Around the globe for Christmas

Reindeer snow globe; (right) Enchanted forest snow globe

There's something about the ephemeral nature of anything that is available on limited edition. The thrill of getting your hands on a blink-and-you-missed-it novelty item is another high altogether. More so, when it comes to our favourite pastime - food.

We recently chanced upon a duo of unique, limited-edition eggless snow globe desserts by White Light Food (@whitelightfood on Instagram), a Lower Parel-based food delivery service. We called for a couple of stunningly crafted festive season goodies to see if they measured up in the taste department.

Our favourite of the two, for both visual and taste bud appeal, the Reindeer snow globe (Rs 1,600 for 750 gm) is a layered dessert with fudgy, dark chocolate brownies as its base, atop which is a decadent Belgian chocolate mousse, and finally, a coating of vegetarian eggnog cheesecake. All this, sitting pretty in a plastic, two-sphered globe. The smaller sized Enchanted forest snow globe (Rs 750 for 350 gm) on the other hand, looks like a winter wonderland with its fluffy vanilla brownie sponge and the same eggnog cheesecake.

Averse to the idea of anything overtly egg-y, what we loved about both globes was the fact that the eggnog layer, though made sans egg, tasted just like an authentic, well-balanced nog. It was replete with Christmassy flavours of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.

However, we would have appreciated the globes a lot more if the dried flowers and leaves - sitting atop the bottom half of the sphere on an acetate sheet - would have been crafted from edible sugar paste pastillage or fondant; the kind that is usually seen on cakes and other entremets.

They also dish out fusion-style, savoury festive items (from Rs 300-450 per dish) like the punchy Thai green curry guacamole that we teamed with their crispy wonton tostadas. We appreciated the novelty of the fish taco tarts that came with a range of fixings like a piquant pico de gallo and a cooling crema to top it all off with.

Time 10 am to 6 pm (Tuesday to Sunday)
Call 9867594241
Log on to @whitelightfood

Log On!

Putting their spin on a traditional Yule log, House of Amel (@houseofamel on Instagram) that operates from their Colaba kitchen has introduced the very novel and boozy French Buche de Noel (Rs 1,650, whole log; Rs 285, individual slices). Spiced orange and prune jam, bourbon, chocolate ganache and speculoos Chantilly cream are all brought together in a classic Swiss roll that is a rich, decadent dessert not for the faint of heart. Also on offer are their eggless, colourful ornamental X'mas cookies (Rs 660, 12 pieces) made from crumbly vanilla shortbread and decorated with fondant icing.

Time 10 am to 7 pm (Tuesday to Sunday)
Call 7506307607
Log on to @houseofamel

Ornamental appeal

Focusing on festive confections that look like Christmas ornaments this year is the all-veg, Napean Sea Road-based Kookie cake crumble (@kookiecakecrumble on Instagram). Available in two sizes (Rs 2,000, 7 inches; Rs 3,000, 12 inches), their pretty shortbread wreaths are layered with an unctuous cream cheese frosting and topped with plain and chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate truffles, nutties and meringue drops. Their edible Christmas tree baubles (Rs 1,200, 500 gm) are made from butter cookies half-dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles.

Time 9 am to 10 pm (Monday to Sunday)
Call 9819844013
Log on to @kookiecakecrumble