Mumbai: Almost all of us love a little sweet treat after a meal, be it a scoop of ice cream or a small portion of the dark chocolate cake.
Ernestine Ulmer once said, “Life is uncertain, eat dessert first,” and it’s still relevant for all of us who have an insatiable sweet tooth.
From Nutella cream crepes to macaroons, France has won hearts of millions of people out there. Apparently it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the French have mastered the art of cooking in the true sense.
Many of world’s beloved French dessert have entered the Indian market and have successfully become a popular trend in India. To begin with, we Indian have always had a craving for sweets and dessert and sweets have always been at the roots of each and every celebration.
Culinary experts worldwide are experimenting with various flavours to treat us and consumer’s perception is also changing as we are happily accepting the global taste and exploring our taste buds.
In the modern kitchen, French chefs are putting their creativity to test to please and feast the Indians and have launched a new variety of dessert. How true is the saying, secret to man’s heart is heart is through his stomach.
Here is the list of traditional French desserts, which you might want to savour very soon.
• Baba Mojito:
If rasgulla is something you love then this dessert is just a perfect treat for you. “Baba Mojito” is a baked fluffy bread piece soaked in sugar syrup with a hint of cinnamon topped with fresh whipped cream and mint leaves.
Looking at the size, one might think that you can go for another, but we assure you one is enough to keep you going for the whole day.
• Coffee Choux
If you are suffering from fancy pastry fatigue, “Coffee Choux” are a must try. These decent mini little treats belong to creamy éclairs family. Topped with coffee glaze, this is filled with aromatic Brazilian coffee along with rich toffee.
• Chocolate Choux
This choux pastry is has split in between and sandwiched with chocolate pastry cream. “Chocolate Choux” is prettily iced and adhered with sugar icing. Piped with dark chocolate on the top choux is worth a try for an elegant sugar hit.
• Cronuts
Baked by following traditional recipe, “cronuts” are fuelled with innovative ideas. It is a croissant-doughnut pastry made by integrating sinful amount of butter in the dough.
“The dough is folded and refolded numerous times in order to bake it to perfection. The baking process seems to be quite time consuming…. at low temperature the dough puffs to form enormous thin layers and we get a crispy crust,” Chef Lionel Villaron at Gaylords, Mumbai.
As soon as you take a bite the exterior breaks into giving you the rich buttery flavour.
• Raspberry and blueberry bavarois
A delicate cream dessert always tickles our taste goblets and “Raspberry and blueberry bavarois” is no exception. Bavarois is a French name for popular Bavarian cream which is one of the core ingredients of this dessert. Filled with fresh fruit puree, this cake is aerated with fresh cream.
Like its name suggests the creator who originally developed this recipe made sure that one could taste and relish both the berries taste in two different layers. It is served with a thin layer of cake at the end which tastes a lot like crumbled biscuits.
• Vanilla rosemary mille fueille
Mostly popular as “Napolean pastry”, but in France it is commonly known as “mille-fuille”. It's literally translation mean “thousand of leaves” which refers to the very thin crispy layers of the pastry.
How does this dessert stand tall in taste and looks?
The foremost layer is made up of pure vanilla and has very mild sweetner while the last layer is what gives it a different twist altogether.
The perennial herb rosemary is commonly used in French appetizers and main course but in this dessert rosemary is mixed with pista paste, creating an altogether new complex fusion.
The taste of herb hits your mouth as soon as you taste it, giving it a very peculiar taste.
“I am not sure how people here might like it, but with time people in India have developed and explored their taste. At first you might not like the taste, but hopefully with couple of more bites one might develop a liking for it,” said Chef Lionel Villaron, who former use to work with 3 Michelin star restaurants Guy Savoy in Paris.
• Chocolate mille fueille
This three layer puffed pastry is another variation of mille fueille, chocolate is the main ingredient and is a sheer delight for all chocolate lovers. Many say that in France this dessert has hogged the top spot on most dinner party menus. Filled with a light chocolate cream, it's made up of Trinitario cocoa beans that give it a unique and distinctive flavour.
• Chocolate crunchy mousse
If the famous Toblerone chocolate is something that satisfies your late night chocolate craving then we think this dessert was exclusively invented for you.
The secret ingredient of this recipe is of Elle & Vire cream and Barry Callebaut nuts which give the heavenly taste. The mousse is whipped to the point that it incorporates a fair amount of air and still remains dense.
Just like that legendary triangular Swiss chocolate this mousse is filled with honey and crunchy nuts nougats, this is the show-stopper of all the dessert.
Chef Lionel Villaron at Gaylords Restaurant, Mumbai
Merging classic recipe and presenting something new and trendy is exciting for both the chefs and the dessert lovers. Even a mild creation or a launch of new dessert creates a buzz among the people and they are ready to try the global taste. Inventing fusion dessert still remains our bedrock and chefs are making an effort to understand these fundamental principles.
If you are a part of this burgeoning dessert trend and among those who would always look for an opportunity to end your meal with a savory dessert, then the above are must a try.
