AKSHAY BATRA

SOFITEL DUBAI THE PALM DUBAI

Born and raised in Mumbai, India, Akshay was definitely influenced by his family, after being inspired by his mother, he started to enjoy the different perspectives of being a chef, a pastry and chocolate maker. Over the years he began to realize that he had a strong flair for creativity and understanding complex flavours. The support from his family of his career choice made him enjoy what he did and pushed him to take on new challenges. After completing his Bachelors in Hotel Management from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal, India, he got his Masters in Baking and Pastry Arts from the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America. His culinary journey began at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Over the years he has also worked with Palms Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas and the Taj Group of Hotels, India. In 2015, he relocated to the UAE and was part of the opening team at the Intercontinental Dubai Marina and then worked with Atlantis the Palm, Dubai for 3.5 years. Currently, as Pastry Chef, he is overlooking Sofitel Dubai the Palm’s Pastry operations. For Akshay, baking is a science. It requires precision and accuracy in making those sweet treats a mouth-watering masterpiece that brings people back for more. He is cautious and calculated when measuring out ingredients. He understands the importance of accuracy in baking, and has learned about proportions and consistency. A dessert needs to have the same variety and balance of textures, flavours, temperatures, colours, shapes and heights as any other dish.

BANOFFEE VERRINE

A twist on the classic English dessert Banoffee Pie, this dessert is made in the form of a Verrine

by AKSHAY BATRA

INGREDIENTS

1 tin condensed milk 200g digestive biscuits 60g butter, melted 15g corn nibs 2g sea salt 600ml whipping cream 120g dark chocolate 150g cooking cream 2 bananas

Method

In a deep heavy bottom saucepan, fill water and put a can of condensed milk and immerse and cook it for 4 hours ensuring the water is always topped up, to make a dulce de leche. Crush the digestive biscuits and mix with sea salt and cocoa nibs. Whip half the quantity of whipping cream and mix with 200 grams of the dulce de leche to make a dulce cream. Whip the other half of the whipped cream and keep aside. Boil the cooking cream and pour over the dark chocolate to make a ganache and blend it.

Assembly

Take a Glass and assemble the Verrine in the following layers starting with Digestive biscuit base, dulce de leche, sliced bananas, Dulce cream, whipped cream. Let these layers set in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Once it is set add a thin layer of the ganache on top of this and let set. Garnish with a chocolate macaron or few slices of caramelized bananas.

BANOFFEE VERRINE