Tea-time staples
Indian bakery culture was shaped by British, Irani and Portuguese influences, and much of it revolves around chai. Rusks are twice-baked toasts, plain or flavored with cardamom or semolina, meant for dunking. Cake rusks are the same idea made from sponge cake. Khari are flaky, salted puff pastry sticks and squares. Nankhatai are crumbly shortbread cookies made with ghee, gram flour or semolina and cardamom. From Hyderabad come Osmania biscuits, slightly sweet and slightly salty, and fruit biscuits studded with candied fruit. Most of these keep for weeks in a tin, which makes them easy to stock up on.
Puffs and savory bakes
The puff is the Indian bakery lunch: puff pastry folded around spiced potato and peas (veg puff), paneer, a halved boiled egg in onion masala, or chicken. Mumbai-style shops sell pav, soft rolls baked in a block for vada pav and pav bhaji, and bun maska, a sweet bun split and spread with butter, a classic at Irani cafés. Bangalore-style bakeries are known for dilkhush (dilpasand), a large bun filled with coconut, sugar and tutti-frutti. Ask at the counter which items are made in-house and which are brought in.
Eggless cakes and the flavors people order
Many Indian families are vegetarian and avoid eggs, so most Indian bakeries make their sponge with yogurt, condensed milk or milk powder instead. A well-made eggless cake is moist and tender with no sign of what is missing. Frostings are usually whipped cream, which keeps the cakes light. Popular flavors include:
- Butterscotch with crunchy praline bits, a favorite in India.
- Black Forest, Indian-style, with cherries and chocolate shavings.
- Pineapple with whipped cream and pineapple chunks.
- Rasmalai cake, flavored with saffron and cardamom and topped with pieces of the sweet.
- Mango, especially during mango season, and pistachio.
Questions worth asking
If you follow a strict diet, be specific. Ask whether a cake contains gelatin (common in some mousse and glaze recipes), whether the kitchen also handles eggs, and whether Jain options without root vegetables are available for puffs. For birthdays, Diwali and weddings, order two to four days ahead; Diwali week is busy, and many bakeries also sell boxed mithai and dry fruit gifts at that time.
