Synonymous with the holiday season is food - the dishes that call up childhood memories of good cheer and family fun. Even adults love a good dessert - something that satisfies your inner sweetness.

As a special treat, five chefs reveal their secret recipes, which so easy that you can try them out at home and all the ingredients are available in Bangkok.  Besides, they're guaranteed to please any sweet tooth around.

Speed on the road

and in the kitchen

Stephane Dabazach, pastry chef of the Oriental Hotel, loves making things. In his free time, he makes cars, like his BMW 325, which he built from scratch, using bits and pieces he found in car-parts shops around town. It only took him six months. When he's not racing it at car meets, he's zipping along in his Suzuki (1,300cc). He obviously likes speed.

In the hotel, he doesn't slow down either. Even at the Oriental's outlets around town, he's responsible for all baked goods, and on Thursdays, you can find him at the Oriental Shop in Siam Paragon teaching students the fine points of mousse, cakes and brulees.

In honour of the holidays, he offers the English fruitcake. His recipe produces a rather low cake, which, he points out, bakes quickly, compared to higher cakes. Speedy, you know?

English fruit cake

1lb round baking mould

Ingredients

 80 g butter

 80 g brown sugar

 2  eggs

 85 g bread flour

 5 g baking

   powder

 150 g mixed fruit

 100 g black raisins

 100 g golden raisins

 100 g dark rum

 100 g XO cognac

Method

Brush some melted butter in a mould,

sprinkle it with flour and put aside. Beat the butter with brown sugar at high speed until it becomes white and fluffy. Then incorporate the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk at a high speed until the mixture becomes smooth and fluffy again.

Then slowly incorporate the flour, baking powder, mixed fruit and raisins. Pour the mixture into the mould and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for at least 35 minutes.

Something different

for the holidays

At Buongiorno Cafe, you can enjoy a lot of sweet things - cakes, pies and nearly 50 varieties of biscotti - all made from recipes courtesy of owner Enzo Peroni's extensive family in Italy.

A few months ago, however, his wife Theresa began thinking of adding "something different - something no other restaurant or bakery in Bangkok has" to the already ample list.

Nothing came to mind until she and Enzo were relaxing on the boat belonging to Flora, his sister, and his brother-in-law. With the boat moored off the coast of Capri, they feasted on red-wine biscotti, figs and Parma ham, and the conversation turned to (what else?) food.

When Flora heard of Theresa's quandary, she remembered what the family does on their Buongiorno farm north of Rome. They have so many pumpkins that they've created new recipes, and now they have pumpkin spice muffins, light tender muffins with all the aromas of the holiday season.

Pumpkin spice muffins

(Tortine Alla Zucca Con Spezie)

Ingredients

2  cups brown sugar

1   cup sunflower oil

3  eggs

 1 cup  milk

 450 g pumpkin

   (mashed)

3  cups all-purpose

   flour

1 tsp  cloves

1 tsp  cinnamon

1 tsp  nutmeg

1 tsp  baking

   soda

 1/2tsp salt

 1/2tsp baking

         powder

1  cup coarsely   

      chopped walnuts (bake

    for a few minutes first)

1   cup golden raisins

Method

        Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Prepare muffin mould with papers for six muffins. In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, milk and eggs. Beat together for one minute.

Add flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly until mixture is moistened. Don't over stir. Fold in walnuts (previously toasted) and raisins. Pour into muffin cups. Bake approximately 30 minutes.

You can drizzle icing on top for a more festive look when finished.

Light and easy

Call executive chef Colin Grant of

Sofitel Central Plaza flexible.

Last year, he outdid himself creating

variations on eggnog, and this

year, he's come up with an

easy-to-make sweet that will

please both children and

adults.

He aimed for a sweet

that's sweet but not

too sweet and a filling

that's not too filling. It's

really easy to make,

too, a finishing touch

to a meal that will

elicit gasps of

admiration from

friends and

family.

Ricotta cheese cream

with fresh berries

Ingredients

200 ml ricotta cheese

1 tbsp Grand Marnier

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tbsp sugar

160 g   fresh berries mixed in with some Grand Marnier

1 tbsp icing sugar (levelled)

Method

Combine the ricotta cheese, Grand Marnier, honey and sugar in a glass or a bowl. Combine the berries and icing sugar and serve in a separate bowl. Serve with a sorbet of your choice. Serves four.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation