Baking sprees during the lockdown with a surge of brownie and banana bread posts on Instagram led us in a few directions. Creative fuel, but of course. Added calories, if you have generous baker friends. And a liberal dose of FOMO — for those who don’t bake.
Fortunately for those of us who fall in that category — there’s a vertical emerging with readymade mixes that takes all of the potential ‘risk’ out of the process. And Watch Me Whip India, started by two Chennai-based couples — set our inhibitions to rest, as we embarked on a solo Dark Chocolate Cake adventure recently.
“We wanted our product to create an experience and empower people who may be intimidated by baking,” says one of the founders of the three-month-old brand Karishma Mahtani (31). Karishma, a graphic designer, conceptualized the brand with husband Ashish (31), who handles production. Meanwhile, baker Divya Jalan is in charge of product development (31) while her husband Aditiya (31) manages finances.
But back to our premix. It comes with flour, cocoa and sugar layered aesthetically in an eco-friendly glass jar. Add in yoghurt, milk and oil — whisk and bake.
We are nervous. This is a 700-gram cake — a bit of a tall order from the microwave mug cakes for one that we are used to. But the recipe card has all of four steps, the language is simple and our oven is preheated and ready. That’s when we realize, we don’t have a measuring cup! For a novice, this is as important as the ingredients themselves. Precision with proportions can mean the difference between moist and fluffy or dry and dense.
Google comes to the rescue. As it turns out, 20 tsps equal 100 ml. Phew. The batter is thick and lump-free despite no sieving. Our cake which we retrieve out of the oven 30 minutes later (as recommended) looks like it was made by a pro. And our test toothpick comes out clean as a whistle. Slather on their indulgent chocolate ganache for a finishing touch and we are golden.
Over at the office the next day, we experience a slice of baker’s bliss as everyone sang our praises with compliments like ‘soft’ and ‘moist’. This is what sweet dreams are really
made of.
Cookie, brownie, bread and cake mixes available online. Shelf life up to a month in the fridge. Delivery pan-India. INR 200 to INR 470.