Prachi’s latest feat has been her collaboration with Italy’s ‘International Cake Project,’ in which she has demonstrated a mega-cake inspired by her heirloom Banarasi silk saree, traditional Indian jewellery.
Pune: Whether a baking enthusiast or a cake connoisseur in India, Prachi Dhabal Deb is a name to be reckoned with. A cake artist par excellence and a 2 world record holder, Prachi’s strong suit is the elaborate art of royal icing, which she has learnt in the United Kingdom, under the tutelage of the world-renowned cake icon Sir Eddie Spence MBE. Typically, the traditional recipe for royal icing has eggs; but to make the cake ideal for the Indian market, Prachi’s developed an egg-free and vegan product of Vegan Royal Icing, in association with an Indian company-Sugarin. The product is available in India, and also across the globe.
Prachi’s latest feat has been her collaboration with Italy’s ‘International Cake Project,’ under the aegis of which, she has demonstrated a mega-cake inspired by her heirloom Banarasi silk saree, traditional Indian jewellery.
Speaking about why she chose the Banarasi saree, she shared: “I wanted to showcase Indian heritage and culture internationally. At the same time, I wanted to create something that was close to my heart; something I could resonate with. There couldn’t have been a better choice than the vibrant fuchsia Banarasi masterpiece. It was handed over to me by my mother – so it had more value and an element of legacy.”
Shubh Shringaar cake Banarasi saree-inspired cake is a blend of inspirations, with the colour, motifs, floral features, and silver and gold zari works from the saree, and the filigree details from the jewellery, not to mention the shape of the cake sculpted to perfection like a sindoor-dani.
“To recreate the look of the handwoven saree to a tee, the floral elements were piped using thousands of individual dots, and then painted with edible gold dust,” she added.
This Banarasi saree-inspired cake, at present, is displayed at Prachi’s cake studio in Pune. Enter the studio, and you are transported into a world of fantasy, almost as if entering Roald Dahl’s magnificent setting of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ And just how Charlie ambles along the factory and is spellbound looking at the bursts of chocolate, one tends to be awestruck, witnessing Prachi’s larger-than-life, involvedly designed, and thoughtfully embellished cakes, with her signature vegan royal icing. No wonder, this cake genius has aptly been christened as “the queen of royal icing.
Prachi has set two world records. The Biggest Vegan Royal icing structure by World book of records London and for Maximum number of Vegan Royal icing structures by World book of Record ls London.
