Freddy's Harajuku

Strawberry tea time: an entremet

With this dessert, I really was aiming to utilize some leftover goat cheese and strawberry puree I had lying around. While I initially thought about doing a cheesecake with those two components, I figured that I could make it into something more fun, and go with an entremet, or a mousse cake! Since strawberries and…

Earl Grey Cherry Tart

A while ago, I made a recipe that featured both cherry and earl grey, and it was one of my favorites ever! The combination of the floral and bitter notes from earl grey and the tart and sweet flavor in cherries makes for a fun and well-balanced dessert, so I wanted to bring that back…

Peach Bellini Pate Choux

These pate choux, in a lot of ways, are an homage to my Masterchef bestie, Bri. Peaches just because her family has a peach orchard in Texas, prosecco because I know she loves her sparkling wines(fun fact, a bellini is a drink made from peaches and prosecco), and the usage of molecular caviar as it…

Cyndaquil Manju

Since I had already made recipes for two of the three Pokemon: Legends Arceus starters, I figured, why not round out trio, and make something Cyndaquil-themed? Cyndaquil is based on a hedgehog, but instead of spikes, it has flames on its back! They are really cute, with these stubby legs, beak-like snout, and squinty eyes….

Gluten-Free Rhubarb Financiers

Years ago, I was fortunate enough to snag a dinner table at Annisa in New York City. Annisa was a 1-star Michelin restaurant(which sadly closed in 2017) helmed by the highly talented Anita Lo, who focuses on French cuisine with Asian influences. I remember seeing chef Lo dominating in Iron Chef, Battle Mushroom, back in…

Jigglypuff Choux Buns

Randomly after my Rowlet Inarizushi recipe, one of the more requested Pokemon people wanted to see was Jigglypuff. Now I love Jigglypuff. The one in the anime, specifically when it would angrily react to everyone falling asleep to its singing, was bringing that mood for all of the Capricorns out there. So I wanted to…

Sourdough Liege Waffles

This recipe has been on my to-bake list for probably longer than I would care to admit(mostly because I forgot exactly when I came up with the idea, but it was definitely before Easter). I love liege waffles, which are waffles made from a yeast-leavened dough, giving them this breadier texture. On top of the…

Sloth-acado Eclairs

So for my Sylvie(if you watched my audition on season 12, you will better remember her as “Fred’s Friend” who was making all of that commentary about my chocolate LOL)’s birthday, I wanted to make a fun dessert that was unlike anything I have previously attempted. Sylvie is obsessed with this sweet passionfruit-avocado tart that…

Blackberry Blood Orange Sunset Cake

Back in high school, my “signature” cupcake was a blue velvet cake with orange curd, blackberry Italian meringue buttercream, and white chocolate “stems”, with the entire cupcake designed to resemble a flower with the shades of an oceanside sunset. It was inspired specifically by the oceanside sunsets that I would see growing up in a…

Strawberry-White Chocolate Tart

Whenever I think of my earlier childhood, I recall going to the local Asian bakery section in the Japanese supermarket and getting fruit tarts. Buttery pastry, silky, custard pastry cream, fresh fruit on top, a simple combination, but really delicious and addictive. With strawberry tarts in particular, they take what I love about fruit tarts,…

Yakult-Passionfruit Popsicles

It has been a minute since I last made popsicles in general. I do love making them, though I find that with frozen desserts, they take a bit more time. That being said, popsicles are super simple to do, and there is a lot less manual or hands-on work that you need to invest in…

Milkbar Buddy Cake

When I first got publicly eliminated during season 10 of Masterchef, and it came out that I would be working at Milkbar LA, one of the first people to reach out to me was none other than Samantha from season 9! Samantha, or Sam as we call her in real life, was working at Milkbar…

Polar Bear Shaved Ice

During my most recent trip to Oahu, I had the fortune of being able to go to Matsumoto Shaved Ice! I’ve been wanting to go since I was about 8 years old, so it was create to finally go and experience it! What makes Matsumoto so special is that they use a lot of Japanese…

Cacao Parfait

I came up with this dessert because I was having MAJOR choco-holic cravings. If you were looking to get chocolate-wasted from a dessert, this parfait has your number. I did this in the style of a Japanese parfait, which features less fruit, yogurt, and granola, and more ice cream, crunchy cookies(I made feuilletine), and cream….

Oshawott Cheesecakes

Back when Pokemon Black and White came out, I was immediately a fan of Oshawott. Based on sea otters(which are already an adorable species of animal), Oshawott are these blue and white sea otters that kind of look like snowmen, and are just adorable. They have these large round noses and hold a scallop-like item…

Black Sesame Swirled Baked Cheesecake

A long, long, LONG time ago, back when I was just a middle schooler, way before I even started cooking or baking, we went to a restaurant on Redondo Beach Pier called Maison Riz(sadly it closed something while I was away for college). It was this Japanese-French fusion restaurant located directly on the pier, with…

Baby Seal Mochi

One trend that I remember seeing a lot of were these little mochi that were shaped into baby seals. They were adorable to look at, and that was enough of a motivation for me to attempt making these. I have seen different fillings being used in these, ranging from strawberry daifuku(strawberry and red bean stuffed…

Creamsicle Dusk Cake

I came up with the concept for this cake when I was watching the sunset on the beach. Seeing the different colors in the sky got me thinking, how cool would it be to replicate that with buttercream? The blues, oranges, purples, and dark green-ish tints, it would be a really pretty visual effect that…

Strawberry-Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches

I love strawberry-pistachio anything. One is sweet and tart, the other is smoky and salty. Together, they really just work together. Personally, I think strawberries and any nut work well together, hence why peanut butter and jelly is such a great pairing(I’m team strawberry jam on that topic, but grape jam isn’t bad either). Though…

Hojicha lava bundt cakes

During the pandemic, one of my absolute favorite “inventions” was this roasted miso and hojicha sugar, made by toasting sencha green tea leaves and miso paste in the oven, then blitzing them with sugar to form a fine powder. That powder is delicious as a coating for a doughnut(which is what it was originally intended…