Christmas treats from home kitchens

Home bakers began their Christmas preparations six months ago.

There is just a couple of days left for Christmas but the bakers in the city started their prep months ago, some even a year ago.

Jeyadra Vijayselvan

With all kinds of goodies, from cakes, tarts, chocolates to puddings, there’s a variety of items that these bakers have been busy baking this season.

Home baker of ‘Cupcakes, Cakes & Cookies’, Jeyadra Vijayselvan, soaks the dried fruits a year in advance so that the fruits are fed well by the time they are ready to be used. She says, “I make the traditional plum cakes using almond flour and eggs with loads of soaked dried fruits. The cakes are boozy and just like how they were made for generations.”

Hema Mahesh

That’s not all, though. Since she has been receiving a ton of orders from across the city, she decided to make a little hamper with all the traditional European Christmas goodies. “The ‘Italian Panetonne’ is from Milan which dates back to the 1560s and was had as breakfast on Christmas morning. The ‘Belgian Cacao Drink’ is the European chocolate pudding that one can make at home by adding the balls to hot milk,” says Jeyadra.

The hamper also includes ‘Jewish Nutty Babka’, a traditional Jewish dessert, ‘Persian Fruit Florentines’ which is a sticky toffee loaded with nuts and fresh Persian date fruit, ‘Ghanian Granola’, ‘Winter Torte’ and of course, the ‘Christmas Plum Cake’.

On a mission to popularise bundt cakes is Hema Mahesh, a home baker who started her venture ‘Bundt Naked’.

She says, “The tradition of making bundt cakes started in the 1950s but it’s a type of cake that we often find in markets here. Since it’s Christmas, I thought it would be a great idea to make Christmas cakes in this version.”

Kaveri and Poornima Prasad

She soaked the fruits eight months ago. As bundt cakes are designed to have a hole in the middle, it will cook from inside out and each piece will be of equal size.

“So far, I have made more than 120 kilograms of bundt cake since December 1. I am also making a vegan version using almond flour and a combination of almond and soy milk. The response to it has been great,” adds Hema.

Giving the holiday season a healthy twist is mother-daughter duo Kaveri and Poornima Prasad. They started a home bakery in 2016. “Christmas is all about cakes and chocolates. With an aim of making it special to everyone, we are making sugar-free chocolates, ragi chocolates and date, and nut chocolates,” says Poornima.

Sonu Mary Alex

While the date and nut chocolate are perfect for the health-conscious mothers and for children to consume more nutrients, the sunflower seed chocolates help fight diabetes and bone problems.

Owner of ‘Decadent Delights’, Sonu Mary Alex makes rich plum cakes, date and carrot cakes, chocolate cakes, banana cakes, marble cakes and tea cakes.

The 20-year-old says that the dates and carrot cakes are the most preferred ones this Christmas. “The combination of dates and carrots is very rare in the city,” she says. She has already completed around 10 orders.

Order cakes here

- Kaveri Prasad and Poornima Prasad, Choco Bakes, 7022533303
- Hema Mahesh, Bundt Naked, 9036430733
- Sonu Mary Alex , Decadent Delights, 8792876938
- Jeyadra Vijayselvan, Cupcakes, Cakes & Cookies, 9538011185