This Adorable Bakery Makes Chimney Cakes and Other Cool, Harry Potter-esque Food

Maria’s Cookbook is a sweet space tucked into Hauz Khas market that’s doing desserts, breads and coffee to die for. They are the first ones in the city to get authentic chimney rolls from Hungary along with a whole bunch of pies, cookie jars, sandwiches and other sweet and savoury treats. 

Nakul, a full-time lawyer and part-time pastry lover, was inspired by all the chimney cakes he ate in Prague and in an effort to recreate them back home, he talked a few Hungarian chefs into coming to India and teaching him the tricks of the trade. Slowly, he bought a special oven for the cake rolls that no bakery in India has and built up an imports system where he sources coffee sugar and other ingredients from.

We were lucky to catch him at his week-old patisserie and he was happy to share his story. On most days, he’s around to take you through everything they’re doing right from a little anecdote on why it’s called Maria’s Cookbook to how much he loves chocolate. On some days, they even have a tiny tasting table for you to try out their fresh lemon cakes and cookies. After you’ve tried, there’ll be no looking back, we promise.

The place is cute as a button. The vintage, sepia-toned kind of feeling it evokes is comforting when coupled with the warm, sugary aroma of baked goodies. The menu, is equally compelling.

We tried the bite-sized coffee tarts that are a wonderful mix of strong espresso and a thin pie crust. The Cheese and Tomato Croissant and Green & Healthy Ciabatta Sandwich were something we’d have never hoped to find away from an everyday bakery in Europe. They were fresh, flavourful and cheesy… Just the way we like our brekkie. The final icing on the cake was the cup of cappuccino that made the whole meal that much brighter.

You can of course opt for their Belgium Cake their many chimney cakes. In fact, we insist that you not leave without the latter. You can choose between chocolate and fruity {if you like it sweet} or get the cone cakes stuffed with salad and sausage.

This is our newest love in town and we’d love for you to try it.