Latest news with #dessert
Times
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
The sweet sandwich is simply not food
The combination of strawberries, cream cheese and sweet bread arguably makes the sandwich an outright dessert TOM REGESTER F illing and nutritious. Conveniently portable. Capable of being eaten without the mediating instruments of cutlery. Simple, yet susceptible of endless variation. However justly maligned the long history of British cuisine is, the sandwich is one edible artefact this country can take some pride in having bestowed on the world. The culinary conceit of using bread as a wrapper for other foodstuffs is one of those ideas that seems so natural it is hard to believe it had to be invented. Yet one of the sandwich's central strengths — its versatility — is also a source of danger. Its adaptability is easily abused. Does jam, or 'jelly', really belong in a sandwich? Do crisps? Other attempts to extend the genre simply testify to man's overweening hubris. Come winter, the chilly shelves of cafés are now routinely filled with sandwiches that purport to fit an entire Christmas dinner between two slices of bread. The latest attempt to desecrate the legacy of the 4th Earl of Sandwich comes courtesy of Marks & Spencer, where it is now possible to purchase a strawberries and cream sandwich. The 'limited edition Red Diamond Strawberry and Creme on soft, sweetened bread' is even more subversive than it seems. After all, the attempt to transform the savoury sandwich into a sweet snack brings inherent challenges. Here, the combination of cream cheese, sweet bread, and the fact that the sandwich takes the form of a sinister, single sleeve, arguably make the object an outright dessert. M&S, which pioneered the shop-bought sandwich in the late 1970s, is an innovator to be reckoned with. The strawberry sandwich has certainly given the internet's 'clickbait' food influencers something to chew on, as they film themselves sampling the novel delicacy. Yet it is hard not to think Britain's sandwich makers really ought to stick to the bread and butter methods of ages past.
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The World's Best Pastry Shop
Claridge's ArtSpace Café in London, named LA LISTE's 2025 World's Best Pastry Shop, sits beneath a ... More gallery and offers sculpted cakes in an open, design-forward setting. LA LISTE's 2025 Pastry Special Awards celebrate 36 chefs across 18 countries—and reveal who's finally being seen in the world of pastry. From London's design-forward cafés to India's entrepreneurial stars, here's what these wins say about what we're really hungry for. A New Story for Pastry Claridge's ArtSpace Café in London, named LA LISTE's 2025 World's Best Pastry Shop, sits beneath a ... More gallery and offers sculpted cakes in an open, design-forward setting. For a long time, pastry was the soft landing at the end of a meal—the final touch, often overlooked. That's no longer the case. This week, LA LISTE—the global food guide best known for its Top 1,000 restaurant rankings—announced its 2025 Pastry Special Awards, spotlighting the chefs and shops shaping where dessert is going next. London's Claridge's ArtSpace Café was named World's Best Pastry Shop. Maxime Frédéric, known for couture-level creations at Cheval Blanc Paris and LV Cafés, earned World's Most Creative Pastry Chef. India's Pooja Dhingra was named Pastry Game Changer, a title that speaks to the reach of her work across culture, business, and identity. These awards don't just recognize talent. They highlight shifts in visibility, ownership, and creative autonomy. And with 60% of honorees identifying as women, this year's list reshapes what recognition in pastry looks like—and who's long deserved it. World's Best Pastry Shop: Claridge's ArtSpace Café (London) Chef: Thibaut Hauchard At Claridge's ArtSpace Café, guests move through a gallery before reaching the marble counter—a ... More deliberate invitation to linger and look before tasting. Claridge's ArtSpace Café sits just below one of London's most storied hotels, but it feels less like a traditional pastry counter and more like a curated gallery. Guests enter through an exhibition space before reaching a marble bar lined with sculpted cakes, seasonal miniatures, and made-to-order crêpes. The space is designed to invite you in, not just to serve you. ArtSpace Café reflects a broader trend in how people experience pastry. The display isn't hidden behind a fine-dining curtain. It's open, intentional, and part of the environment. It's the kind of third space where presentation, access, and