White Nectarine-Blackberry Pie Top

This pie top was directly inspired from when I saw Christina Tosi post this shortbread disk that was topped with jam and crumble on Instagram, and it looked delicious. So to do something similar to that, because once a Milkbar member, always a Milkbar member I made a variation on that, but with a shortbread…

Ricotta Pancakes with White Nectarines

When I was trying to figure out what to do with my leftover ricotta cheese, one thing that Google listed was ricotta pancakes. I hilariously did a poll on Instagram on what to use that leftover ricotta for, with the top voted pick being ravioli. I already made the ravioli, but I somehow still had…

Sourdough Savarian with Strawberries and White Nectarines

Since I have been shackled to my sourdough starter, I wanted to find creative ways to use the discard. Since starter can be used in lieu of yeast, I wanted to use the starter in a yeast-leavened dessert, in this case, a savarin. Savarin is similar to a baba in that they are both yeast-leavened…

Blue Yuzu-Elderflower Haupia Pie

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…

Blue Tonka Bean Panna Cottas

I love how simplistic a panna cotta is. Cream, sugar, gelatin, that’s all you need and you can make a rather fancy Italian dessert. My first panna cotta memory was in college, when I was inspired by a lot of the delicious Italian desserts in the North End in Boston. Thanks to the internet(and chef…

Lemon-Elderflower Cake

With this mousse cake recipe, I was really aiming for something light, using flavors that I knew meshed well together. Lemon and elderflower is a combination I have grown quite fond of, just because you have the tart sharpness of the lemon against the floral, sweetness of the elderflower. The two play off of each…

Chinese Bakery Strawberry Cake

My friend Ann would tell me time and time again about her favorite cake being a Chinese Bakery Strawberry Cake. Personally, I grew up on Taiwanese Bakery Black Forest Cake, but that’s an entire recipe for another time! I wanted to try my hand at a super soft and light spongecake with whipped cream and…

Rhubarb-Elderflower Petit Gateaus

About 5 years ago(which is such a weird preface to say out loud because man, time FLIES), I made a dessert that featured rhubarb and elderflower. Ironically, it featured strawberries as well, so I opted to not even include rhubarb or elderflower in the name of the dessert. The cake itself featured elderflower mousse, and…

Meyer Lemon-Elderflower-Meringue Beignets

I love a good beignet. Fluffy doughnuts are honestly my favorite thing ever for munching on, especially when they’re stuffed with something. In this case, I had a ton of Meyer lemons sitting in my fridge, and I wanted to use them up. Immediately, my mind went to lemon curd. And with lemon curd, you…

Strawberry-rhubarb tart

With rhubarb and strawberries being in season, it just made sense to try making a strawberry tart. It’s been a tradition that every summer, I try to perfect this tart using different methods. This summer, I decided to use an elderflower pate sucre, strawberry-rhubarb confiture, cornmeal frangipane, and cream cheese chantilly with elderflower glazed berries….

Elderflower Eton Mess Fruit Tart

I made this mostly for Pi Day, but also because I wanted to try making a rectangular fruit tart that does not look like an ass sandwich; the first time I purchased a rectangular fluted tart pan, it was back when I was still an accounting intern in DC. As my going away gift to…

Mikan-fennel-elderflower chiffon doughnuts

Unlike previous doughnut cream articles that I have written, this is a much more simplified dessert. Mostly for two reasons: 1., I didn’t have time to make proper doughnut creams of these flavor profiles since I was making these on a Thursday for a Friday meeting and 2. doughnut creams take one full day to…

Eternal memories: a plated concept

I was inspired to create this concept from a song by Crystal Kay of the same name. The chorus talks about finding yourself, despite how difficult that may be to do so. The song just reminded me of my own culinary journey so to speak, coming up from being a vegan cupcake baker to a…

Honey-craisin cotton cheesecake

The idea of doing a cotton cheesecake came from when I visited my friend, Lauren, and we were trying to make these for her menu at LimeRed, in Boston. I tried to make a cream cheese chiffon cake, hoping that it would work instead of a cotton cheesecake, something she struggled greatly with making, but…

Blue mallow marshmallows

The inspiration for this dessert came from a play on words, being the “mallow” from blue mallow tea and the “mallow” from marshmallow. Yes, it’s original. I know. I flavored the marshmallow with elderflower liquor and bee pollen, just because I had those in my pantry to give it a very unique flavor profile. Blue…

Lapis Lazuli fruit tart

The inspiration behind this fruit tart came from the lapis lazuli gemstone. It is a naturally blue mineral studded with gold and white streaks. I wanted to also make this dessert an homage to my hometown of Palos Verdes, where wild fennel grows, and that’s where the inspiration to use fennel pollen came from. I…