Dessert on the rocks

Days after she turned the legal drinking age in the state ie 25 Matungabased Devashree Muni applied for the permits she need to start her entrepreneurial venture that marries two things she loves mdash desserts and alcohol Called Cocoa Cellar her new culinary venture introduces 70 per cent boozebased desserts that focus on imported liqueurs Amarula Kirsch blood orange cointreau Moeumlt and Chandon champagne besides Baileys Kahlua and Malibu rumThe range is vast Theres sachertorte mdash a dense Belgian chocolate cake with apricot jam and soaked in kirsch cherry liquor Amarula and dark chocolate cupcake champagne and rose macarons and cocoa misu her take on the tiramisu with a helping of BaileysMacaronsBut it wasnt until she turned 20 that the Jai Hind College graduate discovered her passion for baking She hails from a family that passed doshywn its traditional mishythai recipes for generationsWhenever I would have the time I would bake at home with a friend to satiate my sweet tooth I started with cookies and graduated to cupcakes and cakes gravitating towards European recipes she recalls And after convincing her parents that her true calling was as a pacirctissier rather than in the business and management line she was pursing she was off to Le Cordon Bleu in SydneyBlood orange cointreau cupcakes with pistachioSo when she returned in December 2018 she was armed with the tools she needed to set up her own kitchen She noticed that not too many were focusing on alcoholinfused desserts and took that as a sign There was no place that used alcohol in 50 per cent or more of its menu Most of the places that were doing it were using an essence as opposed to the actual liqueur I had picked up techniques when I had travelled to Austria The sachertorte on the menu is a classic from Vienna that uses the kirsch unsweetened cherry liqueur heady and flavourful I wanted to give people a taste of rare alcohol Which is why I have used Amarula as well which is derived from a fruit thats only available in Africa It grows in the wild and falls off fermented You eat the fruit and experience a high she tells usIt was a lot of trialanderror as she discovered which flavours blends well White chocolate goes well with Malibu rum and desiccated coconut blood orange cointreau and pistachio work well she says adding that there was also the challenge of the alcohol content evaporating when heatedWhite chocolate with Malibu rum and desiccated coconutWhen alcohol heats up and you mix it within cream the latter splits and goes bad while chocolate gets rigid when you mix it with alcohol Some alcohol varieties get diluted when mixed with cream and you want a kick when you bite in Hence the rum and whiskey is soaked in the sponge part of the cake while the liqueurs are mixed in with the truffle or ganache Muni tells us about the fivemonthlong trial periodSo the macaron has Baileys in the filling while the champagne and rose variant has rose water ganache and champagne jelly The whiskey and cashew cookies were tricky though Its difficult to incorporate alcohol in cookies It was like a drink and chakna together mdash whiskey and pistachio go well We substituted the pistachio with cashew The vanilla cinnamon has a heady dose of Baileys with a strong hit of vanilla Our tiramisu too has Baileys instead of Kahluacutea with a shot of espressoCocoa misuShe also has nonalcoholic options for teetotalers such as lemon cheesecake pecan and cinnamon cookies and caramel and pretzel options milk chocolate and orange cupcake milk chocolate and hazelnut cupcake and almond sea salt and dark chocolate ones too She plans to tie up with FampB apps for deliveries soonAt 363B Shivkripa building ground floor Chandawarkar Crossroad Matunga EastCall 9004095194Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates