Clove pineapples, masala chocos

Q&A: Kim Caula, Swiss pastry chef

What does a world-class chef, acclaimed as a "truffle prince", really bring to the Indian table? Neha Bhatt meets Swiss chef Kim Caula and attempts to find out his secrets

What's on the platter for the Indian sweet tooth?

I have noticed that Indians like a lot of dessert on their plate and eat large portions of it. Personally, I have especially liked kulfi. I'm still learning about the dessert culture here but I find there are such beautiful spices which can be used to make exotic blends.

In fact, I have already created masala chocolate. A dessert with fresh pineapple, cloves, a few other spices and a bit of alcohol is delicious. A dash of alcohol gives a distinct flavour.

Where do you find the best desserts?

I love French desserts but I find them very heavy and very expensive.

What's your formula for the perfect pastry?

It's a matter of taste but I like to make my desserts light and small. It's not hard to do that. For example, if you need to use cream, take 50 per cent fresh cream and use egg white for the rest. That will make it much lighter. The secret to a perfect truffle, however, is in the chocolate you use.

How difficult is it to make a dessert look exotic while also taking care that it tastes as good?

Appearance is very important. Imagine, if you go to a shop, you will certainly buy the better looking cake whether or not it tastes better. Arabs, for instance, go largely for looks, gold and silver wrappings and such frills. In some shops catering to them, I found that the filling in different pastries was exactly the same, and only the wrapper was different.

How much of the flavour is lost in "low-fat" desserts?

We do make low-fat pastries, especially for lunch. The taste, however, is just not the same. There is nothing that can replace sugar to get the same result.

What dessert can be had at any time of the day, any season?

People don't quite know that something seemingly simple as creme caramel has so many varieties; there's lemon, orange, masala .... It can be had at any time of the day.

A large part of the exotica of a pastry lies in its name .... Yes, but I like to keep it simple. Sometimes a name is so long and bizzarre that when you order it, you're like, "What the hell is this!"