Cakes, Buns And More: Ileana D’ Cruz Follows Her ‘Stomach’s Mood’

Ileana D’ Cruz has been extremely vocal about her stance on body positivity in the past. The actress has never shied away from sharing unedited photos of herself in a bikini. Ileana has maintained that indulging in your favourite food, once in awhile, is therapeutic and normal. The actress loves to share photos of her favourite delicacies to social media. Ileana loves to cook and bake. Her social media feed is full of her cooking escapades. The actress utilised the previous lockdowns by engaging in the art of cooking. From bundt cakes to fried okra, Ileana has posted a step by step video recipe of the dishes she likes to cook, to her highlighted stories on Instagram. 

Recently, the actress engaged in an AMA (ask me anything) session with her fans and followers on social media. Answering questions about fitness and diet, Ileana gave a hilarious reply to one of the questions and struck a relatable chord with all the foodies out there. The question directed at Ileana was: “Do you have a diet plan or do you just follow your stomach's mood?” Intrigued by the phrase 'stomach’s mood,' pat came Ileana’s reply. “Hahahahahhaa I LOVE that! My stomach's mood! I'm gonna use that from now on! I try to eat good but yes my stomach's mood can be very persistent sometimes,” replied Ileana using a photo of a chocolate cake as the background. 

Ileana has always been an advocate of eating to your heart’s content while exercising to remain healthy. A few days ago the actress had shared a photo of herself in a red bikini and written that she owns every curve and every inch of herself. Ileana had further elaborated on the need of loving oneself by writing, “I have flab and I am not ashamed of it. I don’t mind if people believe I’ve gained weight when they see me. I am content since I am in good health and eat properly. The issue is that people have the erroneous idea about fitness and believe that being fit entails being slim, which is completely incorrect.” 

Ileana’s social media feed is enough proof of her love for desserts. Tiramisu is a favourite of Ileana’s and she has even received a lot of compliments from her friends, on her attempt to bake this treat. If you want to recreate Ileana’s favourite dessert, here’s a recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor: 

Ingredients: 

1. Chocolate sponge cake 8 inches 
2. Mascarpone cheese 3/4 cup 
3. Instant coffee powder 2 tablespoons
4. Eggs 3 
5. Powdered sugar 1/2 cup 
6. Whipped cream 1 cup 
7. Sugar 1/4 cup 

Method: 

1. Halve the cake horizontally. Cut into small rounds to fit into serving bowls.
2. Heat ½ cup water in a glass bowl in the microwave.
3. Break the eggs and separate the yolks and put into a bowl.
4. Add 2 tbsps coffee powder to the heated water and mix well.
5. Heat sufficient water in a deep non-stick pan. Add powdered sugar to the egg yolks and whisk well. Keep the bowl in the heated water and cook.
6. Keep one cake roundel in each of 4 serving bowls and drizzle some coffee decoction over it.
7. When the egg yolks reach custard consistency, remove the bowl out of the hot water and place on the worktop.
8. Take mascarpone cheese in another bowl and whisk till smooth. Add the egg yolks and whisk well together.
9. Add whipped cream and mix well. Put this mixture over the cake roundels in the serving bowls. Sprinkle the remaining coffee powder through a sieve on top of the cream.
10. Keep the bowls in the refrigerator for 1-1½ hours. Serve chilled.