What's in a good dessert? Cat and Nat tell you what they like

Cat says

 The ability to bake is a badge of honour for those who pride themselves on their cooking. It’s equivalent to the ability to differentiate between wines. It’s always very impressive to present a friend with home-baked cakes, cookies or bread.
Unfortunately I’ve never been able to claim such a badge. The Chinese have no tradition of baking. In general we tend to steam or fry our bread, pastry, cakes and puddings. Traditional Chinese cooking doesn’t require an oven.
One of the great culinary influences on my formative cooking days was the English TV cook Delia Smith. I thought of her as a perfect housewife, though not a glamorous one – I’d have much preferred Nigella Lawson and her domestic-goddess image if her TV series or books were around 20 years ago!
From Smith’s cookbooks, I tried to bake various types of cakes. My ambition has always been to be able to bake a perfect chocolate cake but, sadly, this very modest ambition has still eluded me after years of practice. Probably the greatest barometer of one’s cooking and cooking confidence is whether one’s children and their friends enjoy it.
The annual birthday party is usually the testing ground for such matters. My daughter informed me that her classmates thought my cakes, which I used to send to her class for her birthdays, were inedible! When it comes to my daughter’s birthdays these days, she always requests a cake baked by someone else, not Mummy!
But after over a decade of trial and error, though I still can’t bake the perfect cake, I’ve concluded that the following are my most common mistakes:
I didn’t follow the recipe precisely. Unfortunately, when it comes to baking, it’s vital to stick to the recipe 100 per cent.
I substituted all-purpose flour for specific types of flour called for in recipes. If I couldn’t find the exact-size baking pan I used what I have, which is a big mistake. I always either over- or under-mix the ingredients. One should pay special attention to mixing times and techniques.
I opened the oven door too often during baking. It’s best to set the alarm and walk away. I didn’t cool my cakes thoroughly enough before serving or storing. You should always have a cooling rack ready for hot baked goods.
The other secret to baking good cakes is to subcontract. My new maid is excellent at baking. She can make a superb chocolate cake, as well as various types of pastries, a talent for which I am happy to give her full credit!
Frankly, living in Bangkok, it isn’t really necessary to be able to bake. There are so many places where one can buy all types of delicious cakes, cookies and pastries to take away.
Being a total chocoholic, I love chocolate cakes and brownies. The best chocolate cakes I’ve ever tasted here are from Taling Pling Thai restaurant. This may sound unlikely, but wait until you try them. I also like the brownies from Kuppa.
The best lemon tarts are from the Hyatt bakery shop, Bakerzinn, and Le Nôtre. In fact, apart from lemon tarts, all their other baked goodies are some of the best to be found in Bangkok.
Coffee and raisin cake is another one of my favourites. The best ones are to be ordered at Gourmet Gallery and Tea for Two.
I also adore all types of cheesecakes. I buy mine from Kuppa, Coffee Bean and Sweet Secret on Piyarom Park on Sukhumvit Soi 101/1.

Nat says

 My earliest memories involve French pastry. We were
living in Paris and my mother and I had to walk past a pâtisserie every day. If I’d been a particularly good boy, I was allowed to get something to take home.
I was only about two or three, so I’d have to stand on tip-toe looking into the glass case that went all the way ’round the shop. Once I’d made my choice, the lady would put the pastry into a little white box and tie it up with red and white string. I can still remember the way the box would swing back and forth as I carried it home. Never since have I experienced as much anticipation as I did then.
My favourites were the éclairs and millefeuilles. It was the combination of tender pastry, rich vanilla cream filling and sweet glaze on top that was such perfection. Who would have thought that ingredients so essentially similar could be made into such different, yet equally delightful, confections?
To me, the triumph of an éclair lies in the cream filling. If done properly, it’s thick, smooth and subtle. It isn’t too sweet, but has a strong vanilla flavour that pours into your mouth as soon as you bite into the firm choux pastry holding it together.
A millefeuille, on the other hand, is all about the pastry. If done properly, the many layers of puff pastry will be delicately flaky but firm enough to hold the pastry’s shape. Because that little pâtisserie by our flat in Paris managed it, my standard for the ultimate millefeuille to this day is one that can be cut it in half without the cream spilling out the sides.
It was not until later, when I went to boarding school in America, that I learned to appreciate good, home-baked cakes and pies. My house master’s wife was an amazing baker, and there was always something on hand when we stopped in every Wednesday evening to watch “Charlie’s Angels”.
A nice chunky slice of banana bread or an apple pie with ice cream was the perfect thing to eat while watching Farrah Fawcett run down the street in high heels, tossing her hair back and forth while busting crime.
Home-baked cakes and pies shouldn’t be too professionally finished. The emphasis should be on the texture and flavour of the ingredients, not on the decoration.
To this day I’m suspicious of hotel cakes that look too pretty but have absolutely no flavour or texture. One bite and all you get is sugary frosting surrounding a dry sponge base. If you’re particularly unlucky, the frosting might even be a bit old and hardened, causing it to crunch a bit as you chew.
Really good homemade cakes are just like the ones my house master’s wife served us. They should have a nice, firm crumb packed with enough flavour that every bite is almost fragrant with nuts, bananas, vanilla and butter. My favourite pies always had wonderfully buttery crusts and a thick, fruity filling.
My favourite places for pastry in Bangkok are Café Le Nôtre, which has various branches around town, Beard Papa, in the basement of Siam Paragon, and the Cup, on the second floor of Lake Rajada.
Le Nôtre has the best fruit tarts in town – my horizons have broadened a bit since I was three years old. I no longer restrict myself to éclairs and millefeuilles.
Beard Papa has the best cream puffs I’ve ever had, bar none.
Try the Fishmarket Apple Pie at the Cup. It is the best I’ve ever had in my life.

Want an opinion on something? Cat and Nat can be contacted at
NnaSWild@aol.com.