7 delicious desserts with a Singapore twist to feast your eyes on

01: THE ASIAN VANILLA

Tarte by Cheryl Koh

The fragrant flavour of fresh pandan is alluring, whether it is used in cakes, kueh or kaya spreads. Tarte by Cheryl Koh’s pandan coconut tart consists of luscious green curd made with freshly squeezed pandan juice and creme patissiere, and topped with toasted desiccated coconut and hand-piped kaya buttercream. Toasted coconut frangipane is added on top of the signature buttery pastry base for a sturdier tart shell.

Cotton knit top, from COS. Embellished acrylic sunglasses, from Dolce & Gabbana. Iris Apfel crystal necklace, from Atelier Swarovski.

BREAKING THE MOULD

Le Canele d’Or

During her frequent trips to Singapore, Florence Lamarlere, owner of Le Canele d’Or (canele specialist in Hong Kong), fell in love with our local pandan cake. Her kitchen team recommended using pandan and gula melaka in their canele recipe, and named the new offering Ondeh Ondeh Canele. Contrasting with the caramelised crust is a moist, fragrant, green-coloured centre. And crowning the pandan-flavoured canele is gula melaka meringue. Le Canele d’Or has also created other modern canele flavours such as orange, matcha and taro. Available at The Concourse Skyline store, Beach Road.

Silk dress, from Bottega Veneta. Ring, from Quintessential.

03: WARMTH & COMFORT

Po

Mod-Sin restaurant Po’s dessert take on our local teh halia drink is the Teh Halia Panna Cotta. Chef Willin Low creates this luscious last course with a potent brew of ginger tea and fresh milk. The dessert showcases various textures: a ginger tea custard, coconut ginger crumble, an accompanying gelee made with old ginger for a spicier kick, and a gingerbread gelato. A perfect fi nale to a heavy dinner.

Poplin dress and woollen knit top, from Burberry. Rings, from Quintessential.

04: TOAST OF THE TOWN

Labyrinth

Singapore’s quintessential breakfast fare is a simple one: crust-free bread toasted over charcoal, slathered with kaya and butter, and served with a side of soft-boiled eggs. In this dessert, Labyrinth’s chef Han Li Guang breaks down and reinterprets each fl avour of the kaya toast. The kaya spread takes the form of ice cream, made with Indonesian palm sugar. A dollop of Kristal de Chine caviar and soya-cured egg yolk sauce add a salty contrast to the dish. The bread, sourced from old-school bakery Sing Hon Loong in Whampoa, is perfectly grilled.

Cotton jumper and embellished mesh top, from Sportmax. Kalix star rings, from Atelier Swarovski.

05: MATCH MADE IN THE TROPICS

Creatures

At Asian-fusion restaurant Creatures in Desker Road, desserts are often given a local touch: Think an upside-down cake with goreng pisang or a durian mousse cake. The cempedak cake is pastry chef Jacob Justus Tan’s latest creation. Tan injects a twist to the Madeira cake by adding homemade cempedak puree. The dense treat is then topped with buttercream and cempedak bits. The restaurant serves this creation warm with a scoop of coconut ice cream.

Cotton knit dress, from Michael Michael Kors. Rings, from Swarovski.

06: GO WITH THE FLOW

Antoinette

Pang Kok Keong, chef-owner of patisserie Antoinette (in Penhas Road and at Mandarin Gallery), uses a richly fl avoured salted egg cremeux in his inventive cake, Orient. The crater of luscious sweet and salty egg lava cream complements the lighter fl avours of the coconut sponge, salted peanut and sesame feuilletine, as well as creamy white lotus seed mousse.

Lame knit top, from Michael Michael Kors. Rings, from Swarovski.

07: ACROSS CULTURES

Wine & Chef

Chef Wilson Ang of mod-Asian restaurant Wine & Chef in Keong Saik Road does a cross-cultural take on our local pulut hitam dessert. Pistachio nuts and coconut crumble are scattered on top of black starchy venere rice cooked with gula melaka and pandan leaves. The simple combination of familiar tastes with new textures draws both nostalgia and intrigue. And to make it stand out a little more, Ang adds a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of pop rocks as a finishing touch.

Polyester blouse, from COS. Polyester skirt, from Max Mara. RIngs and cuff, from Swarovski.