The Boffin of Food Styling Enthusiasts: Deeba Rajpal

Delhi-based influencer, Deeba Rajpal, is a food and prop stylist, recipe developer and food photographer and writer. She loves to explore new ingredients and her passion has always been baking with fruit. She loves travelling and exploring old cities, hunting props and experimenting with more cuisines and exciting cultures. Both of her children are foodies through and through- a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. Her husband is her greatest motivator and critic as well as her partner in her culinary adventures.

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Quick & Easy Tiramisu, my version. It's fast tracked, it's a cheat version, and it's most delicious! Thank you for all the sweet comments on the image I shared earlier. Really made making this worthwhile, so here's the recipe video. While I've baked saviordi from scratch in the past, done the zabaglione & mascarpone from scratch too, this tiramisu recipe is one I fall back on often. The dessert is eggless, uses 5 ingredients and comes together in under 10 minutes. I ordered the ingredients from Swiggy Stores @swiggyindia, a quick and simple option that I've been using often since they launched. Swiggy Stores reside in the Swiggy app and cover pretty much everything you might need from grocery, fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, flowers, dog food, bakeries, medicines etc. Love that the shopping is delivered in less than 45 minutes. Saves me a trip to the market, needless driving and most importantly, time. The app is snappy, easy to use, gives you real time updates etc. Can't ask for more! Oh, also, the delivery agents are always very polite & helpful. With code DEEBA30, get 30% off on first order on Swiggy Stores {up to Rs. 75}. https://bit.ly/31S35Xc

A post shared by Deeba Rajpal (@passionateaboutbaking) on Sep 16, 2019 at 5:49am PDT

She has a massive following of 123k on her Instagram handle (https://www.instagram.com/passionateaboutbaking/?hl=en) and her audience is curious, loyal and ever-increasing. Her main account @passionateaboutbaking is focused more on food styling and lifestyle blogging while her travel recipes are available on @pabrecipes (https://www.instagram.com/pabrecipes/?hl=en) as well. She loves navigating through the online space which is why she has also started her own YouTube channel recently.

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Tiramousse Cheesecake… No bake deliciousness. I layered a dark chocolate mousse over a no bake cookie base, and topped it with a coffee panna cotta. Everything set beautifully, sliced well and tasted so good! Recipe below ↓ Ingredients Biscuit base 150g digestive bisuits 35g jaggery Or brown sugar 50g butter 50g walnuts Dark Chocolate Mousse Layer 50ml milk 1 tbsp gelatin 400g single cream 125g 72% dark chocolate chips 50g brown sugar 25ml Kahlua {optional} Coffee Panna Cotta Layer 400g cream cheese 200g cream 1 tbsp gelatin in dissolved in 3tbsp warm milk 100g brown sugar 10g instant coffee powder 1 tbsp Kahlua {optional} Instructions Biscuit base Whiz the biscuits, walnuts and jaggery in food processor until you get a fine meal. Add butter, whiz again to mix. Press into 7-8" loose bottom tin. Chill in the freezer while you get the filling ready. Dark Chocolate Mousse Layer Warm milk to tepid and sprinkle over the gelatin. Leave to stand until soft. Place cream and sugar in heavy bottom pan and whisk well to mix. Simmer over low heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edges, stirring constantly. Take off heat and stir in the gelatin mix and dark chocolate chips. Whisk well to mix, cool for about 30 minutes, then pour over the chilled biscuit crust, evening out gently. Coffee Panna Cotta Beat the cream cheese and cream in a bowl until soft. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the filling into over the dark chocolate mousse layer, and gently spread evenly. Chill until set for at least 5-6 hours, or overnight.

A post shared by Deeba Rajpal (@pabrecipes) on Sep 3, 2019 at 7:22am PDT

Deeba believes that being an influencer has ever-changing roles but the future of food-styling is only going to keep growing. She says that influencing is beyond just reach and effect and is a major responsibility as one’s style is indicative of the choice one makes. She advises budding writers and stylists to be honest and true to themselves and the audience.

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#Repost @graziaindia • • • • • • Deeba Rajpal (@passionateaboutbaking) loves her greys! After all, why should others have a say in the way you wear your hair? Dove says wear your hair your way. #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi. • • • • • • Fact: I'm happiest behind the camera. Anything else makes me nervous. … Yet when Dove asked if I was willing to step in front of the camera for a quick 8 second video, how could I say no. A part of me screamed no, yet a part of me was hesitantly happy to endorse a brand that's been part of me since the 90's!! Also happy that they believe in carrying real people, real stories. Spent a fun day in Bombay late last month, shooting this for a couple of hours. More importantly, how much I enjoyed the process, interacting with the crew, the creative team, the hair & make up artists, the light dada, the lunch dada. Always a huge learning curve, always a humbling experience! Throwback to carrying Dove products back from the US in the 90s, to happiness finding the same quality available locally in the years to come. I loved them then, I love them now! Thank you for making me part of your story, Dove! I'm living a life I love. {BTS in stories 💗} #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi

A post shared by Deeba Rajpal (@passionateaboutbaking) on Sep 7, 2019 at 4:39am PDT

She has conducted almost twelve to thirteen workshops with people who are interested in the technical and artistic aspects of food photography and styling. She loves watching people fall into a rhythm and immersing into this art with an interestingly common synergy. Sometimes, she has observed that food stylists do not make good photographers and many photographers find it hard to style the frame.

She loves helping people dwell into the unexplored world of technological devices and figure out how their phone cameras truly work. She ensures that anyone who comes to the workshop takes back something valuable. She values the trust people put into her and has a good eye for seeing which elements tend to draw more engagement.

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Baked Saffron Yogurt Cake… This is my go to quick bake dessert which never fails to impress. Thought I'd make it again before the mangoes disappear completely. It's quick, uses staple, readily available ingredients & is make ahead. Eggless & gluten-free, this is a crowd pleaser! I ordered the ingredients from Swiggy Stores @swiggyindia, a quick and simple option that I've been using since they launched. Swiggy Stores reside in the Swiggy app and cover pretty much everything you might need from the market. Grocery, fresh fruits & vegetables, meat, flowers, dog food, bakeries, medicines etc. Love that your shopping is delivered in less than 45 minutes. Saves me a trip to the market, needless driving and most importantly, time. The app is snappy, easy to use, gives you real time updates etc. Can't ask for more! Oh, also, the delivery agents are always very polite & helpful. {Can you tell I use the app often 🤭?} . You could also get 30% off on first order on Swiggy Stores (up to Rs. 75) using the code DEEBA30 https://bit.ly/31S35Xc

A post shared by Deeba Rajpal (@passionateaboutbaking) on Sep 9, 2019 at 6:00am PDT