A couple of months back I went on a trip to California and discovered the magical banana cream pie at Coco’s Bakery. I’ve had fancier versions before (Tartine Bakery’s creation comes to mind), but Coco’s no-nonsense dessert reigns supreme.
In it, velvety custard and fresh bananas are stuffed into a buttery crust and topped with whipped cream and toasted walnuts. Delicious! I set out on a quest to duplicate Coco’s creation.
Most, if not all, of the blog posts I’ve read about pavlovas begin by mentioning that the origin of the dessert is fiercely debated. Some argue that the pavlova is a purely Australian dessert, named after visiting Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, while others argue it originated in New Zealand.
I have found that the former is the generally agreed upon introduction to a post about pavlova. I hope it caught your attention like you never imagined a post about pavlova could.
Lately, I have become fascinated with Japanese entremets. I have learned how to spell “entremet”, pronounce [on-TRAH-may], and most importantly make an entremet. I also know how to eat an entremet, but that was a skill I honed long before I made this marvellously refreshing recipe by Japanese pastry chef Hidemi Sugino.
Sugino rightfully has a cult following in Japan (and – ahem – in Toronto). His desserts are incredibly artistic and his flavour combinations are exquisite. Sugino only uses enough sugar in his creations to accentuate his delicate flavour combinations. Even dark chocolate proves to be light in his recipes. Consume more content
