Baking up a storm

Fadila started baking as an outlet to the depression she was experiencing after she lost her husband. “Baking had that magic, where it turned into my passion and livelihood — all of which I needed at that point in my life,” she says.

The wonderful experience of enjoying the aroma of the pie crust in the oven when some neighbourhood aunty would churn her magic with the legendary banoffee pie or the humble chocolate cake may give goosebumps and instil nostalgia about the times when baking was limited to home ovens and professional bakeries. But the current tribe of home bakers is different. It has emerged as gender-neutral, age no bar, friendly group creating treats that sometimes end up being better than the best professional bakery in town.

Sanchit Malhotra, 26, a Chandigarh-based self-taught baker gave up one of the top business schools in India to follow his passion. “I am happier baking than making presentations for someone else,” he says. “I made this golden ball of chocolate with an apple mint and raspberry gel, caramelised white chocolate crumbs, two cheese mousse, raspberry coulis, chocolate shards and sun-dried rose. And believe me, that’s when I realised that this is not as easy as it looks on television. But the end product gave me a high that is still unmatched,” he adds.

Minoti Patel, 51, was introduced to home baking in Ahmedabad around 17 years ago, when fondant wasn’t available in her city. “I made the fondant at home to fill each train compartment of the long train cake I was making for my son. And there’s been no looking back especially with people’s love for chocolate and mangoes,” she says.

The recognition and acknowledgements have always helped. Cookie Marwaha, a name to reckon with baking in Chandigarh, has won the Times Food Award for the best home bakery for three years in a row. “It’s a definitive motivation when you are competing with top of the line bakeries and fancy show windows,” she says.

Taste, they say, travels as fast as time. “I am a cake artist,” says Nidhi Chopra, a Chandigarh-based baker, who has attended culinary workshops in Bangalore, London and Gurgaon. “It’s high to bake for someone who understands taste and appreciates quality. Baking a cake becomes an art when you establish a personal connect with the guest. It has to reflect the warmth,” she adds. Pune has, to its credit, bakeries which are as old as the town but that have given impetus to the home bakers to innovate further.