Coming up with that perfect tiramisu or chocolate mousse isn’t a Herculean task if you know your basics, says chef Harminder Mathur. In a cook-out session, he explains Divya Kaushik the simple ways of creating a wonderful dessert
Baking your own cake and eating it, too, isn’t as easy as it sounds. But as you watch him whip the cream, add melted chocolate to the mix in measured portions and turn it into a marvellous dessert in a few minutes, you somehow feel more confident about your next ‘bake job.’ Chef Harminder Mathur is no less than an artist when it comes to exploring themes and ideas to craft a dessert (read cake, pie or a pastry). He is one of those few chefs who don’t need to scan the Internet or an inspiration to create something out of the box. “Baking is very much like art, you need to be different with everything that you create. When it comes to dessert, people are always open to try new things and want that their favourite pastry or a cake should be presented to them in an interesting way. So presentation plays a very important role and for that you need to think out of the box,” says chef Mathur, as he readies his cooking station with the ingredients.
Chef Mathur has recently joined The Imperial as the executive pastry chef after touring across the globe, collecting accolades and creating wonders. One of his famed creations is the 36 ft tall cake that made an entry to the limca Book of Records. “That was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Delhi hotel I was working with in 1998,” he tells us in a humble tone. The chef is ready with the mix of egg yolk and sugar brought to a certain soft consistency on a boiler that serves as a basic mix for tiramisu. The purpose of the cookout is to make many believe that certain desserts can be easily prepared at home, if you know the basics. So if you have plans to surprise your partner with some self-made delicacy this Valentine’s Day, chef Mathur is the man to guide you.
As the heavenly aroma of chocolate and flavours of coffee spread around, inviting a few other guests to discard their cosy corners and be part of the activity, there is more buzz around the cooking station. And we never thought we would discover the true meaning of tiramisu here. A French lady, an ardent fan of India, shares with us that the Italian dessert was given to new mothers, soon after the delivery of the baby, to make them feel better. “In Italian, tiramisu means ‘pick me up’ or ‘lift me up’ so it was traditionally given to new mothers to make them feel better. Not even many Italians know about this, but since I have a few friends in France and I have been there many times, I know about this,” she informs.
The chef adds pre-soaked gelatin mixed in coffee flavoured liquor to the yolk and sugar mix. To set the base of the dessert he soaks some ladyfingers, not the vegetable but a sort of cookie, in coffee flavour liquor and sugar syrup. He layers the glass with soaked ladyfingers and his prepared mixture, perfectly whipped to form a creamy texture. In just a few minutes, the tiramisu is sitting pretty in front of us with a piece of cherry resting like a crown on it. “You need not freeze it but refrigerate it and serve it chilled,” says the chef and he starts pulling out ingredients for chocolate mousse. “Coming up with a perfect dessert is no trick. You should know the balance of flavours and proportion of ingredients,” says the chef, who has also come up with a lot of fusion recipes that mix traditional Indian sweet and European delicacies. like rasmalai terrine — a chocolate terrine served with chunks of rasmalai and gulab jamun cheese cake.
“There are so many experiments happening in desserts now and there are takers for every new thing. But people are more health conscious now so we also have to come up with recipes for those who want to indulge without piling on calories,” he says.
Expect some surprises from the chef as he is all set with some new ideas to offer to his guests. “I am passionate about creating something new. I will soon add a lot to our list of desserts,” he says with the smile.
photos Sanjeev Kumar