Matcha Custard Coupe Celebrations

An excuse to use a coupe and other things about being 40.

Last month I turned 40. I honestly think it’s taken me a whole month to realize it. The new age bracket makes me feel wiser at a time that I feel younger and more alert as a result of having a new child. Also exhausted but man if it isn’t true that the world becomes more technicolor. I’ve been so excited (and motivated) to go the extra step to include more culture to Wilder Bears core memories, especially if they overlap with mine. With so many cultures to pull from in our family (Spanish, Persian, Jewish, American, Italian), he won’t ever be short a reason to celebrate!

We had a FIESTA for my 40th, drawing on my memories in Ecuador of knocking down piñatas in the Andes. There they were made of thick red clay and almost always spheres. Dangerous to be underfoot - speaking from experience! I’m a big fan of the lighter Mexican versions, and found some around town with numbers. It was perfect for me, and also for baby’s first hit at a piñata - 0 couldn’t have been better!

Guy made incredible tacos with grilled meats. My favorite bite was a long cake version I made of the Corn Tres Leches from my book, omitting the honeysuckle and adding in fresh strawberries with a layer of strawberry Jam. A mash up of two classic desserts I adore - a Tres Leches and a strawberry shortcake. So many ways to make the recipe uniquely yours.

Cream is almost all I ever want to celebrate any occasion - momentous or mundane give me edible milk. Cream is so symbolic of the richness and fullness of life. There is a cream for every occasion. If I had had a more intimate gathering for my birthday, like a small dinner party I would have served something else entirely- rich, creamy, cooling, grassy matcha custard with a coconut whip. I recently started making my custards with rice flour, a tip I picked up from another great pastry chef Gemma Matsuyama Yamada who is now a resident of San Diego. It makes an incredibly silky and sturdy custard. All together this dessert is like eating a Matcha Latte, one of my all time favorite drinks.

I love a good coupe and find myself longing for more than the two I have whenever Marie H Frank posts an ice cream recipe to her substack aka ALWAYS. I want to be like this coupe in my 40s. Statuesque and full. Vibrant, overflowing with abundance and generosity, not shy in flavor or muted color, verdant and light. I want to travel to Japan and get lost in drinking ceremonial matches each more green than another. I want to write another cook book sharing all the cake, custard, sweet treats and SAVORY recipes that have piled up since Bread and Roses was published last fall. I want YOU to hold me to all of these big dreams. I’m grateful to YOU for sharing them with me.

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Recent Publications: The Fall issue of edibleLA is out now! Link to digital issue HERE. Find my article on Ghia founder Melanie Masarin for Food Futurism.

Obsessed with: Itinerary shaping up for Greece! Don’t miss the chance to join me in Athens, Santorini and Crete October 2025 for the adventure of a lifetime! We’ll be eating, playing, exploring and celebrating these incredible jewels of the Aegean.

Reading: Fall means a lot of new cookbooks coming out. My stack of ones to comb through has already grown high! I loved dog-earring my way through Second Generation by Jeremy Salamon. Agi’s Counter is perhaps my favorite place to eat in New York City, a small spot in Crown Heights serving all the dill your heart can eat. I am excited to dive into Zoe Bakes COOKIES by Zoe Francois a new dear friend. As well as Jessie Sheehan’s latest Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes.

Streaming: Shogun on Hulu. I loved this show. I am so thrilled and blown away that the majority is done not in english. That the casting is true to the cultures represented. That the period is so well portrayed that an earthquake shaking the land took my breath away. I am not surprised that it was nominated for 14 Emmy’s and won 25.

Inspired by: Cake gatherings! Like A Riviera Media’s gathering in Santa Barbara where I led the event. Please if you’d like to cohost a cake event together reach out to rose@eatredbread.com

And Gather for Good’s annual fundraiser at RedBird which raised over $18K for reproductive access rights. We sent a corn sheet cake covered in baby corn.

Necessary Poetry:

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Matcha Custard with Coconut Whip