Her basket of goodies
Yesnia Fernandes, is passionate about baking ever since she
baked her first batch of chocolate cupcakes in her school. Her wild fantasies
drove her into becoming a fine baking artist and an admirable cook. Every Easer
Yesnia has an Easter basket where she fills with all her yums and goodies. Last
year her Easter basket had some lip smacking delights like chocolate colorful
Easter eggs, chocolate truffles, and orange and carrot cake and tiny tit bits
to design the basket. This year, she brainstorms into surprising her family and
friends with a different set of menufor her Easter basket. She thought, “I was
thinking of trying something wild yet soft this time… I want to try baking an
Irish Bailey’s cake.
Can’t wait for this Easter, and have my
friends peek into my Easter basket!”
Her
blends of assorted Easter eggs
“It’s been five six years now that I have been churning out
Easter eggs in exotic flavours like mint, hazelnut, roasted almond, fruit and
nut and some quirky liqueur Easter eggs like khalua, Irish cream and rum and
raisin,” says Danushka Da Gama journalist and academician.
There is always time to try different
things, and Danushka never forgets to do so…It’s her hobby. “When you have
likeminded family and friends it’s possible to take it to another level,” she
adds. For her, working with savories and desserts, is all about allowing people
to try out something new, and is less about the money. Though she admits, “It
gets crazy with last minute orders coming in, and it’s not easy to say no as
everyone who orders are friends or friends of friends. And because there are
over 20 flavours it’s chaotic until a day before Easter.”
Her
love episodes with baking
She teaches kids some rough and tough cooking, baking and
molding. Maria Anita Godinho apart from being an educationalist,
proprietor at Proprietor of the Institute Nossolar (Our Home), and a baking
artist, she manages to do some ‘Awe-some’ baking.This Easter she will fill the
table with Easter marzipan and chocolate, orange cookies with basil, and orange
coconut baked. “Every year we have a roast stuffed chicken, but this time I’m
going for duck,” says the magic baker who bakes and cooks everything as well as
teaches the children at the institute. “I will be even baking hot cross buns
along with the children and then distributing,” she adds. She describes how she
fell in love with baking and the entire idea of a love episode created while
discovering new ideas to bake. She also comes up with theme cakes, different
cakes flavored with natural products, muskmelon cake, herb cakes and the list
goes on. “My specialty is herb cakes; it’s done with basil or any other seeds.
I use the infusion method”.
A
Mum’s scrumptious delights
When it comes to making your kids happy, a mother can do it all.
It all began when Suzette da Silva, Chief Associate at SBI decided to make
customized theme cakes for her children as there weren’t any available in
bakeries and shops at Goa. “Since then, I just love doing it, it is stress
reliving after a hard day at work.” The incredible woman says that she gets a
huge number of order and to divide her time between her work and passion. She
bakes the cake in the morning before going to work, and then designs and ices
it in evening after work. “This allows me to do the work well, as the cake
cools down by the time I’m back home”. This Easter she will be making a
chocolate basket with a cake for its softness inside, Easter eggs for her niece
and nephews and the family’s traditional dessert every Easter- Bolo Sans rival.
She
does it the Marmalade way…
According Alisha
Dias, a teacher, and loving
home-maker, Easter and spring both represent new life and happiness and the
best way of spending it is with family and food. “Every Easter is celebrated
with great happiness at home, especially when my husband is at home; we roast a
chicken, and bake some apple tart for desert and not missing out on the Easter
eggs. I also have some students who come over to double the celebration.” As
Alisha’s husband is always away from home, she makes it a point to preserve his
favorite fruits in the form of pickles or jam. This spring she has prepared
some orange marmalade, strawberry jam, fig and plum preserves and a blueberry
sauce. She her home and garden filled with the tangy orange aroma! The
marmalade is infused with orange peels which gives a bitter sweet flavor.
“I
believe when you add love into your dish, you not only enhance its taste but it
enhances your health and keeps you happy,” says Alisha
