A long time ago, I made a haupia pie that was a gorgeous blue color. It was a bit whimsical, with a purple ube crust, a blue haupia(thickened Hawaiian coconut pudding) filling, and these pretty spheres of haupia that were scattered across the top. I wanted to create that, but pairing the coconut with a…
Category: Tarts and pies
Anything that has a buttery crust, be it homemade phyllo or pate sucre, to name a few examples.
Citrus Tart with Baked Rose Meringues
This citrus tart is my take on a lemon meringue pie, but with a few twists. Obviously the term “citrus” would imply that I am using more than just lemon, which is true: my friend Karen was gracious enough to gift me with lemons and limes that she grew herself, so I wanted to use…
Souffled Nutella Crostata
Back when I was in high school, one of the recipes I made that was surprisingly well-received by my classmates was a Nutella crostata. I say surprisingly because when I came up with this recipe, it was mostly out of boredom. I still remember this because a classmate who really went out of his way…
“Forest Floor” Mushroom Tart
This recipe was what I made for the 2023 LoveWorks dinner in Oklahoma City(thank you, Gabriel Lewis for the invite to cook once again!). Last year, I was lucky enough to get the dessert course, but this year, I wanted to be a little bolder, and venture back into savory. Truthfully, after Masterchef: Back to…
Matcha Mooncakes
Normally mooncakes are eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the fall, but I wanted to do a matcha version of them, and that wound up fitting the green theme of St. Patrick’s Day as well, so I am posting these during March, even though I technically made these during the fall! What I love about…
Matcha-Chocolate Bonsai Tartlet
It is really rare where I get so happy and ecstatic about a dessert I make, simply because of how exciting and unique the end product is. This would be one of those desserts. Easily in my personal top 5 for best-looking desserts I have ever made, this bonsai tree came about because I had…
Nian Gao Basque Cheesecake
To celebrate Lunar New Year, I wanted to do a dessert that was inspired by nian gao, which are these brown sugar-infused glutinous rice cakes. I grew up eating nian gao, and admittedly as a child, I thought they contained fish. Mostly because the texture, being so dense and chewy, made it seem like these…
Apple-Gjetost Molten Cheese Tarts
So a while ago, I went to Japan, and experienced the amazingness that was the Pablo Cheese Tart. A buttery shortbread dough with a creamy, oozy, molten cheesecake-like filling, and a caramelized topping, it was like eating a basque cheesecake and an egg tart, but in one! I made a rendition on them using White…
Gjetost-Miso Apple Pie
Whenever we go apple picking in the fall, I always end up with a surplus of apples that I need to use up. So many apples to the point where half of them usually go bad by the time I finally have an idea or two that could utilize them. Because of that conundrum, I…
Thai Tea Pumpkin Pie 2.0
A long, long time ago, I made a Thai tea pumpkin pie, and I loved it. Thai tea adds such a distinct, perfume-y flavor that just lifts the somewhat bland pumpkin puree, giving it spice, creaminess, and sweetness, all things that work in a pumpkin pie traditionally! This time around, I wanted to go with…
Pink Peach and Calpico Cheesecake
This pink peach dessert came about because I was gifted with some white peaches from my mom, and whenever I have white peaches, making a pink peach dessert is a priority! I grew up with a white peach tree in my backyard, and I always equate those to pleasant summer memories, eating white peaches with…
Pink Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes
Pineapple cakes, or in Chinese 鳳梨酥(feng-li-su), are these buttery, flaky pastries that are stuffed with a sweet pineapple jam. Honestly, I have never bothered to make them before, since it’s so easy to purchase them, and almost every Taiwanese household has them just lying around to snack on! However, I had leftover pink pineapple that…
Cold Brew-Oreo-Tofu Rare Cheesecake
More times than not, when I was making a tofu or yogurt-based mousse cake, I found that after it thaws, the cheesecake has a soggy crust that is sitting in a massive puddle of water. Trust me, I learned this lesson the hard way not once, not twice, but three times. At first, I thought…
Black Sesame-Cherry Crostata
Sometimes a good recipe comes about because you have a TON of leftover components in your refrigerator, and it forces you to get creative. I don’t think I would have come up with the combination of black sesame and cherry anytime soon had it not been for the fact that I had leftover black sesame…
White Rabbit Carrot Cheese Tarts
I was inspired to make this recipe by the Pablo Cheese Tarts, which I was fortunate enough to have on my second last day in Japan. Those cheese tarts featured a buttery crust, and an oozy, gooey cheese filling, very reminiscent of both a basque cheesecake and a molten lava cake. I only bought six…
Banana-Custard Phyllo Pita
I came up with this recipe because I was craving something banana pudding/banana cream pie-esque, but with super flaky, laminated pastry, like puff pastry or a croissant. The thought of crispy dough, custard, and cooked down bananas just sounded really good to me in the moment, so I figured, why not make that a reality?…
Strawberry-Rhubarb-Corn Tart
I feel like I have done variations on strawberry-rhubarb-corn tartlets in the past, but this one really takes the cake(or pie/tart?). Mostly because of the technique that went into making it. I wanted to make sure that strawberry, rhubarb, and corn were each used in two different preparations in this recipe – ironically, the tart…
“Buffet-Food” Lemon-Strawberry Tartlets
I feel like this recipe is classic, and not trendy. These tartlets are the stereotypical catering or banquet dessert you would find in a gala or at a golf club buffet. A perfectly round tart with a lemon filling and a meringue, torched on top. Or a dessert with cut up berries on top of…
Blueberry-Yuzu Mont Blanc Tarts
One trick I learned a year ago was using upside down muffin pans to bake tart shells on. Prior to that, when I wanted to make mini tarts with muffin pans, I was lining the inside of muffin pans with butter/oil and flour, and then pressing the dough into them. However, doing this meant that…
Lucuma Alfajores Stack
So the initial idea for this recipe came about because I had purchased lucuma pulp for the first time, and I was trying to figure out the best way to utilize it. Lucuma is a fruit that allegedly tastes like caramel, and is the number 1 most popular ice cream flavor in Peru. Personally, after…
Freddy's Harajuku 