Forget the usual paty cake, make a cake pop instead!

On the eve of his sister Afsharsquos birthday last month 16yearold Arbaaz Dhanani sifts the flour sugar salt baking soda and cocoa in a mixing bowl in his kitchen He breaks two eggs in adds a few drops of vanilla essence and whips the mixture to a thick consistency He places the tin can with the batter for his chocolate sponge cake into the preheated oven The sweet smell of chocolate wafts through the air Red Velvet Chocolate and Bananaflavoured Cake Pop centre pieces by Aashiyana Shroff founder of Tart bakery in Bandra and Colaba PicBipin Kokate Thirty minutes on he removes the nicely risen cake and allows it to cool Hoping to enroll in a culinary school after his 12th grade Dhanani plans to surprise his sister with a unique birthday cake Instead of finishing it off with an icing and garnish he mashes the moist sponge and rolls it into bitesize balls dipping them in chocolate sauce dusting sugar sprinklers and mounting each of them on a stick What Dhanani has created are cake pops the latest makeover the sponge has undergone after cupcakes and macaroons Rakhee Vaswani left of Palate Culinary Studio conducts a Cake Pop baking class PicMadeeha Attari Today we donrsquot think cake only when it is an anniversary birthday or a festival And as the fad of landing up at a friendrsquos or family memberrsquos house at midnight is no longer a surprise people are always looking for something innovative Mohsina Mukadam a food historian and history teacher at Ruia College Matunga says cakes trickled into India through Iranian cafes ldquoCakes were a foreign delicacy and just like bread it met with a taboo being a foreign item Iranians were close to us culturally and at the turn of the 20th century they began to served it with tea and this introduced Indians to cakesrdquo Cut to the scene at the Dhanani household His sister is delighted indeed and amazed too ldquoShe knows I bake well and perhaps expected me to make a cake for her birthday but this was an unusual treatrdquo says the proud teenager who signed up for a cake pop workshop in January at Rakhee Vaswanirsquos Palate Culinary Studio Vaswani who has been making cake pops for two years says though cupcakes are here to stay customers are looking for something visually different ldquoCake pops are moist cakes on a stick like a lollipop with a frosting of chocolate batter cream One can do lovely themes around them such as twotier wedding pops baby and love themes etcrdquo says Vaswani who explains that cake pops remain moist for up to a week thanks to the thick frosting around each pop On Valentinersquos Day this year Love and Cheesecake a dessert cafeacute had Love Bites cheesecakes on sticks on their menu for clients ldquoThey were a big hitrdquo says chef Amit Sharma The dessert cafeacute also sells cheesecake in bitesize portions a variation of the pops Cake pops are making their presence felt as edible centrepieces at events too Founder of Tart bakery in Bandra and Powai Aashiyana Shroff says in the past three months she has received many queries for cake pops ldquoWhile they have been around for two years all of a sudden a lot of people are seeing it as a change from cup cakes as they are pleasing to look at It also serves a dual purpose cake pop centre pieces are interactive and add a unique curiosity in a crowd Most of our conversations revolve around food and cake pops are ideal to start a fun conversationrdquo says Shroff who sets up cake pop centrepieces at the Sunday brunch menu at VongWong Nariman Point Minicakes are conducive as they are easier to handle ldquoThey are non messy even with kids eating themrdquo says Shroff adding that they are available in every flavour that a regular cake is though chocolate is most popular The fan following for cake pops has already cut across age barriers In March 45yearold Harsha Rukhana was to attend a family gettogether She didnrsquot want to waste money on a flower bouquet which would land up in the bin the next day ldquoI opted for a cake pop bouquet and it was a hit My uncle was overjoyed to see something so quirkyrdquo says the Khar resident Cake pops are popular because one can taste multiple flavours without feeling full Pastry chef at Taj Landrsquos End Vishal Sharma says in the past decade minidesserts are in While big cakes will never go out of style minidesserts give chefs the opportunity to show off their skills Hosts get to add a fun element to their menu For those with a sweet tooth and who donrsquot suffer pangs of guilt every sinful bite of a cake pop is pure heaven Origin of cakes New Yorkbased food historian Trina Clickner talks to SMD about the history of cakes ldquoThe very first cakes were crafted by ancient Egyptians and Greeks They were breadlike flat and simple If they were sweetened at all it was with honey and dried fruit These cakes were likely a daily staple By the 1300s the British elite were feasting on fabulous frosted cakes While the first cakes were simple grainy daily breads the Greeks and Romans offered fancier cakes to the Gods sometimes with a candle to mimic the moon The Greeks introduced an element of chance by baking a gold coin into celebratory cakes The person who found the coin would enjoy a yearrsquos worth of good fortune Cakes have been the sweet symbol of success and victory since the 5th century BCrdquou00a0