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Ingredient: water

  • Banana Punch Cake

    Banana Punch Cake

    Banana punch cake! Punch because of the Caribbean flavors of rum, vanilla and orange that are incorporated into the banana cake, an American classic. Bananas need to be over ripped; this is when they give their strongest flavors.

    Banana bread became popular in the US during the 1930s, in the middle of the Great Depression. People were trying to waste as little as possible and started to make bread using over ripped bananas and baking powder, which was readily available.

    A little fun fact but bananas were introduced into the US in the 1870s becoming an instant hit. Even to this day, it is the most consumed fruits in the US! You can only imagine how many of those end up in banana bread recipes!

    Best eaten at room temperature and can be kept in cling film up to 3 days in the fridge.

  • Pineapple Tarts

    Pineapple Tarts

    Pineapple tarts are small pastries filled with pineapple jam. They are commonly eaten in different parts of Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    They are made with a crumbly pastry base and a paste made with pineapple cooked and caramelized in sugar and spices.

    Considered a must-have ‘festive cookie’, pineapple tarts are usually eaten during Chinese New Year, Hari Raya (Eid el Fitr) and Deepavali and are offered to the guest and family.

    There are several shapes of these biscuits depending on the country: roll, dumpling, tart…But the recipe for these biscuits does not change so feel free to be creative on the shapes! 

  • Tiramisu

    Tiramisu

    Did you know Tiramisu means “Cheer me up” in Italian? The name might come from the fact that the sugar, egg yolks and alcohol are supposed to be fortifiant and gives you energy. Or perhaps it could be how every bite of it makes you happier!

    This tiramisu is a very fresh and a light dessert even after a hearty meal. Its lightness comes from all the whisked ingredients in the cream and the easy light baking, which makes it enjoyable during the summer.

    Alcohol is not mandatory in the recipe.

  • Paris-Brest

    Paris-Brest

    Paris-Brest, is a pastry that comes in a shape of a circle filled with hazelnut cream with toppings. As of today different versions exist with various kind of cream and nuts like pistachios and almonds…

    Unfortunately for the many English speakers out there, despite how it’s pronounced the dessert itself has no resemblance to a woman’s bosom. Yes, it’s a common misconception assumed among English speakers in that the origin of the pastry is sexual or that the dessert comes in a particular dome shape. 

    In fact the origin itself might not be the first thing to come to mind.

    The supposed origin is of a newspaper editor wanting bicycle use to become popular in the town of Brest and decides to launch a bicycle race from Paris to Brest. He wanted to promote the race and asked a pastry chef by the name of Louis Durand who eventually created this famous dessert in 1910.

    The Paris-brest is shaped like a bicycle wheel to celebrate the cycling race and can be found in nearly every bakery in France; it is one of the classics. Furthermore, it has recently been popping onto numerous menus in the US. It’s one of those desserts that people in the states might not be know much about but only look over other tables and tell the server, “I want that!”

    Note: 2 big Paris-Brest were made which serves for 30 people but ingredients can be adjusted based on the number of people.

  • Vanilla Chocolate Flan Patissier

    Vanilla Chocolate Flan Patissier

    Couldn’t decide if I wanted a flan patissier with vanilla or chocolate. So I made both in one, creating this nice two-layered vanilla chocolate flan patissier.

    Flan has so many different variations with each country having its own flan, egg tart, pasteis de nata and so on… It initially is based on British custard cake than have spread across Europe first and then the world throughout the time of colonisation.

  • Sticky Toffee Pudding

    Sticky Toffee Pudding

    Sticky toffee pudding is made from a classic cake batter with boiled dates added in. This dough is then traditionally baked in a pudding mould (bowl), not in an oven but in a saucepan, just like the Christmas pudding and many other puddings. It is served hot and topped with a caramel sauce.

    In this recipe I’ll be making it in the oven, to add a touch of practicality and to not lose too much of the authenticity of the dessert.

  • Raspberry Baba au Rhum

    Raspberry Baba au Rhum

    Time for some boozy dessert! Raspberry baba au rhum is not the kind of dessert you have for breakfast or the dessert you give to children but a spongy cake soaked in rum and pastry cream.

    Instead of the usual vanilla pastry cream or whipped cream on Baba au rhum I chose to use the raspberry version again, the same that I used for my Millefeuille.

    Optional: You can prepare this Baba with no rhum and only syrup so everybody can enjoy it.

  • Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake

    Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake

    Decided to combine chocolate mousse and a cake to create an orange chocolate mousse cake.

    I didn’t want the orange flavor to be too strong so it’s only in the base. The 2 other layers are pure chocolate.

    Optional: You can change the recipe to include chocolate in all 3 layers; same with the orange zest, or even add a layer of orange jelly in the middle layer.

  • Caramelised Apple Cake

    Caramelised Apple Cake

    Have you heard of or tried a caramelised apple cake before? If you haven’t you should!

    First off, the middle of the cake consists of nice caramelised apples and then it’s topped off with caramel over it.

    Optional: can add raisins, rum or cinnamon.

  • Cardamom Infused Lemon Curd Cake

    Cardamom Infused Lemon Curd Cake

    Cardamom and citrus are always an enjoyable combination with tea. So I combined these 2 flavors into a cardamom infused lemon curd cake.

    It comes with a spongy texture along with a creamy one making it a great tasty contrast. The curd recipe is based on the one made for my sweet & sour lemon meringue pie.

    Let me know if you know other interesting flavor(s) that could pair nicely with the lemon.