Odisha capital readies for festive season with delectable personalised cakes

Bhubaneswar: With Christmas and New Year round the corner, the capital city of Odisha is already in grip of festive fervour. Social media is abuzz with invitation for Christmas celebrations and New Year parties. However, no merrymaking is complete without the classic dessert: cake!

Bakeries and confectioneries in the city are gearing up for one of the busiest time of the year and are arming themselves with lip-smacking and eye-catchy specialities for the festive season.

The Cake Room is whipping up delectable varieties such as the Yule Log (a variety of chocolate pastry shaped like a log of wood), Moonlit, Vanilla Blast and the pièce de résistance of their menu, Liquer Chocolate in Bar. One can also order the authentic plum cake, a Christmas staple that has been seasoned for a month with sundried fruits.

Similarly, Charul Parmar’s Cake Studio is aiming at red-and-white designs keeping the Christmas theme in mind. “Cupcakes, rum-based cakes, dry fruit cakes and cranberry cakes are a few of our celebration options,” said Charul.

Paris Bakery is stocking up on plum cakes, rum-and-raisin cakes, hampers with edible Christmas baubles and even the desi chiki (peanut brittle).

“Cake-cutting in no longer restricted to birthdays anymore. People in Odisha nowadays want cakes for every occasion. Be it anniversaries, get-togethers, weddings, commemorative occasions like Mothers’ Day, Valentine’s Day, housewarming, arrival of a baby, Last-Day-At-Work and parties of any and every kind,” said Shashi Mimani, proprietor of The Cake Room.

Preference of Odia customers has undergone a major change with the advent of technology, especially the internet and social media. Gone are the days when square-shaped vanilla and heart-shaped chocolate cakes ruled the roost. Red velvet, exotic cakes such as blueberries, passion fruit, black currant and other fruit cakes are the current showstoppers.

Design of the cake is as crucial as the flavour. Bakeries in the city collectively echo the fact that most customers stress on customisation and personalisation. From hanging wedding cakes to ‘lahuni-handi’ themed ones, innovative customer ideas tax bakers’ creativity and perseverance levels to a great extent.

“Barbie doll cakes and photo print cakes have been customer favoruites all round the year, the Reserve Bank of India had once ordered a whopping 30-kg cake to mark its 80th foundation day,” said Manas Ranjan Nayak, Senior Manager (Merchandising & Project) of Paris Bakery.

Multiple-tiered cakes, personalised cakes themed with the interests of the individual and heavy-weighing cakes with jaw-dropping layouts are a major trendsetters in the business.

Yes, cakes add calories. But every calorie is worth every bite of mouthwatering deliciousness. So, go ahead and cheat a day in your diet regime, order one for the girls sleepover, surprise that co-worker who is having a bad hair day. After all, who can say no to insanely toothsome sweet course?