Priyanka Gandhi, a passionate home baker with over eight years of experience, has redefined the art of baking through her customized, 100% eggless offerings. From decadent cakes and cupcakes to artisanal breads and handcrafted chocolates, Priyanka combines freshness, quality, and creativity to deliver delightful homemade baked goods. Her unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation ensures every bite is a celebration of taste and care.
When did you started your journey as an chef?
I started my journey as professional home baker 8 years back in January 2017. Prior to that I used to participate in lots of cooking competitions & try to experiment a lot with Indian veg recipes.
What inspired you to be a professional pastry chef?
It just came as a spontaneous decision. We used to celebrate every occasion by cutting a cake. When I realized that I was spending thousands of rupees every year in buying a cake, I thought of making a cake for myself. I came across an advertisement in same locality & went to that place to learn basic of cake making just to make cake for myself.
After that I used to make cakes for me & my family on almost all occasions. One of my friends tasted the cake & liked it very much. She casually asked me to take an order for cake and I thankfully accepted the same. The cake turned out to be delicious & everyone liked it. From then till now I have made hundreds of cakes and I try to learn with every new order.
What highlights from your training or experience are most relevant for this role?
The most important thing is honesty. The customer has put full faith in us & it is our moral responsibility to oblige. The ingredients that we use are of highest quality. As a home baker, customer satisfaction is the top priority & profit comes last.
What are some of your favorite flavor combinations?
I would love to do experiments with the flavours in Cakes. But my most favourite flavour combinations are Rose-Pistachio, Coconut-Pineapple (Pinacolada) & Coffee.
When you’re not at work, where do you go for great pastry?
Normally I do not prefer eating outside pastries. If I am outside, I do try pastries at local shops or bakeries to try new flavors & designs.
What techniques do you use to ensure consistency in your pastries?
Normally I do not prefer eating outside pastries. If I am outside, I do try pastries at local shops or bakeries to try new flavors & designs.
I follow written recipes which I have tried & tasted numerous times. Also, measurements play important role. I use digital precision weighing scale to accurately measure ingredients. Also oven temperature setting play important role in baking.
Ganache is known for its smooth and creamy texture, but this can vary depending on the ratio of chocolate to cream and the temperature at which it’s made. How do changes in the ratio or temperature affect the viscosity, texture, and overall mouthfeel of the ganache, and how can these factors be manipulated to achieve different results for various culinary applications?
Accurate ratio of ingredients is must to make good ganache. If cream is more, ganache will not taste good & if chocolate is more, it will be highly viscous & not flow easily. We have to take proper proportion of chocolate & cream & heat it very slowly. If you heat mixture at high temperature, then milk & ghee will get separated & spoil the ganache.
