The Cooking Renaissance For Your Soul
Avina Avlani, whose day job as a Communications Specialist can be stressful, started baking as a way to unwind during the busy period of working from home. “I’ve always been a fan of baking but these unprecedented times have made me realize how therapeutic it can be,” writes Ms Avlani as she goes into a descriptor of the motions she finds the most soothing – the sifting of flour, the whisking of eggs, and the dusting of the cocoa powder on her desserts.
It was during one of those unwinding sessions when she made a batch of tiramisu that she’d decided to send to her closest friends that she hit upon an idea. “The dessert was such a hit that I decided why not have a bake sale to support migrant workers in Singapore?”she proposed And that was how #CaloriesforaCause started, where proceeds of the sales of the tiramisu would help rebuild the lives of workers who have built the beautiful city.
She describes the dessert as a classic tiramisu - or as she dubs it, tira-miss-u – and describes as a great way of showing your friends how much you missed them. Made with espresso-soaked biscuits and topped with luscious boozy coffee cream and a blanket of cocoa powder, the decadence of the dessert certainly places. With coffee liquor and espresso, coffee is the main star of the dessert. This balance of flavours did not come immediately. Ms Avlani admits that while she had made tiramisu in the past, she had never been able to hit the sweet spot until this year. “Sometimes it was too sweet and other times too boozy (not a bad thing some might say!),” she writes, laughingly. “A silver lining in our current situation is we have the gift of time and this gave me the opportunity to perfect my recipe.”
Ms Avlani hopes that she would be able to perfect more baked items such as chocolate chip cookies and fudgey brownies but she also want to experiment with slightly more complex items like lemon tart, an apple pie and sundried tomato foccacia. And for her, she’s got a chance thanks to the rare gift of time that has been afforded to her. “It helps that cooking doesn’t just put you in a good mood but those around you as well!”
To find out more about what home cooks at home were up to, or to get inspiration for your own dishes at home, pick up a digital copy of Cuisine & Wine Asia’s July/August issue, available on Magzter or on our own portal! What’s more, get access to all our past magazine issues for free on digital! Read stories from local and overseas chefs, read new recipes from appetizers to desserts, gain access to exclusive YouTube videos and learn more about the Food & Beverage scene! All these activities will ensure that you make the best use of your time to learn new information!
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