors in Delhi's Defence Colony in February. With 17 outlets in Mumbai and its first outpost in the capital, this cheesecake factory of sorts with some 56 flavours on offer is on a pan-India expansion drive with plans to triple the number of the outlets in the next six months. Some of their most popular flavours include Red velvet, Baklava, Salted Caramel, seasonal fresh alphonso mango layered cheesecake and the brand also offers liquor variants like Baileys Cheesecake, Tequila and Lime Cheesecake and Orange and Cointreau cheesecake. With floral ceilings and walls in white and pastel pink in their Delhi outlet, savour the cheesiness here with love and cake.
Bougie: Although Bougie is an expensive restaurant with chandeliers and old-school yellow lamps on every table, the food and dessert selection here doesn't disappoint if you are in the mood to indulge. They specifically have a sumptuous dessert menu with artfully done European classics. Like Paris Brest is a round pastry filled with praline vanilla cream, topped with Turkish hazelnuts in the form of a wheel as a tribute to the Paris-Brest cycle race, believed to be the oldest cycling event. Tarte au Chocolat is a buttery cocoa crust filled with a rich valrohna chocolate ganache infused with cointreau and topped with chocolate quenelles. A special shout-out to Baba au Rhum which a small white cake filled with vanilla cream and heftily shot through with cognac.
Brisk: CDC Experience - India's largest sneaker store at 6,000 sq ft which stocks some of the world's most coveted brands, also has a craft coffee bar and patisserie called Brisk run by the Altogether Experimental Cafe dishing out toothsome cinnamon buns, among other things. CDC Experience, which is CrepDog Crew's first retail store, is also planning a pop-up burger bar. The co-founder of the popular sneaker store, Anchit Kapil, has cut his teeth running F&B outlets like Summer House Cafe. "I wanted to create a space where you can enjoy great burgers and buy a pair of kicks. Or have a cup of coffee and shoot some hoops," says Kapil.
