Category Archives: Sweets

Malaysian Kueh

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Instagram Post 6/27/2018

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Three views of the same item from the grab ‘n’ go prepared food section near the register at Little House Café, 90-19 Corona Ave in Elmhurst, Queens. I assumed this would be the sweet Malaysian kueh (or kuih) that I had enjoyed elsewhere, in this case a pandan (green) and palm sugar (brown) rice flour/tapioca flour dense “custard”, but I was pleasantly surprised by the salty component of the pandan layer in contrast to the sweetness of the palm sugar layer.

They’re shown flanked by eggy almond wafers, crunchy but not crispy, and a satisfying textural contrast to the kueh.

These folks definitely have their own spin on Malaysian food – and I like it!
 
 

Dakwa

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Instagram Post 6/26/2018

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I may have a found new favorite West African sweet snack: Dakwa. A popular treat in Ghana 🇬🇭 and Togo 🇹🇬, it goes by spellings and names that run the alphabetical gamut from Adaakwa to Zowè. Fortunately, I had only to travel to New Harlem Halal Meat on 2142 Frederick Douglass Blvd at 116th St in Manhattan to spot these treasures tucked away in a large plastic jar perched on the cashier’s counter (see second photo).

Made from ground roasted corn flour and peanuts, spiked with cloves, ginger, chili powder, sugar and a little salt, tightly compressed into 2½ inch balls with a measure of peanut oil to stick it together, its texture is similar to Middle Eastern halvah, perhaps a little stiffer. The balls come tightly bound in plastic wrap; the first photo shows one broken apart for closer examination, but mainly for easier eating. 😉

Sweet, spicy, salty, zowie!
 
 

Pakhlava

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Instagram Post 6/24/2018

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If you’re someone who likes the sweet chopped walnut essence of baklava (like me) but doesn’t appreciate a beehive full of honey with every bite (also like me), check out the pastry they call Pakhlava at Georgian Deli & Bakery, 2270 86th Street in Gravesend near the border of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. It’s layered like baklava but the dough is richer, more substantial, and sour cream based as opposed to the gossamer phyllo leaves you might expect from the name; the sweetness comes from dried fruit instead of honey. To me, the names are more similar than the pastries themselves.

Second photo reveals even more layers of lusciousness.
 
 

Lucky Pickle Dumpling Co.

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Instagram Post 6/18/2018

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Yes, Lucky Pickle Dumpling Co. at 513 Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan has dumplings and noodles too, but the attraction for us was the soft serve ice cream available in two flavors, matcha and pickle; of course we went for the pickle since that’s their claim to fame. Perusing my mental catalog of pickle families, I was hard pressed at first to identify its tribe other than cucumber-based. Sour pickle? Not even close. Kosher dill? Nope, no garlic (thank goodness). Then I finally hit upon it: bread and butter pickles! The sweetest in the clan and always welcome at the table. I mean, how else could you get down to the bottom of that cup and not wonder if it would have made a good sundae with a little pastrami topping?

(Remember when a craving for pickles and ice cream was considered a litmus test for pregnancy?)
 
 

Qada

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Instagram Post 6/11/2018

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Somewhere between a cookie and a pastry, Qada, one of my favorite treats, is always rewarding, especially with a cup of tea. This one came from Georgian Deli & Bakery, 2270 86th Street in Gravesend near the border of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where they execute a particularly appealing version of this Georgian delight.

Qada (pronounce the Q like a K but in the back of your throat – uvular as opposed to velar for you linguistics aficionados) can be found in two forms, savory or sweet like this one with raisins. The dough is cut, rolled, and glazed with a shiny egg wash then baked to GBD* perfection. Dense, soft, a little crumbly, sweet but not cloying, buttery but not unctuous, it was the perfect culmination of that day’s quest for something to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Second photo: what it looked like during the few seconds after I bought it and before I cut into it.

*Golden Brown and Delicious
 
 

New Flushing Bakery

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Instagram Post 6/2/2018

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Chinese Egg Custard Tarts (dan tat, 蛋挞) are ubiquitous in Chinatown, on display in just about every Chinese bakery case and riding on dim sum trolleys threading their way through restaurants at lunchtime. They found their way to China and Hong Kong decades ago by way of Portuguese pastéis de nata and English custard tarts and are available these days in a wide variety of styles: the basic (plain bright yellow surface), brûléed (Portuguese influence), egg white, coconut, green tea, even strawberry, almond, papaya, and the list goes on. Some time ago, there was a bakery on Mott Street that touted dozens of flavors; alas, they’ve since closed, but it appears that New Flushing Bakery has taken up their mantle.

Here’s a sample of their wares: clockwise from upper right, Strawberry Milk Custard, Lemon Egg Custard, Mango Egg Custard (with tapioca balls), and Purple Potato Custard.

Cutaway views reveal purple potato lurking within one and a strawberry layer at the bottom of another.

