Interview with a Professional Dessert Maker: Nida Riaz

Q: What are your favorite desserts to make?
A: Well, to name some off the top of my head, I absolutely love making peach cobbler, tapioca pudding, angel cake, brownies, tapioca pudding, honey cake, coconut macaroons, and rhubarb crumble. Of course, some of them are very tedious, but it all pays off in the end.

Q: What is the most tedious dessert to make?

A: I would definitely have to say any type of soufflé just because it’s so easy to mess it up. You have to be very careful in each step you take. The most tedious part about it is actually when the dessert is almost finished, which during baking time.  If it over-bakes, the soufflé would just spew over the bowls. If it under-bakes, it would sink in. Oh, another very tedious dessert to make is the syrup for crème caramel. You have to keep the consistency going, and it requires a lot of patience. As for the crème caramel, boiling milk can be a bit overbearing if you’re a beginner in dessert making, or just cooking with milk in general.

Q: What is the easiest dessert to make?

A: One of my favorites, peach cobbler.

Q: How do you make it?

A: You only need 3 ingredients!  Vanilla cake mix, peaches, and butter.  

1.       Butter the dish you’re going to make it in. It involves just layering, no mixing. Depending on how many people you are serving or how big the dish is, it can take half of the cake mix or one full box of cake mix.

2.       Layer half of the vanilla cake mix on the dish. Just drop the powder into the baking dish, and make sure it covers the bottom completely.

3.       Lay the peaches (canned or fresh) down side to side until the powder on the bottom is completely covered.

4.       Take the rest of the cake mix and pour it over the peaches. There may be cases where you may need more cake mix on the top, so be careful about how you divide it in the first step.

5.       Take about 3 sticks of butter, and cut them into small squares, and put them on top.

6.       Pop it in the oven, and eat to your heart’s desires. Don’t forget to have it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Q: What is your most popular dish among customers?

A: Usually, it’s cupcakes and cakes. Most people want them for parties. Pastries are quite popular as well.

Q: What is your favorite thing about making desserts?

A: I have a huge sweet tooth. Also, I love the satisfaction out of a successful dessert. There are just so many things I love about making desserts. To start, it really calms me down. I just unconsciously cook sweet things and ponder about life, haha!