daily ritual meet in a way that doesn't flatten the food or the guest. This award isn't just about perfectly executed food. It's about how the café reframes dessert as something worth building an entire experience around. World's Most Creative Pastry Chef: Maxime Frédéric (Cheval Blanc Paris, LV Cafés) Known for elegant play and architectural detail, Maxime Frédéric crafts pastries that blur the line ... More between dessert and design at Cheval Blanc Paris and LV Cafés. Maxime Frédéric's pastry work is meticulous, but what makes it resonate is how intuitive it feels. His creations are architectural but soft, elegant but full of play. They aren't made solely for visual appeal. These treats are meant to be held, broken into, and enjoyed In a landscape that sometimes prizes visual sameness, Frédéric's recognition reflects something quieter: personal style. His work doesn't rely on scale or novelty. It builds trust with the eater—moment by moment, bite by bite. Pastry Game Changer: Pooja Dhingra (India) Pooja Dhingra, who brought macarons to Mumbai, was recognized for her entrepreneurial impact and for ... More reshaping what pastry leadership can look like. Pooja Dhingra has helped define modern pastry in India not by replicating European tradition but by building something specific to her place, her story, and her community. From her bakery, Le15, to her writing and mentorship, her approach has created room for more people to imagine themselves in the pastry world. This award doesn't just honor her products. It acknowledges the path she's built—and the many people she's helped bring along with her. Dhingra's visibility has opened doors that didn't exist a decade ago. The work is pastry, yes—but also structure, invitation, and scale. London's Pastry Scene, Reframed Claridge's wasn't the only name from London to earn recognition this year. Lily Jones, of Lily Vanilli, was honored for her originality and impact. Her bakery has long pushed against the familiar aesthetic of the upscale bakery—less pastel, more perspective. Her cakes have always felt lived in, rooted in people and place. Scoff at The Savoy was recognized as one of the most exciting new openings. It blends British dessert nostalgia with a sharper, more modern edge. It's not a museum to enjoy afternoon tea—it's an update delivered with intention. London's showing us that pastry here isn't bound to tradition. It's being reinterpreted, sometimes irreverently, but always with a clear sense of who it's for. What These Awards Reflect More than a roundup of talent, this year's LA LISTE pastry awards read like a recalibration. They reflect a shift in both who gets counted and what counts as influence. Across the honorees, there's a shared clarity of purpose—whether it's expressed through precision, playfulness, or sheer entrepreneurial grit. Many of these chefs aren't just producing beautiful work; they're rewriting the rules of visibility, value, and voice in a category that has long rewarded refinement overreach. That 60% of this year's winners are women is not a footnote—it's a reshaping of the frame. The selections show a growing appetite for pastry that does more than sit prettily on a plate. They show us a global field no longer tethered to the traditions of Western haute pâtisserie but open to interpretation, expression, and community-led growth. In an era where food often doubles as language, acting as a mirror, explaining who we are, what we long for, and how we choose to show up—these wins point toward a version of pastry that's more porous, more personal, and far less willing to stay in the background. That LA LISTE chose to crown Claridge's—an open café, not a cloistered salon—as its World's Best Pastry Shop feels like part of that message. What's visible now isn't just the pastry. It's the people, the path, and the shift itself. About LA LISTE LA LISTE is best known for its Top 1,000 Restaurants ranking, using a data-driven system that compiles reviews, guidebooks, and expert input. Its Pastry Special Awards reflect more than technical skill—they recognize chefs and owners making meaningful contributions to their communities, cultures, and the broader conversation around dessert. Claridge's ArtSpace Café earned the top spot this year, but the deeper story is about what that win represents: a pastry shop made for wandering into, not waiting for. A space designed to surprise and slow you down. These iconic accolades don't just recognize the best—they help redefine what excellence looks like. Explore the full list of LA LISTE 2025 Pastry Special Award winners here.
