BANGALORE: She is a food addict, macaron lover, chocoholic, baker and entrepreneur. Known as the 'Macaron Lady,' Pooja Dhingra runs Mumbai's famous French style patisserie, Le15 and caters to an envious clientele that includes the who's who of Bollywood like Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor. And now, this pastry chef is gearing up to launch her first book, The Big Book of Treats and to conduct a baking demonstration at Foodhall at 1 MG Road on June 14 along with Manu Chandra, executive chef of Monkey Bar, The Fatty Bao and Olive Beach.
Her book, she says, is a gift to all the home bakers. It is for everyone who wants to learn to bake. With over 100-odd baking recipes, the book has tips on how to bake using ingredients that are locally available, using techniques that are easy to follow. "Usually when baking, people have trouble finding the right ingredients. Some of the ingredients mentioned in recipe books are not available in India. Then there are others who want to bake without eggs or without using the oven. I had come across such instances during my baking classes. So my book addresses such problems."
Brought up in a household that is obsessed with food, the family's passion for food just rubbed off on her. "My mother is a home baker and she used to make delicious chocolates. My father owned a restaurant and when I was growing up, I spent most of my days here. I even baked my first cupcake when I was seven years old." But it was only when she turned 18 that Pooja knew she wanted to become a pastry chef. She enrolled herself into a hospitality school, worked at a pastry kitchen, and then relocated to Switzerland and Paris for her culinary training. "I spent four years at University Center Cesar Ritz where I learnt the basics of setting up and managing your own business. One year in Le Cordon Bleu taught me the technique of French baking. I even got hands-on training under a renowned French chef."
She returned to India in March 2009 and set up her own patisserie, Le 15 bringing the best of French baking to India. The menu at Le15 is diverse, serving an array of cupcakes, tarts and macarons. What remains her favourite, though, is the macaron. "Macaron is our best-selling product and I have tried experimenting with the recipe by blending in some Indian flavours. For instance, we have a paan-flavoured macaron. For Diwali, we had introduced saffron and pistachio macaron." However, she adds, that the hot and humid Indian weather can often affect the texture and consistency of the macaron shells.
Pooja Dhingra shares tips to bake the perfect macaron
■ Use egg whites that are a day old (separate your egg whites and keep them in the fridge overnight).
■ Use very fine almond powder resembling fine bread crumbs. You can make your own by blanching almonds, i.e. by putting them in boiling water for 5 minutes and then removing the skin, roasting them in the oven at 165C for a brief 5 minutes and then grinding them in a mixer.
■ Make sure to use only castor sugar in your meringue.
■ Depending on the humidity, macarons take time dry. Pipe them on a baking sheet and then allow them to dry in a warm and dry place in your home.
■ Once you have piped the filling in the shells, sandwich the macarons and store them in the fridge overnight before eating them. The flavour drastically improves with time.