Christmas is the season of love, sharing and thanksgiving. As Christmas trees, stars and fairy lights come up in our homes, we get ready for a delectable spread on the table too.
As the countdown for 2013 begins, city culinary experts have a stock of yummy goodies for the festive season.The ‘Pandhal cake shop’ chain of the CGH Earth Group has some new festive treats besides the regular cookies, pies, puddings, gateaux and fresh cream cakes. The “cake pops”, which is a new introduction, is a mini chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, dipped in dark chocolate glaze and coated with crushed peanuts. The other delicacies include salted caramel truffle, which has a decadent chocolate shell filled with rich creamy salted caramel and the rich fruit chocolate encased in tempered dark chocolate truffle. The regular Christmas fruit cake starts at Rs.625. “This year we also have a ‘premium’ edition of the matured plum cake which is ninety nine per cent transfat free,” adds Mr. K E. Jansan from the organisation. Their special Christmas hamper has some of these goodies packed in attractive festive packaging priced at Rs. 5, 250.
If custom made cakes are on your mind then cookery expert Anita Issac has some interesting recipes to offer. “The chocolate truffle cake and the rich fruit cake are the seasonal favourites but the moist chocolate royale cake with its layered chocolate ganache is the highlight this year,” says Anita who runs a cookery school. The price begins at Rs.1, 000 for a 2kg cake. She also offers other desserts like the baked chunky orange and apricot meringue and the white chocolate hazelnut torte. “While some customers like rich treats, health conscious ones prefer low-calorie desserts and so the ingredients on the cake vary as per the requirement,” she adds.
Christmas is a time for gifting too. No matter what the occasion, yummy home made treats have a mesmerising effect on our taste buds. Joann’s homestyle at Panampilly Nagar offers freshly baked home made cakes of 250gm, starting at Rs.160. As is the ritual every year, these treats are made by a team of homemakers who, in true Christmas spirit, donate the proceeds of the sale to charity. Brownies, apple cakes, carrot and walnut cakes, fresh fruit cakes and plum cakes are on the menu. These are perfect as gifts. Apart from grape and banana wine, fresh fruit concentrates include grape, ginger lime and pineapple, prices for which start from Rs.150. “Another exciting treat we are offering this Christmas is the ‘Blondies’, which is a special ‘white chocolate brownie’,” says Jasmine Mathew of Joann’s.
Thesha Vadakket offers a different kind of Christmas hamper. Her holiday package has nine items which includes duck roast, pork vindaloo, a bottle of grape wine, fruit cake, a pack of chocolate truffle, cashew nuts, strawberry and walnut preserve, pineapple preserve, a surprise gift and a hand written note – all packed in an attractive cane basket for Rs.3,500. She started off her venture delivering surprise Christmas gift packages to aged parents whose children were abroad and couldn’t make it home for the holidays. “It felt good delivering home made food to old folks who were celebrating Christmas alone,” says Thesha. Now her clients include individuals as well as corporates. She also undertakes customised orders for Christmas dinners.
Be it gifting ideas, Christmas dinners or just sheer indulgence of your taste buds, this year there sure are a lot of healthy and luscious options to choose from. So take your pick and enjoy the magic of the season. Merry Christmas!
