Freddy's Harajuku

“Shines Forever”: my signature malted chocolate cake

This chocolate cake recipe is the very same chocolate cake that actually won me my white apron in season 10 of the American version of MasterChef! During the casting process, we had to submit four signature dishes that we could make in 45 minutes, and this was the one I had practiced the most (before…

Thai tea-coconut cheesecake

The combination of Thai tea and coconut milk is an absolute no-brainer. I had made a similar dessert to this about a year ago, actually. But for this rendition, I really wanted to make something a bit more presentable (and with the cross section not resembling a hot dog), so I kind of figured that…

Semolina-Tangerine Upside-down Cake

Honestly, this is one the simplest desserts I have ever made. In that it’s literally just a cake with cream. The only real pressure point here is maintaining the moisture in your tangerines, and even then, that ain’t rocket science. For the dessert, we have a semolina cake, tangerine syrup, a layer of tangerines, and…

Dianthus: a plated dessert

I really love baking with pate choux. But I tend not to make it as often due to mirror glaze cakes and naked layer cakes and doughnut creams all looking a lot prettier, so unfortunately, cream puffs do tend to take the back burner to my list of go-to desserts. That being said, when I…

Moonlight dust: a mirror glaze cheesecake

The name of this dessert came about from a song by harmonicblend of the same name. I adore harmonicblend and their aesthetic and fantasy-driven soundtracks, and Moonlight dust was no exception. For the dessert itself, obviously, I needed to incorporate the moon into it somehow. So I went ahead and went with the most iconic…

Blackberry-almond Arnold Palmer cake

This was a cake I made with my dad in mind, for his birthday. He loves to golf, so the Arnold Palmer is a caddy shack reference. He loves my lemon curd cakes, to the point where he has actually eaten a cake I made before I even finished decorating or photographing it before, so…

Forest of de-lights: a layer cake

I really wanted to make a cake similar to a Black Forest cake, but when I was rummaging through my pantry, I realized that I just had a ton of bananas lying around. So I looked through my other ingredients, and also saw coconut. From there, I was just thinking about maybe doing something inspired…

Mille feuille nabe

I love hotpot. To be honest, I was thinking of how I could actually make a hot pot recipe, but at the same time, it’s really just such a simple thing to do. Whenever we would fly back to Taiwan during summer or winter vacation, one of my favorite places to go to would be…

The Kitchen Garden: a plated dish

I still remember back in 2013, watching MasterChef UK, and being mystified by one particular dish. It was a rabbit salad dish prepared by a solicitor named Rukmini, who was known for her gorgeous plating and really delicious flavors. Back then, I really had no idea what it meant to make a plate look whimsical…

Waking up from the dream: a plated dessert

Now I am a really big fan of the music group, harmonicblend. Their music tends to be on the fantastical side of things, and it really helps inspire me to do all sorts of desserts that I would otherwise not even think about making. Waking up from the dream is a reference to the ending…

Bacon-wrapped rabbit roulade with mushroom pappardelle

Something that I have always wanted to try was cooking with rabbit. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually adore rabbits and bunnies, so a part of me is sad to be cooking with them. But at the same time, they actually can taste quite delicious if cooked under tender, or paired with the right…

Oreo and Cannoli Pastiera Napoletana

Pasteria Napoletana is a traditional Easter cake eaten in Italy. Yes, I know that Easter just passed, but to my defense, I did not know that this was an Easter cake when I was making it/somehow, I did make it on Easter, but the post/recipe was written up later. Whoops. So, the cake itself is…

Dandelion: a petit gateau

When I hear the word “dandelion”, the first thing I think about, being the weebu hipster baker that I am, is Kingdom Hearts Union Cross. I’m not even going to bother talking more about what the term means in that context because I’m a lazy betch, and also, because this is a food blog, not…

Driftwood cake: a chocolate and caramel layer cake

The inspiration for the cake came from an accident: I was attempting to make tarte tatin, but I kept screwing it up. So instead, I took my leftover shortbread dough, kneaded in some cacao powder, and formed it into branches to go onto a chocolate cake. When in doubt, make a chocolate cake. That’s my…

Blossom cake: elderflower, lemon, and bee pollen

The flavors for this dessert are inspired by two things: my current boss, as it was her birthday when I made this, and the British royal wedding cake for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. My boss, who I shall leave anonymous, just out of respect for her privacy, is a very kind, loving person, who…

Gateau Opera

So Gateau Opera is one of those desserts that I have read a lot about, but never really bothered to try making on my own. I have made the sponge, jaconde, before, and obviously, I have made ganache before. But the other filling, which is a coffee infused French buttercream, not so much. For those…

Roasted silkie chicken leg with polenta

When I was butchering black chicken, I decided to make a full-on chicken dinner out of the legs and wings! Taking the contrasting color of the chicken, and making a bright yellow polenta, a purple-ish sauce, and these colorful radishes. So with the legs and wings, I decided to roast those and pair them with…

Chocolate Arc-En-Ciel Cake

Arc-En-Ciel is just French for rainbow. This cake, it literally is a chocolate rainbow, split by different shades of chocolate brown. I wanted to make this cake because I love ripping off of Lady M’s menu, since their cakes, while gorgeous and delicious, are too damn expensive. I am NOT going to pay $65-90 for…

Andante: a chocolate and rose plated dessert

The word andante refers to a slow tempo, while the inspiration for the dessert came from the concept of falling in love. It should not be something to rush into, but rather, something you can take your time enjoying. For the dessert itself, we have a chocolate-coffee panna cotta, a rose-goat milk fluid gel, black…

Honey Flash: a plated dessert

I really wanted to do a dessert that used brown butter and honey, since it’s a delicious combination, but something I could elevate easily. For this dessert, it was originally going to be a flan, but I dun goof’d and used whole eggs instead of just yolks, causing the dessert to souffle. However, for this…