Winter brings the mouth-watering taste of date palm jaggery and traditional rice cakes with its breeze. That date palm jaggery and rice cakes have now taken on a modern form in cake ovens. An extraordinary fusion of nostalgia and innovation for Christmas celebrations. Traditional palm or fruit cakes are facing stiff competition during Christmas and New Year from cakes made with Bengali traditional date palm or nolen jaggery.
In many cases, nolen jaggery cakes have surpassed vanilla or chocolate. From renowned stores to neighbourhood bakeries across Haldia city, demand for these cakes is at its peak.
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Christmas baking meets tradition
According to bakery owners, the distinctive aroma and mild sweetness of nolen jaggery are much more delicious compared to sugar cakes. It's also popular among health-conscious people. Because in a 400-gram cake, the sugar content can be reduced from 50 grams to just 10 grams. Along with this are cashews, raisins, and walnuts. The combination of jaggery with all these ingredients has made the cake's texture softer and moister.
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Atanu Das, owner of a bakery in the city, claims that nolen fusion cakes currently capture 50 percent of the cake market demand. Besides this state, there is considerable demand for these cakes in neighbouring states like Odisha as well. They're also excellent as Christmas gifts. All in all, nolen jaggery has added a new dimension to Bengali taste satisfaction during Christmas.
