This Kolkata brand, run by Le Cordon Bleu-trained patissiers, makes the best cheesecakes

Cheesecake wasn’t always the showstealer across Kolkata’s dessert menus. But things changed as the 2020s rolled in and Kolkatans got more creative about their grocery hauls. Patissier Stuti Saraf Jain still remembers one of the first cheesecakes she had in the city.

“I used to get cheesecake from a cafe in Kolkata; they had this Philadelphia cheesecake, which I used to love. It was the heavier side, but it was just tangy. It was a mix of sweet and savoury somehow, and it stuck with me!” she says.

Have you explored Kolkata cloud kitchen Cheeserted?

Jain co-owns the Kolkata-based dessert cloud kitchen brand Cheesserted with fellow patissier Vasundhara Kochar, whom she met in Bengaluru during a pastry course. Not long after they met, they started their own cheesecake brand in Kolkata, possibly one of the first city brands dedicated to cheesecakes. However, in the last few years, they have diversified and added macarons, travel cakes, classic entremets, cookies and of course, tiramisu.

Both founders are professionally trained chefs from Le Cordon Bleu, London, though pastry was not their original career plan. While Stuti initially studied to be a CSA, Vasundhara was studying economics. But somewhere along the way, this just felt more like their calling.

The idea behind Cheesserted was simple: cheesecakes that were indulgent yet balanced, rich but not cloying. “We try to keep the sweetness very balanced,” Stuti explains. “That’s probably our biggest selling point.”

Have you explore the Kolkata cloud kitchen Cheeserted?

When the brand launched, cheesecakes weren’t the go-to pick for many customers in the city. “People weren’t willing to try cheesecakes initially,” she recalls. “Now, we see people ordering cheesecakes for every kind of celebration, from birthdays to anniversaries. We just did 2-3 cheesecakes for an engagement party; it definitely has a lot of takers, Stuti shares.

Both founders are professionally trained chefs from Le Cordon Bleu, London, though pastry was not their original career plan. While Stuti initially studied to be a CSA, Vasundhara was studying economics. But somewhere along the way, this just felt more like their calling.

The idea behind Cheesserted was simple: cheesecakes that were indulgent yet balanced, rich but not cloying. “We try to keep the sweetness very balanced,” Stuti explains. “That’s probably our biggest selling point.”

When the brand launched, cheesecakes weren’t the go-to pick for many customers in the city. “People weren’t willing to try cheesecakes initially,” she recalls. “Now, we see people ordering cheesecakes for every kind of celebration, from birthdays to anniversaries. We just did 2-3 cheesecakes for an engagement party; it definitely has a lot of takers, Stuti shares.

Besides their fruity rum-soaked plum cake, a big standout from their menu is the Banana Jaggery Teacake, made with whole wheat and sweetened only with Jaggery. The Chocolate Pistachio Kunafa cake is another hit; it’s a reiteration of the viral Dubai Chocolate, and the cake is layered with crunchy kunafa, luscious chocolate crémeux, and pistachio ganache, on a moist chocolate cake.

“Another top-seller is our Nutella XL cookie, which is like a large-sized cookie stuffed with Nutella;

we also have a pistachio version of it. We keep on experimenting with things, and if something kind of hits the spot, then we definitely try to add to the menu. Since we're in Kolkata, we're doing a Nolen gurer cheesecake, which has also been received very well.

The Nolen gur er cheesecake is made with fresh date palm jaggery, sourced directly from the harvest of one of the brand’s staff members, Somnath, who hails from Nadia’s Bamanpukur.

Though the brand’s classic options are popular on food apps and with custom orders, the cheesecakes remain Cheesserted’s biggest seller. “One hundred per cent,” Stuti confirms. “The Biscoff cheesecake currently tops the list year-round, while winter sees strong demand for the strawberry cream and Nutella strawberry flavours. Seasonal thinking is central to how the menu evolves. We add more during festive seasons, and we definitely experiment during mango and strawberry season."

The patissier also confirms a brick-and-mortar presence is the next big thing on the cards.” A brick-and-mortar space in Kolkata is the plan in the making, maybe in one or two years. We want to open a cafe and serve delicious savouries as well. The response we receive on food apps has been so great!”

Chesserted is available on food apps

Cheesecakes: INR 1,200 onwards

Ph: +91 6291234821

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