Strawberry Matcha Panna Cotta
If you love strawberry matcha lattes, you will enjoy this dessert inspired by the same flavor combination. This strawberry matcha panna cotta features creamy matcha infused custard topped with fresh strawberry compote and a soft whipped cream-style cold foam sweetened with strawberry syrup. The recipe is simple but includes key steps like blooming the gelatin properly and chilling the mixture over ice to ensure a smooth, creamy texture. Perfect for hot summer days, it makes a refreshing and elegant treat you can easily double to share.
Cherry and Cacao Nib Cake
This light and simple cherry and cacao nib cake is the perfect way to use up ripe summer cherries. With just one bowl, minimal fuss, and no special tools needed, it’s an easy dessert that balances juicy sweetness with the bittersweet crunch of cacao nibs. Top with whipped cream or ice cream for a refreshing seasonal treat.
cassata inspired ricotta ice cream
I had this ice cream at a restaurant in Japan, and it said "cassata" on the menu. I had never heard of it before. It looked like semifreddo, but the texture was a little different, so I looked it up. When you type "cassata" in English and Japanese, Google gives you different images. Here is what I learned:
honeycomb ice cream
From this recipe, you will learn two great things: making honeycomb candy and learning how to make ice cream without an ice cream machine! I learned how to make honeycomb ice cream from my friend and my pastry sensei, Jun. This is his long-time boyfriend Paul’s mom’s recipe. It’s super easy and delicious!
matcha zenzai
Matcha zenzai is a super quick pick-me-up dessert. I first had it in Arashiyama, Kyoto. While looking for a place to eat lunch, I stumbled upon a restaurant with a menu hanging outside. The picture of this matcha zenzai caught my attention. It had just the right amount of sweetness from the sweet red bean paste and a very balanced flavor with matcha bitterness. As I was scrolling through my photos from the trip, it reminded me how good it was. So, I’ve decided to recreate it.
irene’s poor man’s nougat
Brown Butter Pear Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake
For Brown Butter
1 ½ cup unsalted butter
For Brown Butter Cake
Dry Ingredients
2 ½ cup all purpose flour
1 ¼ brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
Brown butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
Riesling poached pear
2 Pears (Bartlett)
1 cup Riesling (or white wine)
⅓ cup water
⅓ cup sugar
1 vanilla beans
Brown sugar butter
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
Preparation
Brown Butter Cake
Brown Butter
1 ½ cup unsalted butter
Brown Butter Cake
Dry Ingredients
2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ¼ brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
Brown butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
Riesling poached pear
2 Pears (Bartlett)
1 cup Riesling (or white wine)
⅓ cup water
60g sugar
1 vanilla beans
Brown sugar butter
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
Make brown butter. Add butter to a medium-sized pot and cook until you see brown speckles. Cool it to room temperature.
Make Riesling poached pear. Peel and core the pears. Add all the poached pear ingredients except the pears in a pot. Bring it to a boil and turn the heat. Add the pear, and bring the heat to a simmer. Add more water if the pear is not covered with liquid. Cover with parchment paper (cartouche) and cook the pear until tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside until cool. Slice the pear and remove the stem.
Make brown butter cake. In a medium-size bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate medium-size bowl, add all the wet ingredients and mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until there are no visible flour streaks.
Grease the cake pan well. Place a parchment cake round in the bottom of the mold. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 300F.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and softened butter. Spread the mixture in the bottom of the cake pan. Place the sliced poached pears and add the batter. Smooth the top with an offset spatula.
Place the cake on a baking sheet and Bake, rotating the pan front to back halfway through until a toothpick comes out clean,
Cool the cake and unmold it. Keep the cake in the fridge if you are not serving it within a day. Warm it up before serving.