10 Asian Pastries To Fall In Love With

Lighter and softer than regular cheesecake, Japanese cheesecakes are super fluffy without a crust. The secret? Cream cheese and lots of whipped egg whites, giving it a sublime texture that melts in your mouth. It’s also a healthier choice as it usually contains less sugar.

The Japanese Dorayaki is a sweet mini sandwich: two soft pancake patties wrapped around red bean paste filling. An easy treat to make and a lot of fun to eat. You can also store them for up to 3 days.

Matcha or green tea is a Japanese favourite, so it’s no wonder to include it as a pastry ingredient. This cupcake special is a fine example, fusing the mild bitterness and fragrance of matcha tea with buttermilk creaminess. Always a happy treat.

Simple yet satisfying, this sweet Korean favourite is a popular street food made of flour, milk and yeast, with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts filling. Crispy, crunchy and irresistible.

A Thai street food special believed to be an adaptation of Dorayaki, first sold in 1967 at a Japanese department store in Bangkok called Thai-Daimaru. Khanom means ‘snack’ in Thai, and though ‘Tokyo’ suggests a Japanese origin, it’s really a Thai invention; combining sweet buttery pancake wrap with savoury pork filling. So yummy, you can’t get enough of it.

Nutty and crunchy, the Thai Toffee Cake is easier to make than it looks, and is superbly delicious. Believed to be a reinvention of the English Toffee, this marvellous treat adds an extra coffee and triple-nuts flavour to the original caramel taste.

A staple of Malaysian Chinese pastry, this special sponge cake is steamed rather than baked. A springy Dim Sum delight with a wholesome sugary flavour that lingers in your mouth.

Soft, fluffy and fragrant, the Pandan Chiffon Cake is another Malaysian favourite. Pandan paste is what makes this cake unique: a tropical plant with blade-like leaves frequently used for its natural flavouring, like the combined taste of creamy coconut and banana leaf. Sweet and refreshing.

A bubbly honeycomb cake from Indonesia, traditionally made with sugar, coconut milk and tapioca flour. It has a unique stretchy and spongy texture with a sweet, aromatic taste. Takes a little skill to make, but the effort is totally worth it.

Sweet and vibrant, this cheery Indonesia dessert is a marriage of flavour and culture, between the Nusantara Malay and Nyonya Chinese traditions. Similar with many Southeast Asian recipes, its ingredients include tapioca flour, sugar, Pandan leaves and coconut milk, though its taste is indescribably unique, with a soft, jelly-like mouth-feel. When made right, you can actually peel off each layer for a fun, longer-lasting enjoyment.