The Stranded Chef is yet another Covid-19 inspired online pastry venture, but the couple behind the page, Padmini Nagalingam and Buddhika Marasinghe, have an interesting story to tell.
The duo have lived in Sri Lanka for over two years and run a bakery in Kotahena for most of that time. They sold their business earlier this year in order to return home to Melbourne, Australia. Unfortunately, with the unpredictable situation in the country, their flights got cancelled five days before departure and they have been waiting for a rescheduled flight ever since. This stranding prompted the initiation of The Stranded Chef’s operation.
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Buddhika Marasinghe and Padmini Nagalingam[/caption]
We asked Padmini what made them want to start up this pop-up dessert project. “We desperately needed a distraction from our situation. My husband, Buddhika Marasinghe, is a pastry chef and baker and has all the skills to make all our delicious desserts. I am also a trained chef, but in savoury foods. He does all the main tasks while I handle the frostings and fillings as well as the orders, recipe formulations, and dealing with suppliers.”
Another unique aspect of The Stranded Chef is that they change menus every week. They plan the menu according to their capacity to produce and store, and also according to items that would hold up well during delivery. On a weekly basis, they generally have a simple loaf cake, two frosted cake slices, an éclair, and something a little fancier and indulgent.
Talking to us about some of their signature products, Padmini named their Mississippi mud cake to definitely be a favourite that they can’t remove from the menu. “Our éclairs have also been a hit and I knew it would, as they are made the proper way – filled with a flavoured crème patisserie with the pastry shells baked for over two hours and left to cool in the oven overnight to get the crisp outer shell and soft inside.”
Brunch actually had the opportunity to try out last week’s menu: dark chocolate and passion fruit éclairs, sticky toffee date pudding, Mississippi mud cake, tiramisu, and lime and coconut crumble roll. They even sent a complimentary cheesecake that wasn’t on the menu.
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Lime and coconut crumble roll [/caption]
The sticky toffee date pudding comes with a side of toffee sauce that needs to be poured over the pudding, giving it that rich, delicious flavour. The pudding itself is jam packed with dates and is even topped with a seedless one. We really enjoyed this pudding; every bite was delicious. Next up, it is absolutely no surprise that the Mississippi mud cake is a constant on the menu – it’s moist, decadent, and layered with the most luscious chocolate ganache. The cake is heavy and indulgent and is a lot fancier than most generic mud cakes. The icing sandwiched between the layers is thick and smooth; it has the undertones of dark chocolate which prevents the cake from being overly sweet and even has a hint of bitterness.
The passion fruit éclairs are definitely an acquired taste. Honestly speaking, it’s hard to find someone that would enjoy it. The passion fruit filling was quite an unexpected twist, and we personally didn’t enjoy it. Call us old fashioned, but we think they would have done better sticking to the generic chocolate or cream filling. One good thing about the éclair though, was the pastry; it was wonderfully executed and they have indeed perfected their pastry making.
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Chocolate éclairs [/caption]
Talking about the tiramisu, it is made entirely from scratch! Quite an impressive feat if you ask us. The savoiardi fingers are baked at home and dipped in self grown coffee; these are then layered between cream cheese. That’s right, cream cheese, not the typical cream that comes with a tiramisu. Interesting twists, we must note. The whole affair was tipped with a dusting of cocoa powder, giving it a hint of bitterness. All in all, it was a pretty good dessert – incredibly filling as well.
Lastly, the lime and coconut crumble roll. Even though we knew the roll was going to have lime in it; it was still a bit of a shock on the tongue. To be completely unbiased, I’m not a fan of tangy desserts, which may have been why neither the éclair or the lime crumble hit the spot, but we see how it could be loved by many. It’s a very tropical cake and we only have good things to say about the coconut crumble on top – super toasted and crunchy! The texture of the cake itself was amazing, again soft and spongy; highest compliments to the chef.
The latest menu is posted on their Instagram and sent out to their WhatsApp mail list every Tuesday. Orders close on Thursday or when all delivery spots are taken up. Do check them out for your next dessert fix!
Instagram: @the_stranded_chefs
WhatsApp: 0701784859 
