A taste of France in Mumbai - Le 15 Pâtisserie

I’ve recently fallen in love.


I’ve been swept off my feet by the most unlikely little fellow.
Not Shahrukh khan or any other Bollywood star.
Not my cute 15 year old Indian pantry boy who takes pictures of himself in the mirror with my camera while I'm at work.
Not even the lovely little white dog that sleeps night and day on my door step and doesn’t budge when I step over him.



I’m a talking about love at first sight.
Or at first taste should I say.
The real deal.

I am talking about le 15 Pâtisserie.

Le 15 is a little shop in a hair salon right next to my house in Mumbai

I noticed it for the first time at the beginning of June and was very intrigued to see heavenly looking Lemon tarts and Macaroons on their stall.


It took me a few days to finally decide to try one of their products out – I think I was influence by the ^ on Pâtisserie. So French. So authentic.

And then it happened ; as if I lightening had struck me


Crisp and light, zweet and tangy, crunchy yet smooth.


It was the French culinary arts epitomized in a small unpretencious lemon tart.

It felt too good. 
So my boyfriend – who incidently is addicted to chocolat and has devoured no less than 5 le 15 Patisserie macaroons since I have started writing this article ("I'm just trying out the products honey", "yeah right") – said to me :
‘Pauline, we need to meet these people. 
I don’t know who they are, why they are here in Mumbai and if they are mean, ugly and stupid but I need to understand how it is possible to create such perfection. Here in India !’



So we wrote an email to le 15 and got to meet both Chef Mukul and Pastry Chef Pooja.


My boyfriend’s fears were unfounded though ;


They were even sweeter than their macaroons.

I really encourage anyone in Mumbai to try anything at le 15 Pâtisserie.


You cannot be disappointed. The only thing that might happen is that you develop a severe addiction.


Like me.

Le15 Patisserie,
Shama Hair and Skin Boutique,
 Krishna Building, Near Podar Hospital, 
JN Palkar Road, Worli

Piece of cake - my moist orange/cranberry feast

Dear Readers I must admit that sometimes I try to be careful about what I eat. 
Like most young women, I'm a little self conscious about calories in food and I usually skip dessert when I am at a restaurant (all the more so as I certainly DON'T skip the wine !)
Only if I'm really starving or invited at a friends'house do I have a bite of dessert but I obviously feel so guilty the following morning that I immediately hit the gym for a week.
Sometimes it sucks to be a woman. 
Sometimes I wish I could gulp down waffles without putting on a pound. 


And then there's the perfect cake. 
The cake I always indulge in, because : 
1) I made it and I know it is not THAT ridiculously fattening
2) It is insanely moist and good and delicious so I just couldn't care less about the calories anyway. 


This is my secret weapon against crappy weeks and low spirits. It's a cake that will stay moist and soft for a week (although to tell you the truth I never actually got to verify this because it's always finished after a day).
And it is so easy you just can't get it wrong. It's almost magic. 
This cake should seriously be taught in school. 


Go ahead, bake it and tell me what you think, I'm interested ! 

The ultimate Moist Orange Cranberry cake

Ingredients

190 g all-purpose flour
3 g baking soda
2 g baking powder
120 g vanilla sugar
55 ml orange juice
1-1/3 eggs
160 ml buttermilk
120 ml vegetable oil
175 g fresh cranberries
8 g grated orange zest


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a tube pan.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup the vanilla sugar, the orange juice, the eggs, the buttermilk, and the vegetable oil using an electric mixer. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. If you judge the mixture is too moist, add a little bit of flour.

3. Fold in the cranberries and orange zest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on your oven) until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean.



Notes:

Regarding the egg, I know it sucks to have 1 egg and 1/3 but it really makes a perfect mixture whereas only 1 egg makes it too hard and 2 eggs to moist.

If you don't have buttermilk you can always make some yourself : place one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a one cup measure. Fill to one cup mark with regular milk and let sit for five minutes.

As for your wine pairing,

cranberry wine could of course do the trick.
You may also go for champagne or white dry wine like Riesling. The lime and acidity will perfectly counterbalance the tartness of the cranberry.