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
‘This could pass as homemade': The best and worst supermarket lemon sorbet
Cold, refreshing lemon sorbet; tangy and citric, with a depth of fruitiness. We may have (thank goodness) given up on serving scoops 'to cleanse the palate' between the fish and the meat course, but it's still an excellent way to end a meal. Or top it with a splash of vodka and a glass of prosecco to make a sgroppino, an Italian dessert-cum-after-dinner-cocktail. The high street offers many options, from supermarket own-label tubs to specialist producers. In my blind taste test of nine, I looked for a real fruit juice flavour, rather than the overwhelming taste of lemon flavouring. Lemon zest and oil have a place in sorbet, but not at the expense of juice. As for that important acid note, I want it to be nuanced and natural, not the sour slap of citric acid which has nothing to do with citrus fruit, as it is produced industrially by fermenting sugar. Skip to: I also scrutinised the ingredients lists, keeping an eye out for additions that manufacturers may use to improve the texture and slow the melt (more on which below) – after all, they have to produce a sorbet that will survive a journey home, perhaps an hour in a hot car, before being returned to the freezer. Effectively, it's partially defrosting and refreezing, which is disastrous for the texture of a homemade, all-natural sorbet. Some of those made with industrial emulsifiers (which give sorbet a spumy, or foamy, texture, melting to a froth rather than a syrup) did, in fact, taste good – but the best-flavoured one contained none at all. Which, in my books, is pretty cool indeed. How I tasted Each lemon sorbet was scooped into a glass while I was out of the room. The glasses were assigned a letter to anonymise them. I returned and tasted, making notes on flavour and texture. Once the identity of each had been revealed, I compared their ingredients lists and the weight-to-volume ratio.
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe for bubble tea ice-cream sundaes
I absolutely adore bubble tea: it's such a fun drink. I find it impossible to be anywhere near Chinatown in London without ordering one, and the brown sugar milk tea flavour is my go-to. The 'bubble' refers to the balls of tapioca that are cooked until chewy, a texture I find so pleasing; if you like mochi, this will be right up your street. You should be able to find quick-cook tapioca pearls in most large Asian supermarkets; I tend to avoid the plain white tapioca pearls because they can take more than an hour to cook. Prep 5 min Cook 20 min Serves 4 150g quick-cook brown sugar tapioca 100g light brown sugar 2 English breakfast tea bags 100ml double cream ½ tsp flaky sea salt 8 scoops vanilla ice-cream Chocolate sprinkles or shavings, to serve Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add the tapioca pearls and cook for three to four minutes, until they've got a chew to them but are still a little firm. Drain the pearls into a sieve, then run them under the cold tap to stop them sticking together. To make the tea syrup, put the sugar, 75ml water and the tea bags in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cook for four to five minutes, until the liquid reduces by about a quarter, then remove and discard the tea bags. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the tapioca, then stir well to coat. Take off the heat and leave to cool in the pan. (You can do this in advance and leave at room temperature overnight.) To make the salted cream, lightly whip the double cream and salt to very soft peaks. To serve, put a spoonful of the tapioca and syrup mix into a sundae glass or ramekin, then swirl it around so some of the syrup coats the inside. Layer it with a scoop or two of ice-cream and some more tapioca and syrup. Top with a dollop of the salted cream followed by chocolate sprinkles or shavings, and serve.
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe for bubble tea ice-cream sundaes
I absolutely adore bubble tea: it's such a fun drink. I find it impossible to be anywhere near Chinatown in London without ordering one, and the brown sugar milk tea flavour is my go-to. The 'bubble' refers to the balls of tapioca that are cooked until chewy, a texture I find so pleasing; if you like mochi, this will be right up your street. You should be able to find quick-cook tapioca pearls in most large Asian supermarkets; I tend to avoid the plain white tapioca pearls because they can take more than an hour to cook. Prep 5 min Cook 20 min Serves 4 150g quick-cook brown sugar tapioca 100g light brown sugar 2 English breakfast tea bags 100ml double cream ½ tsp flaky sea salt 8 scoops vanilla ice-cream Chocolate sprinkles or shavings, to serve Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add the tapioca pearls and cook for three to four minutes, until they've got a chew to them but are still a little firm. Drain the pearls into a sieve, then run them under the cold tap to stop them sticking together. To make the tea syrup, put the sugar, 75ml water and the tea bags in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cook for four to five minutes, until the liquid reduces by about a quarter, then remove and discard the tea bags. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the tapioca, then stir well to coat. Take off the heat and leave to cool in the pan. (You can do this in advance and leave at room temperature overnight.) To make the salted cream, lightly whip the double cream and salt to very soft peaks. To serve, put a spoonful of the tapioca and syrup mix into a sundae glass or ramekin, then swirl it around so some of the syrup coats the inside. Layer it with a scoop or two of ice-cream and some more tapioca and syrup. Top with a dollop of the salted cream followed by chocolate sprinkles or shavings, and serve.
