Freddy's Harajuku

Cereal Milk Dreamsicle Funfetti Cake

This cake was the result of me craving Fruity Pebbles, and trying to figure out a more technical, gourmet way to consume them. There is just something about Fruity Pebbles, probably the artificial citric acid taste and the crunchy texture, that I just crave from time to time. And no, this is not a sponsored…

Hidden Rose Apple Cheesecake Dorayaki

It has been a minute since I made dorayaki, but since I procured some hidden rose apples(very seasonal apple with naturally pink flesh), I wanted to do some desserts that utilize it, while also revisiting some old desserts that I have not made in a minute. Hidden rose apples are only available 2-4 weeks in…

Sakura Mochi Anmitsu Sundae

Anmitsu is one of my dad’s favorite desserts. It is a Japanese dessert, translating to “sweet bean paste with syrup”, essentially. Amnitsu is usually eaten with red bean paste, which is a very common component/ingredient in Japanese desserts, and either a dark or light sugar syrup. There is also typically fruit, mochi/dango, clear cubes of…

Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Fondants

These fondants came about because I got a request to make “Reese’s Cup Bread”. Apparently there was a TikTok trend of someone making essentially banana bread, but using Reese’s Cups instead. Now, I love chocolate and peanut butter as much as someone who loves chocolate can love them together, but I do not really have…

Injeolmi-Dulcey Shortbreads

Whenever I think of injeolmi, I think of my dear friend, Ellie. Ellie and I were classmates since elementary school, all the way through high school, and we went to college at Boston College and Boston University respectively(meaning that we would see each other often during our formative adult years). She is one of the…

Mini Croissant Cereal

Back in 2020, one of my pandemic hobbies was perfecting croissants. Fun fact, I used Buttermilk Pantry’s recipe to learn how to make them. Admittedly, it’s been four years since I last made croissants, since it took over a month for me to successfully make a batch, and I found out that using that Kerrygold…

Miso-Hojicha Royal Icing Shortbreads

I am forever grateful to the pandemic in that I was able to come up with several recipes that I would not have had the time to do if I was busy with my regular day to day. While yes, times were tough, uncertain, and difficult, I can look back at those moments in my…

Peanut-Crunch Oat Cookies

These cookies were inspired by a combination of junk food, overpriced movie theater concessions, and oats(just to make me feel less guilty about the fact that I used literal chocolate bars to make these). I feel that with oatmeal raisin cookies, the part that upsets me is biting into one, and being met with a…

Cheesy Scallion Hotteok

Hotteok is a Korean pancake, usually filled with brown sugar and walnuts, and pan-fried on both sides until golden brown. The yeast-leavened dough used to make it almost borders on a batter, because of how wet, loose, and kind of sticky it is. The reason why that consistency is optimal, however, is that when fried,…

Matcha-Hong Kong Almond “Yoshi Eggs”

Ever since Universal Studios opened Super Nintendo World, I have been obsessed with buying a Yoshi headband. To elaborate, Universal sold these cute Mario character headbands, with a mini doll of the character placed on the headband in a way where it looked like the character was laying on your head. I personally find Mario…

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…

Matcha and White Chocolate Shortbreads

So back in December, I made these gorgeous chocolate chip and cacao shortbreads that were encrusted in Indian sugar(gifted to me by the amazing Shari Mukherjee from season 10 of Masterchef!). I was obsessed with that crystalized aesthetic and wanted to bring that back for another type of cookie, this time, matcha-flavored. So I was…

“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…

“Edamame”: a plated dessert

This dessert came about because I had a bag of frozen edamame, and another bag of mugwort powder, and I wanted to use them both. That and with St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, I wanted to do a green dessert that was not just lime, matcha, or pandan. Mugwort, also called yomogi in Japanese,…

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…

Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies

So I actually posted this recipe on Instagram back in December 2023, but I never bothered to post it on the blog itself! The main reason being that my December blog posts were already heavily backlogged with cookie posts, so I wanted to space it out a little bit. What I love about baking cookies…

Roasted eggplant with spicy lamb marmalade

This recipe is my homage to both an Italian ragout and stewed lamb. I love stewing lamb with lots of chilies and tomatoes, just because it is such has enough gamey-ness to hold up to a lot of flavors. Lamb curries are some of my favorite curries for that reason, but even stewed lamb chops…

Fudgemallow Naked Cake

In a lot of ways, this cake is an homage to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Specifically, the chocolate bar that Charlie found the golden ticket in, which was a “Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight”. Now, I have never eaten a Wonka bar in my life. I always wanted to, and that actually may be a future project…

Mini Cereal Milk Baked Doughnuts

Cereal milk is a Milkbar classic, made by steeping unsweetened cornflakes into milk, and then straining out said cornflakes so that the milk is more flavorful. You can toast the cornflakes before you steep them into the milk as well, which will add to the flavor slightly! However, one thing I always wanted to figure…