"I stopped by Bánh by Lauren, a warm and cozy third-culture bakery and cafe nestled in the Two Bridges neighborhood of NYC's Chinatown. Lauren Tran, a former Seattle native, is the baker and owner. What truly fascinated me during my visit were Tran's famous and viral pandan chiffon cakes, an elegant, cloud-soft creation filled with delicious coconut mousse layers that, as Tran informed me, takes up to three days to bake, set, assemble, and finish."
"Tran's gorgeous cake has an impressive total of eight layers, including the layer of fresh cream on top, stabilized with just a little sugar. The not-too-sweet cake is a pure labor of love, and I tasted every hour of Tran's craftsmanship in each bite. I really wished I had flown the cake back to Seattle with me. Her pastries menu also includes Tran's signature bánh bò nướng, or Vietnamese honeycomb cake known for its springy, bouncy, and chewy lace-like interior."
"But why does it take three days to finish making the pandan chiffon cake dessert? Well, it's the mousse layers, usually made with whipped cream and egg whites, that take time to firm up and set in the fridge. Eight layers can easily collapse if just one layer is too soft. Additionally, the crucial step of separating all the eggs to make chiffon cake takes time."
Bánh by Lauren is a third-culture bakery and cafe in the Two Bridges neighborhood of NYC's Chinatown owned by baker Lauren Tran, a former Seattle native. Tran's pandan chiffon cake is an elegant, cloud-soft creation with coconut mousse layers and an impressive eight layers, including stabilized fresh cream on top. The cake takes up to three days to bake, set, assemble, and finish because mousse layers made with whipped cream and egg whites need time to firm and chill, and separating all the eggs for chiffon requires careful time. The pastries menu also features bánh bò nướng, a vibrantly jade-green Vietnamese honeycomb cake with a springy, chewy interior that highlights pandan flavor and restrained sweetness.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]