Grab a spoon

Pastries with a French accent, ice-creams with a Japan visa, rasgullas with Italian connections, viral American cakes, home-grown faves. Track India's dessert revolution in five viral bites

- Taranna Khetpal [e-mail]

Remember 2015? Ten years ago, India's dessert scene was in its awkward-teen phase — dramatic, but still figuring itself out. Froyo pretended to be guilt-free; red-velvet was the main character; macarons were everywhere; cupcakes were in their frosting-stacked era. Did you order a freakshake? Get the lava cake after dinner? Crack the crust of a lemongrass crème brulée?

Fast forward to 2025. My, how we've grown! Croissants ooze kesar pista; mishti doi moonlights as cheesecake; modaks have discovered matcha. MasterChef Australia taught us to temper chocolate, Instagram made desserts viral before they even set, bakeries turned foreign flavours into familiar cravings. We love sweets so much that India now leads in global sugar consumption — we polished off 28 million tonnes this fiscal year.

It means that dessert is no longer an afterthought. So, which ones best reflect the moment? Think of these five as the cherry on top.

The import that went viral: Magnolia Bakery's Tres Leches

When Magnolia Bakery rolled into India in 2019, everyone expected their iconic cupcakes to be the stars (Carrie Bradshaw swears by them, after all). No one imagined that people would queue up just for a taste (and picture) of a milk-soaked cake.