this refreshing dessert is perfect for summer and what i like about it is that its all natural and does not contain any coloring. the weather has been horrible lately, i feel fortunate i don't have to work under the hot sun and i suddenly have got a new found respect for those who do!


there are 3 components to this dessert. first you make the peach compote by poaching peaches in a vanilla sugar syrup. while at it, the color leaches out of the skin of the peaches lending the syrup a very beautiful peachy pink color where you later on make it into a peach jelly by adding gelatin. there's also the vanilla panna cotta which is very creamy. this is so lovely and is one of my favorite verrines now. i think the whole thing is more vanilla than peach since poached fruit don't really taste like much.

lately i've been really crazy over greek yogurt. i find it creamier and less sour compared to the usual plain unflavored yogurt and i've been eating it regularly these days. its really versatile and you could dress it up any way you want. flavored yogurt from the supermarkets are too sweet and sugar laden and adding just a bit of fruit compote or jam to greek yogurt really makes it taste like storebought and but so much better.

the weather had been so amazingly warm lately its really unbearable. on some days, temperature would soar to 34 or 35C (95F) during the afternoons and there would be long queues especially at the drinks stalls or ice cream trucks. honestly its like a vicious cycle. sweetened beverages just do not quench thirst, neither do ice creams. and after having those, you'll just realized you're not really satisfied then you want more. what a great way to consume additional calories! i needed something low-cal, refreshing and with the abundance of citruses around, make something fun using them.

its always nice to revisit old recipes. i remember this being the best out of so many panna cottas i've attempted and is also my hubby's favorite but ironically i always make the mango version far more frequently and only made this once. and despite the fact that december is not the strawberry season, i managed to snag a really sweet and aromatic punnet. rare consider that the berries we get are usually pretty sucky.

last weekend, i had a dessert order for a wedding. i was really happy coz its been almost a month or so since i made anything decent. it was macarons after macarons after macarons, i missed my desserts! my customer requested some of the items she seen on my blog so here's what i did :

this is a white chocolate cheese dessert and biscuit base with sakura jelly. recipe can be found here.

i seriously cant think of anything more delicious, pretty and feminine than this, the ispahan. unless you dislike rose, it would be a crime to skip this. with some red rose petals and raspberries leftover from the weekend, i just HAD to make these again.

vanilla bean yogurt panna cotta, mango gelee, mango mousse, mango coulis & torched mango cubes - a prelude to making more complex and multi-component desserts. after months of making just macarons, i'm beginning to miss french patisserie.

trying out my new glossy black acrylic board for photography. i don't think the glossy effect looks very obvious, need to try out a few more times using different subjects. and while the layering for this doesn't look very neat and the green looks kinda unappetizing, its actually a very scrummy dessert! i'm having 3 macaron orders this weekend so i just wanted to make something quick & easy. this must be one of the easiest verrines to make. no need to wait for anything to set!

recipe from here and i simply replaced the coffee & liqueur with 1 cup boiling water + macha powder + sugar (to taste).

last week saw me through a wedding order and some insane dessert attempts. i made lots of desserts in a span of one week or so, and i dunno where i got the energy & stamina from, consider that i was pretty much shut off few months ago. remember what i said about bringing butter or cream cheese to room temp only to put it back later? i was THAT lazy. then suddenly, i find myself churning out dessert after dessert, never feeling tired at all. basically i think i just wanna challenge myself in creating all these. and everytime i succeed on my first attempt, i get a real sense of satisfaction!

mont blanc

if there's one cookbook that i can't stop myself from staring at the cover, this would be it - dessert fourplay by johnny iuzzini. no prizes for guessing why :p i finally got my hands on him it, dessert fourplay - sweet quartets from a four-star pastry chef by johnny iuzzini. of coz, the reason is not entirely for the man himself, but for the desserts, obviously! i'm really into plated desserts lately, in fact, i'm just too intrigued and fascinated by them that i blew 95 bucks on another one, frozen desserts by culinary institute of america & francisco migoya not too long ago. while i'm not sure if i'm ever gonna be able to make (or plate) them, these books are just too good 2b missed. pictures & recipes aside, i read them like i would an encyclopedia coz they're really chockful of useful information. anyway, back to this book. dessert fourplay is categorized into four seasons, each "major" dessert comprising of 4 mini ones in tasting portions/shooters, hence the name. everything looks so beautiful that i just can't decide where to begin. i finally settled for this coz its the easiest among the lot. no need for baking nor choc tempering, no need to hunt for difficult-to-find ingredients like maltodextrin & inverted sugar syrup, no need for bombastic equipment like an N2O charger cartridge to make espuma (the foam/emulsion thingy). the least intimidating but just as visually stunning i would say, tho' it still involves quite a no. of steps. tastewise, pretty light and not too sweet. LOVES the mint gelee that goes suprisingly well with the apricot, though it does reminds you of eating lamb. will be attempting other desserts from the book soon coz need to make sure my money is well spent :p