Nestled among trendy boutiques and cafes at Al Wasl Square is Yamanote Atelier, Dubai’s first boutique Japanese bakery. Not even a year old, the bakery has garnered a cult following for its square croissants filled with kiri cream cheese and hand-made custard cream. “People like the unusual play on flavours, whether it’s red bean paste or matcha,” says Daisuke Kishigami, Manager, Yamanote Atelier.
The bakery is a part of Dubai’s changing dessert landscape where frou-frou cupcakes are giving way to innovative sweets and the revival of vintage classics.
Edo cafe at the newly opened Citywalk, an outdoor strip mall off Al Wasl Road, has created its own version of the Japanese rice cake or mochi, called Mochi Cream. “The specially flavoured mochi skin is wrapped around flavoured bean jam and finished off with a flavoured cream centre. Stored frozen, it thaws for 15 minutes before you can eat it and the result is creamy, sticky and chewy all at once,” says Kristine Ziemele, Managing Partner, Edo.
Then there is Rice Creamery, also at Citywalk, which offers the humble rice pudding in more than 25 flavours including orange blossom, peanut butter, pistachio, red velvet and kunafa.
The recently opened La Porte des Indes, an Indian restaurant at The Address Dubai Mall, is creating a fair share of innovative desserts by adding exotic elements to India-inspired sweets. Chef Vishal Rane recommends the mango shrikhand in pannacotta format with pistachio chikki or the already popular Madras coffee creme brulee with caramelised rice banana.
Classic twist
But exotic isn’t the only watchword for niche brands looking to transform the way people in Dubai eat desserts. Back to the basics seems to be another mantra.
Kieran Mallon, COO, Foodmark, tells GN Focus, “Authentic traditional desserts with an emphasis on the quality of ingredients, freshness and subtle, relevant innovation are becoming popular.”
Foodmark will be opening the Pie Face Bakery Cafe later this year, which will specialise in both sweet and savoury pies.
Manish Jeswani, Business Head, Candelite, tells GN Focus, “Desserts have definitely made the transition from being a supplemental category to having a wider presence in the culinary world. It all began with the cupcake culture, which made room for stand-alone dessert outlets, and today we see everything from cookies to pies, frozen yoghurt and other products on the shelves.”
Meanwhile, the Caramel Group’s latest venture Mo’s is serving up vintage American desserts such as bubblegum and marshmallow ice cream and date shakes with cinnamon, which is a huge hit.
Vintage inspired
Genny Lorenzo, Head Chef of Marco Pierre White Grill, Conrad Dubai, believes that classics work because people have memories attached to them. She offers her guests an almond pavlova and a lemon tart with berry terrine, which are turning out to be winners.
Another proponent of the vintage school is Pedro Marin, Head Chef, Vogue Cafe, who is offering a dessert menu featuring classics with variations such as rice pudding with mango coulis and vanilla ice cream.
The desserts at Fuego, the Mexican restaurant at Souk Al Bahar, are also inspired by classic treats such as tres leche cake, churros and flan de coco, but served with a contemporary twist. Take, for instance, its mango chilli or lemon chilli ice creams.
Speaking of which, ice cream is getting plenty of attention. iCream allows customers to create their own ice cream, frozen yoghurt, sorbet or shake from scratch. Rapid-freezing liquid nitrogen machines help create these delicious treats. Clearly ice cream is here to stay.
