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      Introduction

      In the old kingdom of Siam, the annual ceremony and celebration to mark the beginning and the end of crop seasons would not be complete without simple desserts made of flour, palm sugar and coconut milk. Kayasad, puffed rice with coconut syrup, was one such special dessert.

      Sweets and desserts were not daily items for the majority of traditional Thai households. Sweet offerings were reserved for special occasions, such as a wedding or funeral, and often were a part of the donation made to Buddhist monks on weekends and holy days. Thai farmers made sweets and desserts with homegrown fruits in various flavors and textures for these occasions, when they are consumed eagerly, making up for the lack of daily sweets. The luxury of sweet treats on a daily basis was confined to the royalty and aristocracy. The royal kitchen was therefore the traditional center for Thai dessert development.

      Thai desserts in the olden days were made of fruits, rice flour, palm sugar and coconut milk. Increasing foreign trade during the modern era brought an influx of cultural exchanges which had an impact on traditional Thai sweets and desserts through the assimilation of new ingredients and techniques. First came the Portuguese influence through the use of eggs in popular desserts such as the Thai custard sunkaya, and egg yolk in hot syrup thong yood, thong yip and foi thong. Later, Dutch, French and English influences followed suit in the form of cakes, tarts and cream caramel.

      Coconut can be considered to be the guiding spirit of Thai desserts, providing the creamy and buttery flavor before dairy products were introduced. In 1856, Dona Marie Gemard de Pina, a Portuguese, successfully used coconut cream and coconut milk in place of dairy cream and milk in baking cakes. She was hired to hold a high position in the royal court of King Narai of Ayutthaya, and ran a cooking school to teach the Thais the use of coconut cream and milk. The coconut tree also lends a unique sweet flavor in its by-product, palm sugar. Made from the sweet sap of coconut flowers, palm sugar is indispensable in Thai desserts.

      Today, Thai desserts are mainly based on rice flour, glutinous rice, coconut milk, palm sugar, jasmine or pandanus extract, agar-agar and local fruits. The use of jasmine or pandanus essence in Thai desserts provide the authentic Thai fragrance that distinguishes them from other cakes and desserts.

      The recipes in this book have been modified for all levels of skills to suit home cooking—using easy to find ingredients but taking care to maintain the authentic and unique tastes of Thai desserts and cakes.

      Basic Ingredients

      Almond essence is often used in desserts that contain ground almonds to bring out the flavor of the almonds. Concentrated almond essence is sold as a clear liquid in small bottles. Use sparingly.

      Agar-agar is a thickening agent obtained from seaweed. It is widely used to thicken soups, sauces and desserts, for it sets without refrigeration. Commonly sold in small packets of fine white powder, agar-agar is also available in the form of bars, strips and flakes. Powdered gelatin may be used as a substitute although it gives a slightly different texture. Dried forms of agar-agar will keep indefinitely in an airtight container.

      Banana leaf is indispensable as a food wrapper, used to wrap food for steaming or grilling. The moisture within the banana leaf makes a difference to the texture and flavor of the food, but if you can't find fresh or frozen leaves, use aluminium foil. Before using to wrap food, the leaves should be softened for easy folding, either by soaking in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes or briefly heating over a low flame.

      Black beans are small beans with a shiny black coat. They have an earthy flavor and a mealy texture and are commonly used in Thai desserts. Both dried and precooked canned black beans are available throughout the year.

      Cassava or tapioca is a root with dark or light brown skin and ivory white flesh. The starch extracted from cassava root is commonly sold as tapioca starch or tapioca flour, or shaped into small balls known as tapioca pearls. Mature cassava is boiled as a vegetable, while very young roots are grated and used in desserts. Choose small young roots, as the texture will be better, and make sure that they smell fresh. Cassava can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 2 to 3 days, but is best used as soon as possible.

      Coconut cream and coconut milk are used in desserts and curries. Fresh coconut cream is made by grating the flesh of 1 coconut (this will yield about 4 cups of grated coconut flesh), adding 1/2 cup of water, kneading a few times, then straining with your fist, or with a muslin or cheesecloth. This should yield about 1/2 cup of coconut cream. Thick coconut milk is obtained by the same method, but the water is doubled to 1 cup and it should yield about 1 cup of thick coconut milk. Thin coconut milk is obtained by adding 1 cup of water to the already pressed coconut flesh a second time and straining again; this should yield 1 cup of thin coconut milk. You may also obtain thin coconut milk by diluting the thick coconut milk with water. Coconut cream and milk are now widely sold in cans and packets that are quick, convenient and tasty. Canned or packet coconut cream or milk comes in varying consistencies depending on the brand, and you will need to try them out and adjust the thickness by adding water as needed. In general, you should add 1cup of water to 1cup of canned or packet coconut cream to obtain thick coconut milk, and add 2cups of water to 1cup of coconut cream to obtain thin coconut milk. Many of the recipes in this

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