To indulge our sweet cravings, Team enthucutlet dug through the bylanes of Mumbai and built a list of oddly strange but delectable desserts we have eaten or want to eat.
It’s no surprise that half of Team enthucutlet has an extremely sweet tooth. So, we couldn’t help but comb through Mumbai trying to find some peculiar desserts, a few we couldn’t help but rave about closing in on second servings, and a few we cannot wait to get our hands on. Here’s a list that will help you satiate your sweet cravings.
Nomou
A homegrown gourmet brand, Nomou specialises in creamy plant-based gelato that’s minimally processed. They use coconut milk as the base for their treats, and sweeten them with palm sugar, keeping their word of being vegan and refined sugar-free. Nomou’s selection of unique flavours consists of Paan, Thandai, Saffron Pistachio, Fig & Walnut, and Black Sesame.
Meethi Eliachi
While Meethi Eliachi offers a range of classic mithais, they also have an assortment of unusual sweets. ME’s desi Ferrero laddoo comes coated with cashews and chocolate to match the soft crunch found in the original Ferrero. Their mandarin cheesecake mithai is a zesty melt-in-the-mouth decadence made with white chocolate. Whatever your imagination comes up with, ME will somehow conjure it up… a badam matcha wedge, an aam papad laddoo, a coconut red velvet laddoo, a raspberry mithai macaroon, and a passion mithai macaroon.
Ahlan Luxury Gourmet
Sourced from the finest palm plantations in the Arab Nations, Ahlan Luxury Gourmet specialises in Ajwa Dates of various kinds. Their luxurious collection includes filled and coated dates, date cream, date jam, date milkshake, date syrup, and powder. Along with assorted boxes of baklava, Ahlan also makes a hazelnut chocolate kunafa. They also provide catering services for dates and nuts.
Poco Loco
A Spanish and Mexican tapas joint, Poco Loco does a gorgeous chocolate chilli pepper tart that I couldn’t get enough of – so much so that I had two servings all by myself. The tart’s centre is filled with chilli jam, and it is topped with dark chocolate. Each well-placed spoonful is a burst of sweet and spicy flavours. The tart stays crunchy even though it’s brimful with its soft fillings.
Basque Tarta de Queso
Chef and food consultant Ayesha Nallaseth, the founder of this brand, offers a selection of made-to-order ‘burnt’ basque cheesecakes that come in different flavours. A recent addition to her menu is the Lagan nu Basque Cheesecake, a twist on the traditional Parsi dessert. Some of her other popular cheesecakes are the vanilla bean basque cheesecake, Irish cream crumble basque cheesecake, and baklava basque cheesecake.
Chef Ayesha’s Diwali specials are to look out for – last year Basque Tarta de Queso did a saffron mawa cheesecake as a part of their Diwali menu.
Bina’s Fresh Batch
Anyone who loves ice cream needs to get to know Bina’s Fresh Batch. Bina Doshi offers ice cream that is freshly churned in small batches. enthucutlet’s editor, Roshni recommends Bina’s kachi keri (unripe mango) ice cream and ganna (sugarcane) sorbet. One of their bestsellers, Thai Red Ruby ice cream is made with water chestnuts and coconut. The seasonally available orange-apricot ice cream is a combination of citrusy notes with floral sweetness.
Trayog
If you find yourselves at a crossroads unable to pick between an Indian mithai or a tub of ice-cream, choose Trayog. The said artisanal brand turns regional sweets into ice creams. Sold by the tub, Trayog’s unconventional range of ice creams offers flavours like ukadiche modak, puranpoli, narali bhaat, Chikkamagaluru kaapi, palaapazham, amrood, and many more on their menu. They also have a cutting chai biskoot flavour.
Le Paan
Even though paan is not technically considered a dessert, it makes a good meal ender. We have chosen Le Paan for this list for the flavours it offers. Their menu, though limited, offers paans that are succulent and crunchy. Le Paan’s four dessert-based paans are definitely must-haves (this, coming from someone who dislikes paan but has tried all four of them, because dessert-obsessed). The Bavarian cookies ‘n cream paan is filled with Madagascar vanilla fudge and Oreo biscuits, the unicorn cotton candy paan comes sprinkled with pixie dust, the espresso fudge paan is made with a shot of rich espresso, and the gourmet chocolate paan comes dipped in smooth truffle chocolate.
