Delicieux Cakery: Indulgence without guilt

Text and pix by Fathima Riznaz Hafi

Cakes undoubtedly make appealing desserts and tea-time treats but leave many a person with lingering pangs of guilt – post indulgence! Delicieux Cakery enables that indulgence without the guilt as its vegan cakes offer a health-friendly version of desserts, substituting unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones.

The person behind Delicieux Cakery, home baker Manesha Peiris, is very passionate in her efforts to prove that healthy vegan desserts can be just as tasty and appealing as regular desserts. 

“A lot of people ask me why I chose to bake vegan. Being a vegetarian myself for the past 18 years and being a lover of food I’ve noticed that it’s very difficult to find or enjoy the food you love, as often many of these products include dairy, eggs, etc. and there is a popular misconception that the exclusion of these ingredients reduces the flavour, texture and taste of the food. So I chose to take on the challenge and prove that going vegan doesn’t have to mean you can’t enjoy food and show that vegans can have a bit of fun too,” says Manesha.

All her products are made without eggs, dairy and based on the customer’s preference without palm oil as well. Instead she uses ingredients such as olive oil, homemade vegan condensed milk and butter milk, fruit bases, etc. The gluten-free range is lighter and healthy, made without the use of wheat flour and often without any form of flour. This range often does not include any refined sugar and instead uses natural sweeteners such as plant based honey or fresh fruit juices.

“I love working with local produce and fruits; this gives the food a more earthy taste. As for frosting I am experimenting with buttercream flowers; this makes the entire cake edible and you won’t have to pick out any flower stems or wires from the cake before eating.”

Manesha presented three cakes for tasting and reminded me that none of them had dairy or eggs. Here’s what I thought of her cakes…

Mini Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake with buttercream flowers  

This is a cute, dainty-sized, dense dark chocolate cake that’s perfect for a small get-together. The single layer cake is coated with a thick dark chocolate frosting and decorated with pretty pink coloured butter cream roses which are sprinkled with sugar balls. Apart from looking gorgeous, it also tasted good and one won’t sense the exclusion of eggs or dairy in this cake as the flavour is intact.  

This vegan cake would be a hit with kids and adults who have food allergies as it is not only safe but unlike some vegan cakes that are dry and unappealing – this one is delightfully rich and moist and certainly the healthier option to most chocolate cakes.  

Naked Red Velvet Cake with white and chocolate buttercream flowers

Here we have two layers of vegan red velvet cake. The beauty with this one is the two layers sandwich a layer of frosted chocolate and delicate off white rosettes. On top we don’t have the conventional crumbing or coating of frosting; instead the cake is kept ‘naked’ with only a ring of butter cream and chocolate flowers on top (roses and carnations) and streaming leaves. This is perfect if you don’t like a lot of frosting on your cake. 

You also have the option of separating the two layers where each layer will have a beautiful topping and can be sliced into more pieces to feed a bigger crowd. This glossy, smooth and flavourful cake makes for a very filling dessert and its eye-catching vibrant colours make it stand out.  

Summer Peach Tea Cake

Peach lovers would adore this! The sheet cake has no frosting on it and is beautifully flavoured, offering a refreshing, tangy-sweet taste, owing to the generous splurge of sweet, juicy peaches all over the cake. Customers can specify the sweetness they prefer and it will be adjusted accordingly. The one I tasted was very pleasingly sweet but I didn’t have to feel guilty as I had Manesha’s assurance that most of the sweetness was from the peach juice and not sugar! 

Soft, tender and giving out an enticing aroma, this simple, no-fuss cake is perfect to enjoy with a cup of afternoon tea. 

Conclusion

My pick is the Mini Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake as it was not just the tastiest but also the cutest of the lot – I had to pause a while to admire it before cutting into it. The Peach Cake is highly recommended if you prefer a fruity, lighter, non frosty version of cakes while the Velvet Cake would be the one to go for if you want a luxurious fill!

Manesha usually asks for a week’s notice for an order to make sure it can fit into her schedule as she also works full-time as a senior lecturer in Information Systems.