Want a ‘cakeless cake’ for your birthday?
Cakes are crossing the traditional fondant and frosting boundaries and getting into fun new avatars. A huge new trend is the ‘cakeless cake’, made with fruit. Victoria Beckham reportedly went cake-less for her birthday, and did away with the gooey, sugar chocolate option. Says foodie Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, “This is a lovely trend. The ‘only fruit’ cake can be attractive, plus it’s a lighter way to serve dessert. I have also tried the ‘flourless cake’ which uses more cocoa for the body. It’s great for those watching their gluten intake.”
What it’s about: If you’re on a diet, this is apt. The usual calorie culprits are missing here — there’s no flour, no cake, no butter, sugar or chocolate icing. The layers are made of fruits like watermelon and tangerine, with a topping of kiwi, berries and more. It’s also a neat way to get kids to get their nutrition fix.
Wait, bare ones too! If you have been buying the chocolate mousse varieties, with rich icing and a sweeter-than-anything fondant covering, brace yourself for another new bite. This one comes minus all the hoopla and might just be what you were looking for in a calorie-friendly option. It’s the new ‘naked cake’ and it’s creating a huge buzz at weddings and other ceremonies, abroad. Made without the rich icing and frills, this is basically a sponge base, minus all that frosting and icing. After crepe cakes and organic ones, are you ready for this new bared-down, but delicious creation?
What’s the idea behind it? These barely there cakes have been around for ages and the first to derive and make them were the Europeans, who made the strawberry short cake with a minimalist cream layer plus a light layer of strawberries. “The fad grew so famous, it was adapted all over the world,” says senior pastry chef, Vasant Khot. “These cakes are guilt-free as they are made without excess cream, butter cream, marzipan etc.” He shares tips on how to make it…
How to get creative with the trend: To start, we should have a base, a saucy filling and a top-notch garnish to cover up the bony structure of cake.
To keep the layers intact, I would recommend a small layer of Phil cheese or mascarpone.
One must be selective in identifying the filling for example, peaches, berries, mangoes, edible flowers to garnish the top.
One can have fun and get really creative for the main structure, which is the sponge layer. For instance, use any of the following directly or in combination for the base. Try a yeast cake, sometimes filled with whipped cream or white chocolate and crispy discs, brownie layers or a thin pudding layering, meringue discs and more.
