The search for 100 % eggless cakes and bakes, cookies and brownies, fresh fruit soufflé with no sugar, no essence, no premix or no preservatives, ends at Deepa Joshi’s ‘Tasty Muffins’ in Ponda which will soon have a second outlet outside the temple town
Today’s lifestyle leads one to eat out on several occasions, and people accept what is served on their platters without giving much thought to the health aspect of the food they eat. But given a choice, who would not like to eat a healthy diet and stay fit, and keep illnesses at bay? Deepa Joshi is here with her ‘The Tasty Muffins’ to help health-conscious people in sticking to an eggless, essence-free, gelatine-free, preservative-free food products with around 35 different varieties of cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, soufflé, chocolates, pastries, rolls, pavbhaji, samosas, sandwiches and much more. These are made without using premix. Everything is freshly baked, cooked or churned.
The Tasty Muffins started officially in 2021 with an outlet at Khadpabandh in Ponda, but the journey had begun two years prior to that, in 2019, when Deepa shifted from Mumbai to Goa after marriage. Having a Hotel Management Course with Bakery Specialisation, she loved to make edibles at home and pack them in gift hampers whenever she visited her relatives as a newly wedded girl.
Search for eggless delights ends in baking at home
Deepa shares, “As a pure vegetarian, I used to search for 100 % eggless cakes wherever I went in Goa. But when I tried tasting those that were claimed to be eggless, I could taste and smell the egg. Some eggless had a strong artificial essence. So I made it a point to bake eggless cakes, cupcakes and brownies at home using fresh fruits and dry fruits for the family. And sometimes I took these as gifts to friends and relatives. Obviously, I never dreamt at that point that this would be a sweet start of my bakery business from home.”
Everyone who tasted Deepa’s products was inquisitive of their origin. When she said she doesn’t buy them from any specific outlet but makes them at home, personal requests poured in to bake something for them too. She happily obliged. Soon the mouth-to-mouth publicity attracted commercial orders and she began to supply according to the customised demands of these customers.
Offering healthy bites
“Pure vegetarians requested not to use eggs. Diabetic people requested not to use sugar. Some didn’t want preservatives or gelatine, or artificial flavours, essences, while others demanded use of pure ghee only. So I decided to have my branding and make only healthy items, using natural ingredients. I use seasonal fruits for the soufflé. Carrot cake is made of fresh carrots. I stick to only Amul products – butter, ghee, cheese, milkmaid etc. Using healthy, fresh products with nutritional value is my USP and the ‘Tasty Muffins’ are known for it now,” smiles Deepa who continued doing the business from home for two years, and started an outlet near her home in 2021 with one helper. She began deliveries herself in the nearby areas.
Deepa bakes cookies in multiple varieties – multigrain, coconut, ginger, almond, cashew, butter, chocolate chips etc. The tea time cakes include date & walnut with no sugar, vanilla & chip, Pound, carrot, banana etc. The cookies are priced between Rs 160-900 per 200 gram. The brownies are sold at Rs 70 per piece.
She makes fancy cakes as per customer’s requirement, and accepts orders for birthday cakes, party theme cakes too beginning at Rs 500 for half kg. With additional decoration it can go up to Rs 900. The cupcakes are in flavours like vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, chocolate, Nutella, KitKat, double chocolate and Oreo with prices between Rs 50-80 per piece. Deepa’s speciality also stands in making cakes using traditional Indian desserts like rasmalai, gulab jamun, kaju katli and mithai, priced at Rs 1200-1400 per kg.
The chocolates also have varieties - dry fruit, cake pops and brownies have flavours like chocolate chips, walnut, Oreo, KitKat and marble. The types of soufflé are tender coconut, chikoo, mango, sitafal, strawberry, orange, apple, pineapple, banana, guava, rose falooda, Nuttell etc all made using fresh seasonal fruits available at Rs 60 per glass.
Apart from these, Deepa also makes samosas, sandwiches, paneer and veg rolls, pav bhaji (on order). Her special dry fruit chocolate modaks with desiccated coconut stuffing has great demand in Ganesh Chaturthi. Priced at Rs 15 per piece these modaks remain fresh for over a fortnight. Deepa’s kasuri methi shankarpali are the most favourites during Diwali, and wine-less plum cakes using dry fruits soaked in fresh orange juice and no use of premix, are preferred by many during the Christmas festival.
Festive gift hampers
Chaturthi, Diwali, and Christmas are the festive seasons when Deepa’s hands are full. “This year I had bulk orders of gift hampers from Nestle, Lokmat, Reema Transport and Anita Kavlekar. These hampers come in different sizes and prices, depending on the number of products wrapped in.
“For Diwali the hampers begin at Rs 125 and can go up to Rs 500 or even Rs 5000. The high end hampers come in metal trays and decoration with more items inside. Apart from the traditional snacks these hampers have brownies, multigrain cookies, kasuri methi shankarpali too,” adds Deepa who is looking forward to a busy Christmas. Last Christmas she baked around 60-65 plum cakes of loaf size, with around a dozen pieces to sell between December 25-31.
Deepa also makes return gift hampers for weddings and birthdays. She runs live dessert counters at venues too. During summer vacations, she conducts cooking classes for kids, to teach them baking cookies which are relatively easy to make.
The brown breads that we get in the market are not of wheat, but it’s just colour, she claims. The breads contain 30 % maida (white flour), as it is necessary as a binding agent, informs Deepa who does not make or bake breads. According to her, healthy multigrain or ragi breads can be baked but they remain dry and are not soft because she doesn’t use bread improver or gluten.
Dreaming big, Deepa is planning to open another outlet somewhere in Panaji where she hopes to get more footfalls. She is also searching for counters in supermarkets where she can display her products. Currently, the customers from far away come to pick up their deliveries, but she is planning to keep a delivery boy, as the business is expanding fast.
“My aim is to reach out to as many people as possible, as there is a dearth of healthy, nutritional food products in the market. They should be tasty too and easily digestible for all age groups. As I am very particular about the food I consume, I want others too, to enjoy the same. Eat healthy, be healthy,” concludes Deepa.
