So when I first acquired pandan-buko extract, I had to play around with it a ton, since I had very little familiarity with it. Upon testing it with dango, I found out that it turns things green because of how strong of a green coloring that extract had. So I wanted to capitalize on that,…
Category: Recipes
Coconut-taro layer cake
I grew up on taro cake. And truthfully, I hated it. There was something heavy, unpleasant, and stodgy about it that wasn’t appealing to me as a child. It wasn’t until I ate ube(the Filipino cousin to taro) desserts that my palate was more adjusted and accepting to the concept of putting a starchy, unpleasant…
Almond-cherry-chocolate layer cake
Whenever summer rolls around, some of my favorite ingredients to work with include lychees, peaches, rhubarb, and cherries. I wanted to make a dessert that showcases fresh cherries, but I did not want to make another cherry tart, since I spent an entire summer making way too many of those. So instead, I went the…
“Wishing star”: a plated dessert
I really only came up with this dessert because I wanted to test my new chocolate sphere molds. So I knew chocolate was going to be a central part of the dessert, but then I thought about what I could pair that with. Luckily, there was a large bin of pistachios in front of me,…
Bee who I want 2 bee: a plated dessert
I came up with this dessert because I was craving medovik, or Russian honey cake. That is essentially just an icebox cake with honey wafers. I love to infuse mine with bee pollen, just to give it a unique flavor. Since it would be kind of boring to just do the medovik, I went with…
Kinako chiffon sandwiches with black rice cream and mochi
These were really just my take on a dorayaki sandwich. I wanted to do something wagashi-inspired, and I also wanted to try baking chiffon cake in circles, like a whoopie pie, so that’s how this dessert came about! I used kinako, a toasted soy bean powder, to flavor the actual chiffon cake itself, while I…
Starry night: lucuma tarts
If you were to ask me what I have been up to in terms of my cooking, I would probably present you with these lucuma tarts. They perfectly represent how much I have been doing research on Latin American-cuisine, as well as tie into my background at Milkbar. The shells are made with lucuma, being…
Summertime: a plated dessert
When I was conceptualizing this dessert, I wanted to focus on three specific ingredients, being peaches, blood orange, and olive oil. I have done olive oil desserts in the past, but most, if not basically all of them, featured an olive oil cake, or an olive oil gelato. So I decided to go a different…
“Worms and dirt”: a plated dessert
I mostly made this dessert because I was craving black rice pudding, and just felt like making it. So I made a take on it, being more like a custard. But I wanted to also make a conceptualized dessert out of it, and celebrate rice in general. So I thought about what else I could…
Ube Basque cheesecake
I’ve made Basque cheesecakes before, but I wanted to try making another flavor, using leftover use paste that I had in my refrigerator. You know, a two in one. Practice a baked good, and also use up an ingredient/flavor that I have not necessarily touched in a while. Ube is a Filipino purple yam, and…
Cafe de olla cake
When I was doing research on Latin cuisine, I came across an interesting beverage called cafe de olla. It is an earthy coffee drink with spices, namely cinnamon, anise, and clove, sometimes orange, in it that is normally served in a clay cup. It sounded like a lot of beautiful flavors, to be honest, and…
Strawberries and cream Mont Blanc
I really wanted to make this Mont Blanc after seeing so many different kinds of them on my discover feed on Instagram. Traditionally, Mont Blanc is made with chestnuts, but I opted for a fresher, strawberry version instead, just to make it appropriate for the summer. So I went with a strawberry chiffon cake, a…
Starting your day: a religieuse
I was trying to figure out some creative ways to use pate choux, and then I thought about making breakfast cream puffs. I wanted to use bacon, blueberry, and maple, to emulate pancakes, and from there, I just thought about how I could use them in fun or inventive ways in pate choux. So I…
Soulmate: a petite gateau
I’ve been meaning to make this dessert for months now. Ever since I heard about candied rhubarb ribbons, I knew that I was going to use them in a cute, pink little cake. I really wanted to make these for Valentine’s, but sadly in California, rhubarb isn’t in season until May. So I had to…
Duo of eclairs: ruby chocolate-apple and chocolate “Inca gold”
I just wanted to make really artsy eclairs, so I opted for two flavors, being a ruby chocolate-apple and a chocolate “Inca gold”. For the ruby chocolate eclairs, they are glazed in ruby chocolate and garnished with shards, while the inside is an apple butter pastry cream. I wanted to keep this one aesthetically pleasing,…
If I believe: a Mont Blanc
When I was doing a Google Hangout baking session with my friends, Ann and Sylvie, I was struggling hardcore with what to make. I really wanted to do a strawberry Mont Blanc, but I had these dates in my refrigerator that have been laying there for at least four weeks, and I also had a…
Pork and vegetable fried rice
No matter who you ask, one of the first Chinese dishes anyone has any exposure to is fried rice. It is a quintessential Chinese dish! So many different varieties too, truthfully. For me, it always starts with cooking a thin layer of egg, then breaking it up and stirring in my already-cooked rice into that….
Pork and mushroom san choy bau
I feel like san choy bau is a Chinese dish a lot of people have either eaten or seen, but they did not know the same of. It is basically a lettuce wrap, with minced and stir-fried meat inside. It is such a simple recipe, as with most Chinese dishes, but it is one of…
Blood orange-rhubarb mimosa cake
I wanted to do a summery, Italian take on mimosa cake with this recipe. I have made mimosa cakes before, but I wanted to do a different take on it. For this cake, I went with a blood orange-olive oil cake, whipped skyr, which is this Icelandic yogurt, a blood orange-amoretti crunch, and macerated blood…
London Fog Boston Cream Pie
So I actually made this dessert was my entry item for the “Great EatWith Bake-Off” as a part of EatWith(a dining-serving company that Bri and I partner with to do our pop-up dinners)’s social media event just to keep users engaged. The premise, inspired obviously from the “Great British Baking Show” is that 5 of…
Freddy's Harajuku 