Hitting the sweet spot

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It is 9.30pm, and there is a patient, gregarious crowd outside the newly opened LICK (Lavonne Ice Cream Kitchen) in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar. Inside, the energy is almost nightclub-like, with peppy music, neon lights, and servers bustling about scooping ice-cream into shiny golden cups and arranging elaborate sundaes.

“People crave new dining experiences, and desserts are delivering," says chef Vinesh Johny, co-founder. “Dessert has evolved in India. From a time when people thought macarons were ‘too expensive’, we now have super-specialised patisseries doing only one thing and doing it well — tarts, or gelato, or cupcakes.

There is a lot of scope for innovation and reimagination, and for desserts to be the primary attraction when you dine out," says Johny. Whether it’s dessert bars, gelato bars, Japanese and Korean dessert spots or good old cafes known more for their sweet treats, desserts have become the star of the show when it comes to dining out. Restaurants, especially high-end ones, have extensive dessert menus featuring gourmet concoctions—where once we went straight for the caramel pudding or black forest pastry, we are now offered compotes and coulis and choux pastries, with chefs marrying French pastry techniques with Indian ingredients and flavours.

One of the vanguards of India’s dessert landscape is Pooja Dhinghra, who started Le15 Patisserie in 2010, making bold innovations like infusing macarons with local flavours. “We had green chilli macarons, masala chai macarons and paan ones, inspired by Dadar market. They stayed on our menu for a long time and now come back for Diwali," says Dhingra.