Freddy's Harajuku

Hanami cake

Hanami roughly translates into “flower viewing” from Japanese. It usually refers to the blooming of cherry blossoms, or sakura, in early April, and signifies new beginnings. One thing I love about hanami, besides how gorgeous the cherry blossom-filled skies look during that time of year, is of course the desserts that come with it. Cherry…

Shaymin Nerikiri

I would be lying if I said this recipe was easy. Namely because it took me 4 hours from start to finish. A lot of it, not going to lie, is just the amount of time it took perfecting the color and shape of these little nuggets. That and I tried to make a half-batch…

Gooey lemon curd-stuffed olive oil cakes

So it might be a surprise to anyone reading this, but I am actually dieting right now. Mostly because I have to go to a wedding in Hawaii, and I am not trying to look photogenic for that. That being said, dieting sucks. Majorly. Many, many meals spent on weight-loss smoothies and near-bland chicken breast…

Chocolate-sesame-cardamom cake

How this cake came about was hilarious. It was 6:35AM, and I had just finished my workout. It was also my friend’s birthday, and I was debating if I wanted to make a cake for her or not. But I did not want to be a crap friend, and I decided, screw it, 50 minute…

Hedgehog “Cinnabon” Mont Blancs

I initially was inspired to make these cakes from seeing all of the cute animal-themed crepes in Japan! One that seemed doable-enough were the hedgehogs, which they made by piping things onto a scoop of whipped cream to create the animal. I knew that I could do something similar using the half-sphere molds I normally…

Passion Pearl: a petit gateau

These little pearls only came about because I had an abundance of passionfruit(what a problem to have), and I wanted to find some interesting or fun ways to utilize them! For the dessert itself, we have a coconut mousse that is surrounding a passionfruit gelee, on top of a blue spirulina cookie. I wanted to…

Bamboo dreams: a flower cake

I created this cake as an homage to my own childhood of Asian rice-based desserts, while also doing a nod to the greenery I would see growing up in Southern California by the coast. I wanted this cake to capture both the aforementioned flavors of Asian desserts, and the aforementioned scenery of flowers by the…

Kinako-Pumpkin Ripple Cheesecake

This recipe kind of morphed from the original concept, which was going to be my take on Milkbar’s Cinnaswirl Milkbar(Crack) Pie. Back when I worked in Milkbar Lab, Milkbar had just launched a partnership with Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. Meaning that we got to play around with different recipes using it. While I did not…

Chocolate-peanut butter pie

For Pi Day this year, I was truthfully struggling with what I wanted to make. I could not figure out if I wanted to go with a fruitier pie, a green pie(again), or just something completely different. Eventually, I settled on this recipe, inspired by a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. It features a chocolate short…

Matcha checkerboard ombre cookies

I love checkerboard cookies. I feel like in almost any Asian bakery you go to, checkerboard cookies are always on display. I appreciate the fact that you’re getting more than one flavor in them, since the color contrast usually comes from differently flavored doughs. I won’t lie, they can be finnicky to make, since you…

Matcha “jiggly” cheesecake

There is a common misconception about the “jiggly” cheesecake that has gone viral over the past 5 years: everyone seems to think that this kind of cheesecake is like a panna cotta and wobbles perpetually until it is time to eat it. However, the cheesecake is only jiggly fresh out of the oven, when it…

Baklava layer cake

For the first half of March, my goal was to make as many green things as possible. This cake, while not outwardly green, has a green pistachio sponge hidden underneath a layer of spiced honey French buttercream. I love baklava, and wanted to translate the flavors, textures, and ingredients of it into a full-on layer…

Pandan Melon Pan

Melon pan is probably one of the most iconic Japanese pastries out there. Soft fluffy bread enrobed in a crunchy, cookie-like shell, these breads are just all kinds of textural fun to eat! If you have ever had Mexican conchas or Chinese/Taiwanese pineapple buns, these are quite similar to those. The name “melon pan” refers…

Grasshopper Pie Layer Cake

Grasshopper pie manages to be one of those American classics that very few people have actually had growing up. It is a pie made with chocolate cookie crumbs that surrounds a mint filling, usually made with marshmallows and whipped cream. In short, it’s a chocolate and mint pie. If you have read through my blog,…

Koji-fried chicken with chili honey

Over the past year, koji became one of my favorite ingredients. For those unfamiliar with it, koji is a type of bacteria or fungus that grows on rice or grains. It is used as a culture in Japanese cooking to ferment soybeans into miso paste. Because it is a fungus, koji contains natural umami in…

Furikake(seaweed-sesame) cookies

I feel like this recipe would raise a lot of eyebrows. For those unfamiliar with it, furikake is a Japanese seasoning mix, usually made of seaweed and sesame seeds. It is sprinkled on rice to give the it more flavor and a little bit of texture. Furikake is also popular with Hawaiian poke as well!…

Herb and mushroom focaccia

So this recipe was actually inspired by a dinner I had at Etta in Culver City. Originally from Chicago, Etta is a modern Italian restaurant that features a lot of upscale versions of Italian classics, namely pizzas, pastas, and bread. The focaccia I had there was super pillowy and light, while speckled with tons of…

Misugaru S’mores Checkerboard Cake

This cake was the result of a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a strong desire to make a s’mores checkboard cake. This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It was complex, difficult, and honestly on a scale of 1-10, 1 being microwave fudge, and 10 being you’re screwed if you…

Buckwheat noodles with mushroom tare

I literally came up with this recipe because I was craving soba noodles, and I happened to heat a ton of buckwheat groats, so I figured, why not make my own. For those who aren’t sure what buckwheat groats are, they are basically the unhulled seed of a buckwheat plant. You grind those to form…

Milk tea cream puffs

These cream puffs were the result of me craving milk tea in dessert form, but not wanting to do another panna cotta or ice cream. So instead, my mind went to pate choux, or cream puffs. Since I make hojicha(toasted sencha or Japanese green tea) sugar quite regularly, I knew I could use that to…