Le Basque Patisserie: Journey From Passion To Sweet Success

It was a bad experience at an expensive patisserie in Bandra that motivated Tanushree Sashital and Abhinav Poonia to start a patisserie of their own. These two, Masters in International Relationships, decided to let go of the academic careers after post-graduation to follow their heart. “It was actually Abhinav’s idea,” confesses Tanushree. “He kind of pushed me after that experience we had saying since I bake well, it’s high time we started something of our own.”

Tanushree honed her skills with a course at School for European Pastry before launching Le Basque LLP. Abhinav is the commerce and social media guy and Tanushree is the chef. “We have our jobs defined,” shares Abhinav. “And I am also the official guinea pig for her experiments,” he quips. Abhinav has shifted base from Kurukshetra to support Tanushree in the venture.

Le Basque, a patisserie that works currently as just a delivery kitchen, works from a home kitchen at Shivaji Park. The name comes from their passion for their USP — the Basque Cheesecake. They have nine varieties of Burnt Basque Cheesecakes. Carefully crafted after a lot of experimentation by Tanushree, the basque cheesecake has a delectable, creamy texture that leaves you satiated. The ‘burnt’ crispiness (just a slight) gives it an adorable aroma and taste.  

The Blueberry Compote Basque Cheesecake has freshly made preserves that add to the taste. Matcha powder is blended in for the Matcha Basque Cheesecake to ensure the flavours of matcha blend seamlessly with the creamed cheese to give matcha lovers their satisfaction. They also have an interesting Indian twist to this European pastry — Shrikhand Basque Cheesecake. Their Vanilla Choux is a try. It is a delight when the vanilla essence condensed milk explodes in your mouth as you bite into one. Tanushree has got the texture of the outer layer correctly flaky. A dollop of chocolate ganache on it and the Sticky Choux, as they call it, turns into a chocolate lover’s treat.

Cookies by Le Basque are a right combination of crumble and chew. Levain Chocolate Cookie, especially, have a perfect crust that nearly melts when you bite into it along with gooey chocolate chips and chocolate. The hint of salt on the palate completes the medley. The also have Red Velvet Cookies on the menu.

While they do not have a lot to offer in savoury, their offerings are delicious. The Korean Garlic Bun is soft with the right amount of garlic that doesn’t over power the taste. They also have a Chicken Keema Bun.

“I am waiting to get a bigger oven to create more savoury options,” explains Tanushree.

Bigger oven is not the only future plan for this duo. They are also looking for a place in the neighborhood to start a café. Currently, they are taking orders on Instagram.