Prateek Sadhu: DIY desserts

Is it possible to make a cake without having an oven in your kitchen? How does it work and options do you have?

No-bake desserts

What non-Indian desserts can I make if I don’t have an oven? And how could I go about it?

—Sheena K, Mumbai

I You can make many amazing desserts without an oven. That’s how things worked earlier anyway, when most households didn’t have one. All you need is a pressure cooker to make anything from a chocolate mousse to a caramel custard, besides cakes. It needs steam and heat to bake. You can create this set-up by pouring the mixture in katoris and placing them in the pressure cooker with some water at the bottom, so that it creates the pressure needed when the lid comes on.

While there are recipes you can follow online, cookbooks I can vouch for include those by Pooja Dhingra (Coming Home) and Vinesh Johny (New-School Sweets: Old-School Pastries with an Insanely Delicious Twist).

Prateek’s signature restaurant, Masque, is changing India’s culinary landscape and was awarded the One To Watch Award by Asia’s 50 Best in 2020

From HT Brunch, February 27, 2022

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