Mousses, Cheesecakes & Cupcakes

Apart from widening your choice, the desserts covered in this book also come with an element of convenience, since they can be made in advance! However, making them needs a good amount of planning, understanding and practice. Do not fret; this book serves as a detailed guide, giving you instructions on every aspect—right from making the mousses, cheesecakes and cupcakes to decorating and presenting them. Just remember that the success of these recipes lies in following the procedure perfectly, and being meticulous while measuring the ingredients. Even a slight variation might land you with a messy dessert. ‘

I have divided the book into three sections, namely, Mousses, Cheesecakes and Cupcakes. Each section has a brief introduction on the ingredients that go into the making of these luscious desserts along with pointers to be kept in mind while making them. A piece of advice from my side is to read these pointers carefully before making any of the recipes from this book. 

The book begins with a section on Mousses, where I have presented 16 interesting options. So, what is so special about these? Worldwide, mousses are commonly made with egg as a setting ingredient. For my vegetarian readers, I have made these mousses comprising of either agar-agar or chocolate itself as a setting agent. From the evergreen Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Mousse to the innovative Coconut Pineapple Mousse and Caramelized Apple Mousse, there are umpteen delectable recipes to be enjoyed in this section. I have also shared a traditional mousse, the Thandai Mousse, to be enjoyed by the whole family.  

The second section focuses on Cheesecakes, a class of desserts I love! Cheesecakes are crunchier when compared to other desserts like cakes, pastries, mousses or even cupcakes. The biscuit base of the cheesecakes is what makes it different from the others. With whipped cream, butter, fresh cream and cream cheese as basic ingredients, just a small portion of cheesecake can be quite satiating! All-time favourites like Chocolate Cheesecake and Blueberry Cheesecake are presented along with fruit-based cheesecakes like Peach Cheesecake, Mango cheesecake etc.

Cupcakes, the third variety of dessert covered in this book, is indeed a very versatile one—it can be made as simple or as grand as you want. It is a very popular dessert option because it comes in small, easy-to-handle portions, and is quite simple to prepare. Thereafter, rich frostings with colourful garnishes can be used to add to its appeal. We have shown a few frosting ideas here, but you can use different kinds of nozzles to shape your frostings in varied ways. The garnishes can also be changed as per your choice. In short, you can start with a simple sponge and morph it into a delectable dessert with various frosting and garnishing ideas! Oreo Cupcake, Chocolate Chip Cupcake and some unique combinations like Cinnamon Cupcake and Coffee walnut Cupcake, feature in this section. 

In short, this book will help you conjure up a dessert that diners will remember all night, and for all the days to come thereafter! Get going, win as many hearts as you can, and may people remember you as a chef par excellence.

Welcome to the digital version of Tarla Dalal’s Mousses, Cheesecakes & Cupcakes! You can now carry your cookbook with you wherever you go. Although this book contains the same delicious and inspiring recipes as the print version, you might find the look-and-feel a bit different, due to the changes we have consciously implemented, to make using this eBook easy and interesting for you. 

All the items in the menus are directly linked to the relevant pages, making navigation a breeze. Just click on any chapter in the Table of Contents, and you will be taken to a list of recipes in that chapter. Just choose, and click on any of those recipes, and you are ready to start cooking it, with the clear recipes and lovely images to inspire you. If you are in doubt about any of the ingredients, worry not… just click on it and you will be taken to the glossary section of our website, tarladalal.com, to view a simple description and easy explanation of the culinary usage of that ingredient. Many recipes are enhanced with their video links, so you can even enjoy watching your favourite recipes being prepared right in front of you.