A Coimbatore chef’s experiments with gluten-free cakes

Rich chocolate flavours or light-as-air fruity ones, choose your pick from cakes made from nut-based flours like cashew and pista at Coimbatore’s Cake by Chocolate outlet

I pick the Cake by Chocolate’s silky rose cake, made for a change with cashew nut flour instead of the usual maida, wheat or almond flour-based one, and I am not disappointed. Made of cashew flour, butter and sugar, the cake is layered with dense rose-flavoured ganache with just the right amount of white chocolate and it is rich, moist and delicious. “As cashew flour is not readily available in stores, we dry roast cashew and make the flour in-house,” says pastry chef Adhiban Shankar adding that it was the popularity of kaaju katli sweet, a smooth thin fudge made with cashews & sugar that gave him the idea to bake cakes using cashew flour. Adhiban along with Rameez Raza, co-founder run the newly-opened outlet at Bharathiar Road. “Cashew flour is gluten free. It’s a healthier option to maida or wheat flour and is more suited for delicate baking projects,” explains Adhiban who studied at International Culinary and Pastry Academy in Singapore and worked for a few years at cafes in the US and Central Asia before moving to his home town to start his cafe. “While working in cafes abroad noticed a large number of people are gluten-intolerant where they suffer from serious health consequences when they consume gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. It was European Sacher cakes made using almond flour and almond paste that got me thinking on why not spongy, gluten-free cashew flour and chocolates?”

The team experimented with as many as 20 odd flavours to come up with a list that includes jackfruit, pistachio, and Frederick’s opera cake, choco truffle, rasamalai, peanut butter, and hazelnut flavours that work well with chocolate ganache.

They keep it simple, avoid decorative fondants and gelatin in any form. Asks Rameez, “Why should birthday cakes always look decorative? We just add macarons or fresh flowers. We want to encourage people to buy cakes, like they would pick up sweets. They don’t have to wait for an occasion. We choose chocolate bars come with 46 % chocolate.”

While the pistachio cake, made using pista flour is soft and fluffy, the Frederick’s opera cake has a velvety texture and decadent taste.

I pick the Cake by Chocolate’s silky rose cake, made for a change with cashew nut flour instead of the usual maida, wheat or almond flour-based one, and I am not disappointed. Made of cashew flour, butter and sugar, the cake is layered with dense rose-flavoured ganache with just the right amount of white chocolate and it qualifies as a celebratory cake. It is rich, moist and delcious.

Cakes by Chocolates is located at Tanny’s B Enclave, 797, VKK Menon Rd, Siddhapudur, New Siddhapudur. Open from 8am to 11pm. They also have outlets in Saravanampatti and Tiruppur. For door delivery, call 8111041010.