From Mango to Miso: ICE Students Celebrate Asian Desserts for AAPI Heritage Month
At a recent event on our New York campus, ICE alumna and food personality Gail Simmons was asked how and where she finds culinary inspiration. Her answer — among other things — was cookbooks.
It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, so ICE New York’s latest meeting of “Cook the Book” — our extracurricular cookbook club — focused on popular ingredients and flavors across Asia, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands.
Cook the Book participants took Simmons’ advice.
ICE students met in the school’s culinary library, a mecca of cookbooks, chef biographies, food magazines, and tomes on the science of cooking, all curated by ICE librarian Rose Kernochan.
Kernochan narrowed the meeting’s focus to Asian desserts, citing a recent rise in their ubiquity and popularity and a number of Eater profiles and James Beard nominations for bakeries featuring Asian-inspired treats.
Seeking inspiration, students perused "Mayumu" by Abi Balingit; "Japanese Patisserie" by James Campbell; and "Modern Asian Baking" by Kat Lieu, as well as cookbooks highlighting Japanese, Filipino, Chinese and Indian desserts. They also referenced 2025 James Beard “Best Cookbook” nominee "Breaking Bao" by Clarice Lam (who visited ICE NY earlier this year to lecture and demonstrate her Ferrero Rocher Bomboloncini, which is a cross between a mochi and an Italian donut).
Photo: Clarice Lam in ICE NY demo kitchen with ICE Director of Pastry Research and Development Jurgen David
Armed with recipes to recreate and help from Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Chelsea Burgess, ICE students set forth working with adobo, pandan, and matcha. The group, comprising students from both Culinary Arts and Pastry & Baking Arts programs, was mostly familiar with the techniques and ingredients used. For some, however, employing savory items like gochujang and miso in desserts was a first. There was also some trial and error adjusting the recipes to a commercial setting, as the cookbooks are geared to home bakers.
Below are the Asian desserts (and the cookbooks they came from). Enjoy!
"Japanese Patisserie" by James Campbell (Japan)
- White chocolate matcha mousse, cherry filling (pictured above)
- Miso butterscotch tart
"Mayumu" by Abi Balingit (Philippines)
- Pandam lime meringue tart
- Adobo chocolate chip cookies
"Milk and Cardamom" by Hetal Vasavada (India)
- Mango lassi macarons
"Mooncakes & Milk Bread" by Kristina Cho (China)
- Mooncakes with pistachio honey filling (the original recipe uses red bean filling)
"Modern Asian Baking" by Kat Lieu
- Gochujang flourless chocolate cake
ICE’s cookbook club allows students to engage with chef-instructors and students outside their classroom. It’s also an opportunity for additional hands-on cooking and baking, and exploring new techniques, cuisines, and ingredients.
Past “Cook the Book” meetings focused on molecular gastronomy and soul food. What will be next? Check back to find out!
