Let’s not beat around the bush and give a flowery introduction as if someone is going to evaluate me on this piece! To put things straight, I am NOT very fond of sweet dishes or desserts, in general. So when I am taking the pain to review a joint which primarily produces cakes and desserts, it clearly means there is some spark in their dishes which interested me. The Baker’s Box has a Home Baker kinda setup in Saltlake Sector-1 area, though this place is a rented out property only for the purpose of baking and cooking, it’s not typically a residence. You can expect home deliveries from this place; also you can opt for take-aways after making prior appointments and placing your orders in advance. I have come across couple of home bakeries / eateries across the city that can better be termed as disasters, but not this one. So I was pretty skeptical before visiting this place and hoped the offerings would suit my palate. In fact, I was invited by the owner, Mrs.Prerna Churiwal and I had several bloggers and reviewers from Panchphoron food bloggers group along with me for this food tasting session. We reached the address later in the afternoon and I realized the place might be bit tricky to locate for a person not so familiar with the locality.
So, let’s check out the location first. The place is actually Baker’s Box’s office-cum-factory and it is in the CF block of Saltlake Sector-I. The exact building number is CF-318, near the Swimming pool area. It’s quite close to notable eateries like Sharma Tea and On My Way. There is ample parking space on the lane in front of the house marked CF-318. The Baker’s Box is at the ground floor of this house. We were warmly greeted by the owner as we stepped in. There isn’t any ambiance to discuss about because this isn’t anyway a dine-in joint. So, let’s move on to discuss about the food, the crux of the matter. I already had an idea of the products or dishes which this place can produce and I really believe they have got immense potential, especially in the snacking segment apart from their core expertise of producing bakery products. They produce some lovely snacks which can be an instant hit with the office goers. Their meals and starters are all vegetarian and they accept large party orders as well. During this tasting session, we had their snacks as well as the desserts and bakery products which ended the year 2016 on a sweet note since this meet was arranged on the last day of the year! 🙂
Here are the items we tried at The Baker’s Box –
Mini Pesto Pizza – These small thin crust pizzas gave the perfect start to the tasting session, they were nearly bite sized and pretty flavorful, the end result was predictable – they were all consumed in a matter of couple of minutes! The base was tad hard and crunchy; it had pesto paste as the base and had toppings of green bell peppers, onion rings and green olives. It was then topped with feta cheese and perfectly baked producing a uniform layer of molten cheese covering all the toppings. The stuff can be consumed as evening snacks or maybe as starter before a heavy Italian meal.
Cheese Samosa – This was the ‘star item’ and I wish I had a plate full of these mini samosas in front of me as I am writing about them now. This drool worthy snacking item has got humble looks but you will feel the spark as soon as you bite into it. The size is tad smaller than the regular samosas that we have. The outer covering has a smooth and light texture without any trace of oil since these are all baked items. The filling has nothing but cheese which satisfies your soul to the core. It is subtle, flavorful and sinful; all at the same time. I can bet, you can not just have one. Must try!
Crème Brûlée – These deceptive looking awesome desserts were served and presented in small glass bowls. It had a chunky topping of marshmallow and amazing, creamy, gooey custard filled in that bowl covered with a contrasting layer of thin, hardened burnt caramel. This was more than an artwork to me rather than a simple dessert! And yes, one more thing – I don’t like custard, I don’t like them a bit; but I had finished this bowl in flat one minute, hope that gives you enough idea how amazing this preparation was. Don’t miss this dessert if you are ordering from The Baker’s Box.
Cheese Straws – The cheese straws were primarily served to clean the palate in between so many sweet desserts. These flaky buttery cheese straws were anyway a hit as an individual item and we kept munching them. The strips had the right dose of cheese in them and were very delicate and flaky.
Death By Chocolate – This chocolate cake was absolutely gorgeous, I just have one word to describe it aptly, and that is ‘sinful’. It had a gooey dose of chocolate filled in it and the cake was so fluffy and spongy. This layered cake had loads of dark chocolate squeezed inside making it somewhat an overdose of chocolate which only a true chocolate lover can handle! There was a nice sprinkle of chocolate dust on top, and the sight of dripping chocolate making it look bit too dangerously delicious! Must try if you love chocolate in any form or shape!
Lemon Pound Cake – This one had a subtle lemony tang to it and overall the cake was soft and fluffy, it was topped with cherries and sugar dust. It should have been eaten before the Death By Chocolate, because this chocolate cake had a strong flavor which lingers in your mouth for long, but still I believe the Lemon Pound Cake stood out by its own merit. So all lemon tart lovers, this one is for you. You’ll surely love this.
Gulab Jamun cake – This was not in our pre-decided menu, but Prerna decided to add this one to our tasting menu to check out our reactions. Well, this one was nice but the Chocolate and Lemon ones eclipsed the flavor of this Gulab Jamun Cake. Also I had better Gulab Jamun Cakes elsewhere. At Stadel, I had awesome Gulab Jamun Cheesecakes which my taste buds still remember. Here I would suggest addition of real tiny gulab jamuns inside that cake mix so that you get to taste them in every bite.
Also we were given a hamper while we’re leaving, a big thanks for that! The hamper again had Oats and Dark Chocolate Muffin and Molten Lava Cake in there. Also in the hamper I had Cheese straws and Cheese Samosa which have already been discussed above. The Molten Lava Cake was again sinful, and the sticky chocolate filling was a joy to savor. The Oats and Dark Chocolate Muffin was also equally good with drops of smooth chocolate pockets inside the muffin made it a joy to have contrasted with the layer of oats!
Closing note – So overall the tasting experience was pleasant and quite amazing! I would rate this place close to 4.25 out of 5 which is pretty awesome for a newly opened joint. This place is still in its initial days and there is a long way to go. I am sure this can be a great destination for all bakery products and snacks in the coming days. As already said previously, loads of potential is there.
With time, I am sure they will expand and set up some shops/outlets so that they can reach out to more and more people. I would hope they steadily and carefully march ahead to become a big brand name in this segment of F&B market in the city of joy! I would wish them all the best and definitely this first food bloggers meet at their premises will be remembered for long!
Cheers!
foodiedada 