The best dessert of 2024

an ode to London, probiotics for EDs, mini lemon bundts

Food news of the week:

It’s been a bang for all of the two days I’ve been back here. Firstly, what’s the deal with the mini doughnuts at Bakalaki? Because they’re mochi-chewy and puffy balls of heaven. Then there’s the $4 fishball noodles at Empress Market, impressively oil-slicked and tossed with love and chilli, and the smoothest rum banana cocktail I’ve had at 28 HongKong Street, which is just as dark and artisanal and sexy as when it first opened.

That said, I miss London and its fare. One of the last things I had were the fat crepes Stas introduced me to at the infamous Hampstead creperie, oozing with tarragon cheese, buttered garlic mushrooms and ham. An ode to London resumes in today’s restaurant Trinity, where I mention one must-have dish that takes up all the oxygen in the room, and why you can head here before higher-priced Michelin places like Kitchen Table, Clove Club, and Restaurant Story.

Bakalaki knows doughnuts

what to get at Trinity, in today’s restaurant of the week

Science of the week:

Dysbiosis (imbalance in gut bacteria), interestingly, is prevalent in most eating disorders, and now research is showing how probiotics may be an effective therapeutic strategy (in combination with other modes of therapy) for eating disorders by modulating this imbalance in gut bacteria. As someone who, like many women, has experienced mild disordered eating, this discovery feels deeply personal. The potential is truly promising.

Insight of the week:

There’s no right or wrong decision, there are just the decisions you decide to make right for you. I think about that a lot. Whether that’s moving house, trying a new hobby, switching jobs, moving on from people, each decision is an opportunity to realign with the person you’re becoming, or at least I like to think that about life.

Recipe of the week:

This recipe yields exactly 12 light, springy, lemon-filled balls of sponge. Half-cake, half-sponge gooey pleasure. The secret lies in the use of plain yoghurt, which makes the little cakes moist but not doughy, and sufficiently dense but well-risen. I adapted the recipe from Nigella’s cookbook, and it’s a go-to for something simple, light, lemony.

Mini Lemon Bundts (makes 12 4-inch wide mini bundts)

Ingredients

150g all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

75g melted, unsalted butter, cooled slightly

zest of one lemon

juice of half a lemon

2 eggs

110ml natural yoghurt or sour cream

large pinch of salt

125g white caster sugar

For the icing: 170g icing sugar, one teaspoon vanilla extract and the juice of one lemon (do this to taste)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 170C. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. In a measuring jug or smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, lemon zest, juice and yoghurt. Pour the wet into the dry mix and slowly mix everything together, transferring from a wooden spoon to a spatula. the batter should a little thick, of spoon-dropping consistency. Make sure that there are no lumps or streaks of flour at the bottom. Grease your mini bundt tin and pour the batter into the molds. Bake in the preheated oven for 23-25 minutes.

Whilst waiting for the buns in the oven, make the icing. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. The mix should be thick and runny, not too opaque, and won’t harden after a few seconds of stirring in the bowl. If you need more liquid, add more water, drop by drop. Once the bundts are done, remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack. Pour the icing on once they’re cool; it’s actually fine to do so when they’re still a little warm because the heat will help the icing along down the sides.

Enjoy!

Restaurant of the week:

I’m missing my second home so much as I type this up. London truly has so much to offer, perhaps not as much at different price points as Singapore, but with enough memorable places to keep close to my heart.

Trinity is one of those places that goes out of its way to make itself memorable. A special thank you to my friend Churl who introduced me to this place, he always seems to know the best spots! It is here that I discovered what is probably my top dessert of 2024, and the dish that elevates this spot to grand heights.

Extravagant dinner sets are a dime a dozen in London, but when it comes to quality that won’t ravage your wallet, it doesn’t get any better than this.

We started off with off-menu snacks: puffy truffle cheese croquettes and thin brittle crackers with butter were served to warm up the palate. I could’ve had 5 of those juicy oozing croquettes which didn’t play skint on the cheese.