New Flushing Bakery is located at 135-45 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, Queens.
 
 

Alimama Tea

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Instagram Post 5/30/2018

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Ready for something unusual? Check out recently opened Alimama Tea, 89A Bayard St, Manhattan, and their unique assortment of mochi doughnuts and Asian inflected cream puffs. The donuts don’t look remarkable but they’re actually based on mochi, the sweet Japanese rice cake, and as soon as you take one chewy bite, you’ll get the picture. I chose the most straightforward in appearance in order to get to the heart of the issue, Brûlée with a crisp, burnt caramelized sugar glaze, but there are more fanciful flavors like Salted Caramel Nutella, Coconut Dark Chocolate, Cereal, Matcha, and Onyx, each topped with a harmonious glaze.

Cream puffs have a place of honor here as well and are available in yuzu, matcha, and ube (shown here, intact and hacked), light and not overpoweringly sweet.

Naturally, since it’s a tea shop, the cold brew tea list is extensive. Here’s Floral, described as butterfly pea tea, rose, and chrysanthemum with tapioca balls; both cold and hot drinks are available. There’s an emphasis on organics and health including vegan and gluten-free options, but that didn’t deter my (well-satisfied) quest for sweets!
 
 

Little House Cafe – Taro Cake

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Instagram Post 5/24/2018

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A place of many delicious wonders, I am compelled to return to Little House Café, 90-19 Corona Ave in Elmhurst, Queens as soon as possible. It’s an Asian fusion counter service venue with a few tables and remarkable food; in addition to having the best Curry Mee with Young Tao Fu I’ve ever tasted, the sweets and desserts were a cut above as well. One of the most dramatic was this layered taro cake: gelatin, custard, taro, cake. Each layer brought something unique to the party: sweet, creamy, textured, fluffy. Remarkably, I was able to polish off the whole thing in one sitting because it wasn’t too sweet.

Yeah, that must’ve been why. 🐷

…and the cutaway stepped view.
 
 

Dominique Ansel Kitchen – Kouign Amann

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Instagram Post 5/21/2018

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Dominique Ansel’s novel spin on his recipe for kouign-amann (“queen-ah-mahn”, easier to say than it is to spell), is the Brown Sugar even-easier-to-say DKA (the initials of “Dominque’s Kouign-Amann”). Native to the French 🇫🇷 region of Brittany, in the Breton language kouign = cake and amann = butter and it is as impossibly rich as it is challenging to make well. It’s a cousin to the croissant 🥐 – puffy, layered, buttery, and most important, sporting a sweet, crackly exterior of caramelized sugar. It’s the contrast between that crisp crust and the pillowy, yielding interior that makes it fit for a queen, if you will.

Photo 2:
As if to gild an already perfect lily, this adaptation delivers a chewy, gooey sweetness bomb at its heart.

Photo 3:
Kouign-amann can appear in two forms, that of a large cake to be sliced into individual servings, and this version, with a ring formed base – sometimes a muffin tin or cupcake pan is used – that barely supports the fluffy cloud above. This rendition is gets its color and deep flavor from the untraditional addition of brown sugar to the dough. Not to be consumed hastily, I suggest that you do what I did: relax with a cup of your favorite coffee, and focus on each gossamer bite.

Dominique Ansel Kitchen is located at 137 Seventh Avenue South, New York, NY 10014
 
 

Bappy Sweets – Mishti Doi

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Instagram Post 5/18/2018

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I sing the praises of this humble dessert and I freely admit that it is a much beloved comfort food for me. No, I do not hail from 🇮🇳 West Bengal or 🇧🇩 Bangladesh, but this delicious treat does. Essentially, mishti doi is similar to a sweetened, thick yogurt – almost the texture of a custard or pudding – but is distinguished by the way in which it is made. From Wikipedia: “Mishti doi is prepared by boiling milk until it is slightly thickened, sweetening it with sugar, either gura (brown sugar) or khejur gura (date molasses), and allowing the milk to ferment overnight.” Sometimes a touch of cardamom is added for flavor and aroma. You can usually identify it by its pale orange color, but I’ve seen it nearly white as well; there’s also a variation called “bhapa doi” that’s made with sweetened condensed milk that sets up more reliably if you’re making it yourself and I understand there are fruit variants like mango as well.

This batch came from Bappy Sweets, 85-07 Whitney Ave in Elmhurst, Queens. Whenever I take folks through the neighborhood on a food tour (“ethnojunkets” I call them), Bappy is an essential stop; everyone I have introduced this delight to has absolutely loved it and it always disappears in a trice. Bappy makes and sells other mithai (Indian sweets) but I recently learned that their claim to fame and best seller is their mishti doi. I’m not surprised.
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And if you have trouble remembering its name, here’s a mnemonic I came up with for this magical comfort food: “Sometimes Mishti Doi is the only thing that can make you feel better on a Misty Day.”
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