KOCHI: Russian citizen Anna Runova married Thiruvananthapuram-native Vinod Shankar in 2008. “Vinod worked in Moscow for 23 years. That is when we met, fell in love and got married. I became a daughter-in-law of Kerala,” she recalls.
But life was not very kind to their love, as Anna lost Vinod to a road accident almost seven years ago. But even after the fateful incident, Anna never returned to Russia, as she felt at home here. “I love Kerala cuisine. It is quite similar to that of Russia — both have original and extraordinary taste. Our children are now in Moscow. I never returned despite Vinod’s demise because I wanted to be closer to his family here,” she says.
Anna was running an Ayurveda centre in Kovalam before Covid. But when the pandemic took away her business, she had to shut it down. That is when she started brushing up on her baking skills. “Vinod was a fan of Russian food — the Sharlotka, Tiramisu, Bliny which is like dosa and Russian pancakes known as Syrniki,” says Anna. Soon, Anna became a home baker, and that was the beginning of her online venture Annushka Russian Bakery based in Kovalam.
Anna and her sweets are quite popular in the city now. She bakes sweet cakes that weigh a kilo or half a kilo. She makes classic Russian and Soviet recipes which are common in every Russian household during festivals. Medovik, a classic Russian honey cake that was one of the favourites of Russian emperors back the day, is one of Anna’s specialities. “Medovik is a popular Russian dessert. I use honey, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and a few special ingredients I bring from Moscow. It has five or 10 layers of honey cakes baked and sandwiched with cream. Then, a special honey crumb crust is layered on top and decorated with stencil designs using flour dust. The cake is then frozen for 10 hours to make it tender. It has a shelf life of four days and must be eaten an hour after it is taken off refrigeration,” adds Anna.
For chocolate lovers, Anna’s Symphony chocolate honey cake is a good choice. According to the baker, the highlight of the soft delicate chocolate cake with the aroma of honey buttercream is the blending of honey with chocolate. It is a great gift for Valentine’s Day too, she says.
Some of her cake recipes are also inspired by Soviet folklores. The Bird’s Milk Cake aka Ptichiye Moloko has its roots in USSR’s myths. In Russia, the cake is a symbol of affection and holds a high place in gifting. It is made from muffin dough covered with chocolate icing, sandwiched with cream made using butter, egg whites, condensed milk and sugar syrup,” she adds.
Anna has also put Vinod’s favourite item on the menu - the Sharlotka aka Russian apple pie. “In Russia, apples are harvested in every village during August. Sharlotka is a light pie made using apples, sugar, eggs and flour without butter. I make them here with other seasonal fruits like mangoes, and bananas,” says Anna.
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