Imagine starting your day with some vanilla-infused sugar, a cake slice and everything sweet that screams nice—glorious, isn’t it? If you are one of those calorie-counters who smirks at sweet baked goods, then Shivesh Bhatia’s studio kitchen is definitely not the place to be. In here, one can find everything from vintage-looking utensils to chocolate slabs to variants of different baking paraphernalia. “If the genie in the lamp granted me a wish, I would ask for unlimited supply of chocolate chips,” says Shivesh. The 24-year-old baker has a huge fan following not only for his recipes but also for his food styling and photography skills. But neither did he go to one of those patisserie training schools or do any photography course. He did his undergraduate degree in political science from Hindu College, Delhi University, with aspirations to become a lawyer. Though Shivesh enjoyed what he studied, the self-taught baker always felt at home among his pots and pans. “My classes used to get over by 1pm and I was not really doing anything after that. That is when I decided to invest more time in baking. I was already doing it, but I took it up more seriously—I started styling my dishes, photographing it properly and sharing recipes on my blog, Instagram page and YouTube channel. By my sophomore year, brands started approaching me to create content for them,” he says.
Shivesh Bhatia has over 200k followers on Instagram and his own channel on YouTube, making him one of the most popular food bloggers in the country. He has been featured in Vogue India’s ‘20 Under 20’ list and been awarded the Cosmopolitan Food Feed of the year in 2019. He has also created content for several brands, including Cadbury’s, California Walnuts, Epigamia, and Dabur. To add to his kitty of achievements, he is the author of Bake with Shivesh and is in the process of launching his next book, Desserts for Every Mood. Brushing off the compliments, Shivesh says his family and friends keep him grounded. “They are my direct contact with reality and they make sure I am the same person they knew before I got into social media. I take feedback from them. My twin sister keeps complaining that she has to go to the gym because of me,” he says.
Even during the lockdown, Shivesh has been quite active on social media with interesting posts almost every day. He started a new series on his IGTV, ‘Feel Good Fridays’, where he launched one of his best friends, Kritika Khurana, also known as ThatBohoGirl. “We did not want to stop with our videos so we decided to shoot it separately from our own homes; it was a ‘guess the brand’ challenge. I have also been sharing new recipes every day and I think these will make for a perfect treat to snack on during a fun family game night,” he says.
Nothing down about lockdown
With so much time on hand, I think one can’t help but introspect. This lockdown has led to many learnings and realisations:
1. Housework is no joke and our househelp really puts a lot of effort into keeping our homes neat and clean. Now that everyone in the family is doing their share of house care, I think everyone realises the importance and effort that goes into it and I shall always remember it from now on.
2. Staying at home is really not that bad. Before the lockdown I was out of the house for long hours of the day, everyday. Life was all about getting from one place to another, going to new places, working on new projects and meeting people. Used to this lifestyle, I really thought the lockdown would be a tough time but honestly, I have been enjoying myself to the fullest. It has given me the opportunity to get back to things I did not have time for and to do a lot of things on my own.
3. Being mindful of the things around you and making the best of it. In our busy schedules and daily stresses, I think we often forget about the resources that we have, be it social, financial or physical. We are so used to doing things a certain way that we never think of making changes and finding alternatives. But this lockdown has been all about being aware of what I have at hand and using that in new ways rather than running to the supermarket and buying new things.
Top five things in Shivesh’s basket
1. Nutella
2. Mangoes
3. Amul Cheese slices
4. A pack of chia seeds
5. Orange juice
Shivesh’s list of must-haves for every baker
A decent oven. You do not need a fancy oven to be a good baker. I use a borosil oven and it has been working beautifully for me.
A sense of style and aesthetic. If you want your desserts to stand out, you need to ensure they look amazing. Don’t be afraid and come up with your own aesthetics.
Basic tools such as a sturdy spatula, a cake stand, measuring cups and spoons, hand mixer or a stand mixer. All of these really make your life easy.
Cook books. The more books you have, the more inspired you will feel. Reading is a great way to gain insight.
The will to experiment. If you want to grow in your field and hone your skills, the best way to do that is to experiment. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and try out things you have been running away from.
The time to practise; it really does make perfect. No matter what you choose to do, if you want to get better at it, you need to practise and you need to experiment.
Some basic recipes up the sleeves. It is very important to have some very basic and classic recipes ingrained in your minds. Once you perfect these, it gives you a great deal of confidence. This includes the perfect cookie recipe, the perfect sponge cake recipe, the smoothest frosting recipe and so on.
A chef’s knife. Chopping chocolate and cutting fruit is an everyday task for a baker. Having the proper knife makes life much smoother.
A proper knowledge of ingredients. If you are using something in your dessert, you should know all about its composition and how it will react with other ingredients. This is exceptionally helpful for when you are creating your own recipes.
All information about storing different elements and ingredients. You will be surprised by the shelf life of some things that we use for our desserts. They stay fresh for longer periods of time if you store them correctly. A lot of people become lazy during this step and end up wasting elements. This is a big no-no.
Note to all bakers
Don’t be stuck on what you don’t have and try to use everything else that is available to you. I promise you, almost always, there is an alternative. Keep creating and keep sharing.
10 baking hacks
1. Egg substitution can be done in most recipes. Most common egg substitutes include greek yoghurt, bananas and applesauce.
2. If you are out of cupcake and muffin liners, use butter paper to make some. Cut out butter paper in medium size squares and stuff them in your muffin tray. It works just fine.
3. If you are making a dessert such as a rose panna cotta or a lemon tart and you want to amplify the colors of your dessert, you can use a tiny bit of food coloring.
4. The best way to make sure you have ample supply of seasonal fruits like strawberries and mangoes is to buy them in bulk while they are in season and then properly freeze them so that you can use them whenever you like.
5. I always use vanilla infused caster sugar in my studio kitchen. I just put a vanilla pod in the same container in which I store my caster sugar. It makes all the difference in how my desserts taste.
6. No matter what you are baking, unless it is specified, always use room temperature ingredients. Everything gets incorporated better this way.
7. If a recipe calls for caster sugar but you have only granulated sugar, all you need to do is blitz the granulated sugar for a few seconds till the sugar granules are smaller. Do not over blitz it or you will end up with icing sugar.
8. If you need to make a frosting but you are out of heavy cream, you can use fresh cream. Make sure the temperature of the fresh cream is extremely cold and all the equipment you are using is also cold—your bowls and whisk. Make an ice bath and then whip your fresh cream. This will take time but it will word decently.
9. If a recipe calls for just egg yolks, use the extra egg whites to make meringue kisses or whip up an egg white omelette for yourself the next day.
10. If you are afraid of taking out cakes after they have baked, buy removable bottom cake pans. These are so useful and completely stress-free.
For Shivesh, baking has come to mean many things over the years—memories of seeing his grandmother make cakes to spending hours experimenting in the kitchen and sharing the joy with friends to baking becoming his quiet refuge after a hectic day. In his second book, Shivesh shares a range of desserts–gooey caramel chocolate tart, fresh mint lemon chiffon cake to an exotic litchie rose tiramisu–that have helped him through difficult and happy times alike. Here are six recipes from the maverick baker’s book Desserts for Every Mood that promise to transform any day and beat the blues.
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