A Bahrain-based pâtissier has completed a new book of recipes for dessert lovers and aspiring bakers.

Mubina Maqbool, a Bahrain resident and founder of her own home business, Melting Moments, has recently completed her latest pastry book dubbed Cakes, Desserts and Beyond, due to be released this month.

The collection of recipes gives readers a guide to simple yet creative desserts to make at home and follows the pâtissier’s first book A Confectioner’s Secrets, published in 2018. Among the 58 recipes, Mubina’s favourites include strawberry chocolate delight cake, saffron tres leches cake, banoffee pie cupcakes, salted caramel cheesecake and chocolate eclairs.

“It is a great feeling of accomplishment when you put your work on record and become an inspiration to many around you,” she says. “My biggest dream has always been to give people the confidence to bake and make something from scratch.

“This book was created over a span of almost four years and has seen many late nights and its recipes, which offer a marriage of traditional flavours and contemporary tastes, have been diligently tested by me, unbiased parties and beta recipe testers.”

Mubina explains that the book is for those who are on the lookout for uncomplicated instructions and flexible recipes that bakers can tweak to fit their own preferences. It additionally provides an A-to-Z guide of terms, ingredients and equipment to help novices find their way through the recipes, which each have a story attached.

Mubina quit her job in HR 14 years ago to found her home-based business Melting Moments in a bid to follow her passion for baking. She had previously baked for family and friends and has always loved pastries. With the start of her business, the culinary craft became even more intertwined into her daily life.

She explains that: “The aromas [of baking] have become part of my life as much as sunshine and fresh air. Measuring, whisking and baking keeps me soulfully warm. I am just plain lucky to have found a career where I can channel this passion and create delightful desserts. The treats I make have been shaped by the people I have shared them with, the places I’ve travelled to and the desserts I have been fascinated by.”

When asked about her future plans, Mubina says she hopes to be recognised as an established pâtissier and author and to write many more cookbooks. In terms of bigger aspirations, she is looking to open a bookstore-cum-café sometime in the future. ✤

GO: CATCH UP WITH MUBINA @MELTINGMOMENTSS