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Journalism of Courage
It’s not difficult to bake a light, fluffy cake if you are not stingy with the ingredients,” says Riyaz Bharucha, who runs a confectionery Pat-a-Cake in Salisbury Park, which he started just six months ago. The quality-conscious Bharucha adds that one also needs patience and diligence to turn out that scrumptious cake.
After his hotel management course in Mumbai, he worked for two years, gathering some experience. “I’ve always been interested in confectionery, in creating something beautiful with food,” he discloses. And with time has learnt the tricks of the trade and the knack of baking a cake, which is different from anyone else’s. “My black forest cake will look different and taste different,” he assures. “I have a huge collection of recipes now, which I have adapted to suit our climate and palate.” Bharucha usually works on orders from a clientele which is aware of quality food, catering to weddings, conferences, private dinners or other parties. “I think my lemon and chocolate cream cake, Bailey’s cream gateau and chocolate brownies are pretty good,” he says when asked about his best-selling confectionery.
Another department which he’s fastidious about is the the decoration. “I work on giving the cake a lot of eye appeal, the presentation is important,” he says, insisting “and I charge absurdly low prices.” For a one-kg black forest cake or a fresh fruit gateau he charges Rs 200, for instance. Bharucha, finicky as he is about the right ingredients, gets them from Mumbai for a wider choice and some of his essences and colours are imported. Bharucha feels the art of baking does not lie in the recipe, but in the knack. “You can pick up the recipes from any book, but it takes time and effort to master it. I don’t have have any magic white powders, to work wonders,” he laughs.
