When you see a fruit, you think about eating it. But not Bency Koshy, a self-taught home baker.
For her it is more like, “How that fruit can be used in baking. That is how passionate I am about baking,” starts Bency, who quit her job to take up baking full time and calls her venture — A Pinch of Salt! A Pinch of Sugar!
She was inspired by MasterChef, which featured “ordinary people who cooked extraordinary dishes in an innovative manner. That inspired me and I started experimenting and tried it all out on friends and family,” laughs the young baker.
According to Bency, baking gives you plenty of creative possibilities, though she does not do birthday cakes because, “People come with their minds set on only certain flavours — fresh cream cake, regular chocolate cake or seasonal fruit based cakes — most of which are available out there in the market. Doing the same thing bores me to death,” says Bency, who prefers to play around with flavours. “I like to bake with bitter chocolate, salt, malt with pistachio crumbs, or something with jackfruits, poached pear, or pomegranates,” adds Bency, who now works as a dessert consultant and has also created plated desserts for a restaurant in Bengaluru.
She has an obsession for Mediterranean flavours as she was “born and brought up in Dubai and has a deep connection with Middle Eastern cuisine and flavours, with which I experiment a lot.” But, experimenting too has its drawbacks, explains the baker, as “some combinations turn out to be a disaster. But, that is a risk I am willing to take. Unless I try and taste it, how will I know what works and what does not?,” she asks. Another obsession, she says, is the use of alcohol in her desserts.
Bency avoids any kind of processed ingredients and tries seasonal fresh produce to make desserts. She uses jaggery, palm sugar, dates etc. and believes “people eat with their eyes first. So the visual appeal, just like the taste, is important.” She also adds that she feels responsible for others’ health too and tries to use genuine produce, fights food adulteration and encourages the use of organic, fresh and seasonal produce.
Bency adds that she tries and uses healthier ingredients and keeps herself updated with baking trends by following top bakers online.
She can be contacted on bencykamal@gmail.com