Small Pastry Recipes from a Pastry Chef

These mini pastries are a delight to eat. Smaller portions allow pastry chefs to deliver all of the flavor of a superb dessert without any of the cloying sweetness you get from too much sweet food.

Red Bean Mooncake Recipe

Chef Jenny takes the traditional mooncake and re-envisions it with her own unique style and background. A creation only possible from someone who has mastered multiple cuisines, it transforms the mooncake from an ubiquitous seasonal pastry to an elegant plated dessert.

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallow Recipe

Homemade marshmallows are nothing like the pre-packaged kind, which have an artificial and almost metallic taste. Especially when using real vanilla, marshmallows made from scratch pack a richer decadent flavor.

Apple Tartlet Mignardises

These mini apple tarts are a modern take on classic American apple pie. With high notes of tart apple cider and low notes of Autumn spiced cream, the bite-sized package comes together with a bit of nutty crunch from the sablé breton and the tuiles.

Mango Dôme Entremet

These mango dômes are a bright, tropical work of art to light up the room. Already pre-portioned in individual servings, you can bring them to a brunch or dinner party to steal the show. Further, the glaze and syrup-soaked mango garnish keep the cake fresh so you can prepare this entremet up to two days before serving.

Fruit Sando Cake

In Japan, you can find fruit sando just about everywhere. These cream-filled fruit sandwiches appear on numerous café menus and even vending machines. Most people first experience fruit sando as a homemade Summer treat in their childhood. But this recipe is a bit more elevated.

Cannelés (Canelés) de Bordeaux

When it comes to pastry, you cannot get more "classic French" than cannelés (pronounced "can-eh-lay"). They come from the Bordeaux region of France, where they are a regional pride. And rightly so, because they are absolutely delicious accompaniments to tea, breakfast, or as a dessert.

Wagashi Recipe

Wagashi are sweet Japanese confections made from bean paste. Similar to marzipan, the paste can be sculpted into gorgeous little shapes inspired by the season. Making wagashi is not hard, but can be time consuming and requires a bit of practice to master the techniques. As you might expect from a traditional Japanese discipline, you can spend your whole life making wagashi and never reach perfection.

Apple Spice Entremet

This apple spice entremet emphasizes apple and cinnamon, making it the perfect Fall or Winter dessert. It consists of layers of almond dacquoise, apple gelee, white chocolate mousse, and an outer caramel glacage. With a spiral apple garnish on top, this little cake makes quite the statement.

White Chocolate Eclairs

These classic eclairs are a crowd-pleaser. Best served at most a few hours after filling, they should still have a somewhat crunchy outer shell filled with custardy pastry cream inside. As far as eclairs go, the recipe is quite simple, using choux pastry, pastry cream, and a white chocolate glaze.

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Small Pastries