Pastry Chef Rachel Goenka Gives Desserts A Contemporary Indian Turn

For my wedding, I had immersed myself in the details of my cake. From the design to the colours and the flavour, I was adamant the cake had to be a showstopper since, being a pastry chef, that was one of the most important parts for me. I made the gum paste butterflies myself and carried them to Jodhpur. The night before my wedding, I was in the pastry kitchen of the Umaid Bhavan Palace, baking a chocolate sponge with a dark chocolate ganache.

Malai Chop Sandwiches

But that was 2014. Brides, today, are bored of chocolate and vanilla and fruit cake. If your outfit is bespoke, then why not your cake, right? Even dessert tables mirror the theme of the wedding. Here’s where mithai comes in. Think a gajar ka halwa cake, enrobed in a cardamom and cream cheese frosting with the option of a salted caramel drizzle.

Shahi Tukda Cinnamon Rolls With Rabri Cream

Or red velvet cake with srikhand. The flavour combinations are the perfect balance between traditional and contemporary— what weddings are today. Through the 50 recipes in my debut book, Adventures With Mithai (HarperCollins India), I show you how to elevate your dessert tables with macaron towers in flavours such as Kashmiri kahwa tea, til chikki, and thandai.

Amrakhand Mousse and Besan Laddoo Towers

Or truffles of kaju katli, kesar peda, and magai paan. Then there’s icecreamin salted caramel kulfi, rasmalai, and kala khatta sorbet options. My favourite, however, are the shahi tukda cinnamon rolls with rabri cream. Now, this is a live counter that one definitely needs.

Kaju Katli Truffles