Shivesh Bhatia’s Instagram page is one delicious feed. You will get a sugar high just by looking at it. But Instagram’s blue-ticked boy is eyeing more than just eyeballs—the self-taught baker wants his followers (869k and counting) to whip up a sweet storm in their kitchens. And so, recipes dominate his digital space, be it on his Instagram page, YouTube channel or website. But one can relish his bakes not just in bytes, but also in books. Bhatia, 26, has four books to his name, two of which released this September.
The beauty of Bhatia’s baking is that even children can follow his recipes. To make it simpler for them, he has come out with A Cookbook For Special Days, Special People. Perhaps he did not want them to enter the world of baking with burnt cupcakes, like he did with his cousins at the age of 11. Despite the cupcake fiasco, the Delhi lad had fun trying his hand at something he had seen his grandmother and mother do. So, he continued tinkering in the kitchen even as he finished his schooling and graduation (political science). He began posting on Instagram first and then egged on by his friends there started a blog, which later became a website. A lot of his recipes are based on requests from his followers. Most often, people would ask for an egg substitute in his recipes, and that got him into exploring eggless baking. Today, 90 per cent of his recipes are eggless, he says. And, Eggless Baking With Shivesh has all his eggless recipes in one place. The award-winning food blogger and food influencer shares his favourite eggless recipe:
WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Rich, airy, creamy, decadent, this white chocolate mousse is one of the easiest, quickest desserts you can make. And so incredibly versatile! Serve it with fresh berries, mangoes and mint leaves, lime zest or just shards of your favourite chocolate.
INGREDIENTS
White chocolate, chopped: 1½cups
Fresh cream, warm: ¾cup
Rose extract/kewra water: 1tsp
Whipping cream: ¾cup
TO TOP
Chopped pistachios
Dried rose petals
METHOD
1 Put the chopped white chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the warm cream and rose extract/kewra water over this. Allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes before mixing it with a spatula. Make sure all the chocolate has melted, and there are no lumps. Allow the ganache to cool slightly.
2 In a large bowl, beat the whipping cream using an electric whisk until it forms stiff peaks, for about 3 minutes.
3 Carefully fold the whipped cream into the chocolate ganache in three batches so as to not knock out any air.
4 Transfer the mousse into glasses and top with crushed pistachios and dried rose petals. Let it set in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.