Manisha Manisha is bringing joy to Cambridge with every indulgent bite of her innovative Indian desserts.
The 27-year-old Conestoga College grad who opened Layers of Joy on Main Street on Sept. 5, started baking in her home last October with a few goals in mind.
She wanted to expose more people to the diverse flavours of Indian desserts, and unleash her creativity by bringing something new to Waterloo region.
Vanilla and chocolate is boring, she says. "Why not have something new, something unique?"
“When I used to make cake, people would say, ‘I’m craving for your cake, but I don’t want to buy the whole thing. And I thought why not do this,” she says, pointing to the elegant “Indian-fusion” take-away desserts that fill up the small store’s display case.
The trifle-like “cake shots” are easy to walk with and provide enough to satisfy without the guilt.
They also allow families try different flavours at once, if, of course, they’re inclined to share.
Although she admits her target audience is the city’s growing south Asian community, Manisha hopes as many people as possible get a taste of her creations.
“Honestly my target audience is everyone. People already have enough Indian sweets. People already have enough cakes. This is something that’s a fusion of both,” she says. “Not just Indian people, but everyone is loving it."
The former global hospitality management student is still experimenting with flavours and adding new creations every week, including Rabdi Falooda; a drink popular in India made with milk thickened to the consistency of ice cream.
The cake shot she's created from it adds coloured vermicelli noodles for texture, sprinkles of chia seeds and rose syrup.
Anyone familiar with Indian food has likely had gulab jamun, the dessert staple at every Indian restaurant.
The buttery-soft balls of milk powder that are fried, soaked in rose-scented syrup and topped with pistachio flakes are just as popular in the shot version at Layers of Joy.
The biscoff glass is made with caramel flavoured biscuits and layers of cream.
Another creation is topped with the colourful breath stimulant known as paan and dried fruits.
Located in the former home of Sugar Daddies, which moved to a larger space across the street in the summer, Layers of Joy has been welcoming customers strolling by on the closed portion of lower Main.
The former Cambridge resident who relocated to Kitchener earlier this year says she fell in love with downtown Galt when she was living there. “This is such a good location. Since it’s closed for summer, people are enjoying their desserts on patios.Layers of Joy also offers a savoury creation in the form of a favourite Indian street food, potato, cottage cheese and noodle puffs
Muffins and full cakes are also available for custom orders in every size up to slabs.
Manisha claims to have the first Indian bakery in the region and creates everything fresh, from scratch every day.
“These are made on the day or the night before,” she says, adding she's likely going to have to get up earlier and stay later to keep up to demand.