Cover Coconut pea flower shortcake
Coconut pea flower shortcake
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Desserts that look as good as they taste? These pastry chefs up the ante with their latest confections
We eat with our eyes first, which is why we are attracted to stylish desserts that taste as good as they look. Being a nation of food lovers, we have no shortage of talented pastry chefs who continue to impress us with their creations inspired by the local flavours, fruit farms in France, and seasonal ingredients. Here are five desserts to tuck into this month.
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Wildseed Café
Above Coconut pea flower shortcake
Coconut pea flower shortcake
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Wildseed Café is known for its cakes infused with local ingredients and botanicals, and its iconic coconut blue pea flower shortcake is one delicious example. Comprising an almond dacquoise sponge cake—a lighter and fluffier version of the traditional sponge cake—layered with a decadent butterfly pea flower coconut Chantilly cream mixed with bits of freshly grated coconut and sweet palm sugar to balance out the nuttiness, the gluten‑free treat comes coated in a light frosting infused with blue pea flower extract. The flower, shares Michael Lau, group pastry development chef of 1‑Group, the F&B group that operates Wildseed Café, is often used in local desserts for its blue hue and delicate earthy notes. Here, the team uses it to give the cake its striking colour, with the petals serving as garnish.
Wildseed Café, 10 Telok Blangah Green, S(109178), 8126 8484
Don't miss: 1-Group Transforms The Alkaff Mansion Into A Spanish Oasis
Mad About Sucre
Above Forbidden Fruit
Above Kakao
Forbidden Fruit
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The scent and taste of vine‑ripened fruits have always been a favourite of Lena Chan. For her new fruit‑inspired desserts, the co‑founder of French patisserie Mad About Sucre takes inspiration from “the dreamlike scenescapes of colourful fruit farms in France”, where she studied pastry making at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. Her latest delectable confections are handcrafted in the likeness of the fruits they are inspired by. Forbidden Fruit, for instance, is shaped like a green apple and concocted from melted white chocolate, with decadent mousse and cremeux as well as poached apple cubes and mint at its core. Kakao, meanwhile, takes inspiration from the cocoa fruit, with 65 per cent dark chocolate, and imbued with calamansi juice and bourbon whiskey to balance the rich flavours.
Mad About Sucre, 27 Teo Hong Road, S(088334), 6221 3969
Read more: How Local Patisserie Mad About Sucre Has Evolved to Adapt to the New Normal in Singapore
Tarte by Cheryl Koh
When it comes to her artisanal tarts and confections, pastry chef Cheryl Koh takes inspiration from the bounty of the seasons. And fresh cherries—one of her favourite fruits—are always on the menu whenever they are in season. “The pit of the cherry has a natural almond flavour,” says the chef‑owner of Tarte by Cheryl Koh patisserie, which is why she pairs the fruit’s natural sweetness and nuttiness with a buttery almond tart baked from scratch daily. She layers the shell with a light and indulgent vanilla filling before topping it with lightly glazed fresh, ripe cherries. Cut in halves, the fruits are intricately arranged atop the tart, with the finished product looking almost too good to eat. Koh recommends savouring all the different layers of the tart in one bite for a delicious mix of sweet, nutty and crumbly.
Tarte by Cheryl Koh, 1 Scotts Road, 02-05, S(228208), 6235 3225
Janice Wong Singapore
You can count on pastry chef Janice Wong to come up with the most palatable and fashionable desserts, and her repertoire of edible works at Janice Wong Singapore takes the cake, pun intended. Take, for example, the striking design of her latest celebratory cake. A reimagination of the classic black forest cake, the chocolate whisky sour cherry cake resembles a cute pink knitted hat with a little choux puff on top. The flourless confection features a light and delicate chocolate mousse exterior that hides a fruity blackberry parfait within. The combination of dark chocolate and black, berries is given a lift with a hit of vanilla and caramel flavours from bourbon whiskey.
Janice Wong Singapore, 290 Orchard Road, B1-K28, S(238859), 9233 7547
Read more: Pure Imagination: Janice Wong on Creating Singapore's First Single-Origin Chocolate
Nesuto Singapore
Nesuto Singapore is known for its delicious cakes with a minimalist yet stylish look, and its signature OG Yuzu Raspberry cake is a great example. The cake comprises layers of Japanese cotton sponge and fresh strawberries, then coated in yuzu meringue mouse for the perfect balance of sweet and citrusy. Due to the shortage of yuzu chocolate, the signature has a new look—instead of the classic pink lacquer, it’s topped with white chocolate curls.
Nesuto Singapore, 53 Tras Street, 01-01, S(078992), 6980 5977
Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
