Hold on, dessert-lovers in Chennai, there’s more in store in the new year

CHENNAI: For Chennai, this year has been dedicated to desserts. Signature and trending desserts from across the globe like chocolate strawberry, triple chocolate cakes, kunafa chocolates, mini melts ice creams and many more, made their way to the city. On the whole, Chennai became a haven for sweet tooth.

Likewise, there is a rise in the number of home bakers and startups focusing on desserts. As the competition grows, these patissiers plan and execute different strategies to make a mark for themselves.

Seven years ago, on the day of Christmas, Janani Krishnaswamy’s life took a major turn. She was watching a plum cake recipe with her sibling and tried the same, which came out well. “That built a confidence in me to delve deep into the art. The pandemic happened when I was in class 11. That’s when I started my YouTube channel and took orders for small cakes. Though I was consistent, I didn’t achieve the desired results,” starts Janani, who is all set to open her cafe now in Chennai.

With her well-wishers’ motivation, she honed her skills and now, her efforts are yielding. “It feels surreal to receive recognition for my work on my Instagram page, Janpan Bites, in the past year. I am enjoying this rollercoaster ride and want to get busier with each Christmas,” she hopes. Janani acknowledges that there is a rise in the number of home bakers in the city, especially after Covid. “It is happy to see many people following their passion and how many parents are supporting their kids in the initial set-up of the business. Competition is present in every field. One can stand out from the crowd by the way they present the product to the customers and how they market themselves. Innovation and quality play a crucial role in the home baking business,” says the 21-year-old. She adds that transparency matters to gain people’s trust, as they have a lot more options out there to choose from.

A Nagercoil native, Bezil settled in Chennai five years ago. He is a professional chef, who jumped into baking while working on a project regarding bulk baking as a part of his Masters course. For the unversed, bulk baking produces baked goodies in huge numbers and supplies to shops, canteens in IT Parks, cafes and more. It is a B2B business. Along with him, two other friends, Jayanth Saravanan and Sheril Edward, started Goodies six months ago. “We are a complete bakery solution and provide customised cake hampers for festive seasons, birthdays and weddings,” he says.

Talking about trending desserts making their way to Chennai, Bezil remarks, “I think the city tends to replicate that is popular. But one cannot sustain the trend for a long time, as they are short-lived. We have to bring in our own touch to attract eyeballs. For example, we used the chocolate strawberry trend by incorporating it into our brownies.”

Bezil feels that the gifting culture is impacted by the corporate culture. “Nowadays, individuals are opting for bulk hampers. A person ordered 300 hampers, with one hamper costing Rs 3,200. I would suggest the home bakers and small startups come up with diverse hampers for the festive season,” suggests the corporate chef. He also thinks that the baking market might reach the saturation point. “People chose home bakers over popular bakeries because of hygiene and price. Many bakeries lost their goodwill in the past couple of years because of various leaked videos about hygiene. But now they have rectified the mistake and are coming back on track and we can see many sophisticated ones popping up. Moreover, there are chances for current home bakers to start a bakery in the future,” adds the 22-year-old.

Apart from the usual cake flavours, biscoff and cheesecakes have topped the list of preferences in 2024. “I post my successes and failures on social media as it might help my fellow home bakers. My family has been my pillar of support to break my insecurities and move forward in the business. The recent issue in the field is the increase in the number of scammers, who would exploit in the name of testing,” Janani remarks.

A few novel delicacies would steal the limelight in every festive season. This year, those are matured plum cakes and panettones. “Matured plum cakes are prevalent in Kerala, where the baked plum cake is kept for three months to enhance the flavours. It is also called a living cake and it is the talk of the town now,” Bezil states. Meanwhile, Janani points to panettone. “It is a traditional Christmas cake similar to plum cakes. It is made using sourdough and dry fruits. Soon, it will be a highlight in the coming years,” she strongly believes.

The highlights in Bezil’s Goodies for this New Year are the honey almond cake and signature plum cake. At Janani’s home studio, it is her all-time bestselling brownie.