Cupcakes, doughnuts eat into traditional Diwali gift platter

Sociologist Deepali Rathod has ordered 20 boxes of Diwali-special cupcakes to send her family and friends this season.

These small, round cakes with a dollop of icing, festive designs and a topping of colourful sugar “sprinkles” are indeed selling like hot-cakes in Mumbai, eating into Diwali's traditional gift platter.

“This Diwali, I thought of sending something different. This is the first time I am sending Diwali-themed cup cakes to my family and friends,” she said.

“We have so many orders for Diwali cup cakes. People want assorted varieties in one box so we try to put in a mix of all Diwali designs in one box,” said Purnima Khatau, from Sweet Toot, who has lost count of the cupcakes she bakes on a daily basis at her home. Each cup cake costs Rs 40.

It appears as if traditional Indian sweets have found a replacement. “People are fed up with the usual Diwali sweets and they want to give something different this season,” said Khatau.

Not only are cup cakes available in their usual chocolate avatar, they are also available in their lemon, vanilla and blueberry variants. “I have ordered a different combination of cupcakes with a vanilla base and chocolate icing,” said Rajvi Dave, a resident of Cuffe Parade.

With more and more people opting for this exotic variant, the demand for these festive cup cakes has increased over last year, said Rushali Mehta from Cocoa Panda. They offer Diwali cupcakes in all sizes – mini, medium and large.

For all the diet conscious people and for the ones who have health problems, sugar-free cupcakes or diet cup cakes are the new favourites. “We also offer sugar free cupcakes for all the cake lovers who also want to lose weight. But for Diwali everyone asks for the regular cup cakes,” said Mehta.

Along with cup cakes, mini, festive, Diwali- special doughnuts are also in great demand. Says Sachin Kamuni, Chef at Mad Over Donuts, Breach Candy, “We offer nine mini doughnuts in one box in all different flavours. This is a Diwali special offer and we have already sold 20–30 boxes in the last two days.” This mini doughnut box is available for Rs 275.