It’s literally raining purple with a range of
lavender-infused desserts and goodies at restaurants and patisseries across the
country that pay homage to the delicately perfumed flower and its gorgeously vibrant
hue!
By Raul Dias
Is it a flower? Is it a herb? While there is enough
conjecture about the botanical underpinnings of lavender, one thing is for certain,
this season, it has crept into a host of desserts and goodies at restaurant and
patisseries across the country. Places that are celebrating the purple-hued
flower (we’ll just leave it at that!) in myriad ways. And why not? Being
particularly compatible with the dessert-friendly flavours of honey and lemon,
lavender is a perfect springtime flower to brighten up—not just a table—but
also what’s served atop one!
Here’s a list of a few such preparations that are imbued with that heady dose of the flower’s power:
Here’s a list of a few such preparations that are imbued with that heady dose of the flower’s power:
Lavender and Blueberry Viennese Shortbread with Rose Petal Panna Cotta at Estella, Mumbai
This rather delicate confection is an intricate construction of two lavender-flavoured shortbread fingers sandwiching whipped cream and blueberry jam, and topped with more cream and jam, with a sprig of lavender and rosemary as the garnish. Accompanying this, is a wobbly panna cotta that does a jig, not just on the platter, but on your palate as well.
Lavender Panna Cotta at Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Gurgaon, NCR
In this iteration, the actual panna cotta—that simply translates from Italian into English as “baked milk”—is the creation of the hotel’s Executive Pastry Chef Anil Kumar, who was inspired by the refreshing and delicate lavender flavour. The fact that this flavour has to be used just in the right amount for its effect to show up and can only be infused with cream, got him excited to try it in this panna cotta. And what a sublime creation that turned out to be!
Lavender
Macarons at Cocoatease, Mumbai
Riding high on the crest of the macaron wave are these crispy, chewy, French macarons filled with a lavender-infused Swiss meringue buttercream. According to Manju Hemrajani, Co-owner, Cocoatease, people in India are slowly and steadily getting accustomed to and have started understanding the subtlety of flavours, because lavender is an acquired taste and needs to be used with caution. If used in excess, it makes the product taste bitter and pretty much inedible. But there’s no fear of that happening in the case of these delectable morsels of heaven!
Riding high on the crest of the macaron wave are these crispy, chewy, French macarons filled with a lavender-infused Swiss meringue buttercream. According to Manju Hemrajani, Co-owner, Cocoatease, people in India are slowly and steadily getting accustomed to and have started understanding the subtlety of flavours, because lavender is an acquired taste and needs to be used with caution. If used in excess, it makes the product taste bitter and pretty much inedible. But there’s no fear of that happening in the case of these delectable morsels of heaven!
Lavender and Bitter Chocolate Bon Bon at The Oberoi Patisserie & Delicatessen, The Oberoi Gurgaon, NCR
Chef Gagan Rahi, Sous Chef (pastry) has used luxurious Valrhona chocolate and lavender flowers to create these chocolate bon bons. The bitter sweetness of the lavender flowers lends a sweet pungent after-taste to the chocolate and pairs beautifully with the intense chocolate-y notes for a well-balanced pairing.
Almond
and Lavender Latte with Lavender and Lemon Cookie Crumble at The Korner House,
Mumbai
As the only lavender-infused drink on this list, the latte is a creamy, rich, vegan almond and lavender blended latte topped with dairy free cream and lavender oatmeal cookie crumble. According to its creator Chef Vicky Ratnani, the reason behind its genesis is simple: Veganism is growing rapidly and people like to have nut milks. And so, the idea of doing an almond milk and lavender latte was not just au courant, but unique as well. We couldn’t agree more!
As the only lavender-infused drink on this list, the latte is a creamy, rich, vegan almond and lavender blended latte topped with dairy free cream and lavender oatmeal cookie crumble. According to its creator Chef Vicky Ratnani, the reason behind its genesis is simple: Veganism is growing rapidly and people like to have nut milks. And so, the idea of doing an almond milk and lavender latte was not just au courant, but unique as well. We couldn’t agree more!
Japanese
Lavender Cheesecake at Bodega Cantina-Y-Bar, Kolkata
So obsessed is this Park Street, Kolkata restobar with lavender that they’ve come up with a very unique dessert using the flower! The Japanese Lavender Cheesecake is created by ace Mumbai pastry chef Sanjana Patel and is made up of a deconstructed cheesecake that comes with lavender lemon gel and lavender flavoured ice-cream. The ode to lavender is thanks to the restobar’s Chef and Co-founder Urvika Kanoi’s chef school address in London which had a beautiful garden on the opposite side which would bloom in summers.
So obsessed is this Park Street, Kolkata restobar with lavender that they’ve come up with a very unique dessert using the flower! The Japanese Lavender Cheesecake is created by ace Mumbai pastry chef Sanjana Patel and is made up of a deconstructed cheesecake that comes with lavender lemon gel and lavender flavoured ice-cream. The ode to lavender is thanks to the restobar’s Chef and Co-founder Urvika Kanoi’s chef school address in London which had a beautiful garden on the opposite side which would bloom in summers.
Halo Halo Sundae
with Lavender Ice-cream at Shizusan, Mumbai
Shizusan—Mumbai’s newest Pan-Asian restaurant too seems to be enamoured by the lure of lavender. In the Halo Halo Sundae, the classic sundae from the Philippines sees the traditional purple ube yam ice-cream scoop being substituted by the floral hit of the lavender ice-cream that goes on to get combined with shaved ice, condensed milk and generous piles of sweet beans, jellies, and rice crisps in a glass. ‘nuff said!
Shizusan—Mumbai’s newest Pan-Asian restaurant too seems to be enamoured by the lure of lavender. In the Halo Halo Sundae, the classic sundae from the Philippines sees the traditional purple ube yam ice-cream scoop being substituted by the floral hit of the lavender ice-cream that goes on to get combined with shaved ice, condensed milk and generous piles of sweet beans, jellies, and rice crisps in a glass. ‘nuff said!
(A shorter, edited version of this piece was first published in the April, 2017 issue of The Week's Smart Life magazine)
No comments:
Post a Comment