The best chocolate chip cookie

Head to the kitchen to prepare for the festive season or shop for spongy castella cake

The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (left) has a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. French chef Alain Ducasse (right) will open his first Singapore restaurant at the Raffles Hotel next year.
The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie has a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. French chef Alain Ducasse (above) will open his first Singapore restaurant at the Raffles Hotel next year. PHOTOS: PIERRE MONETTA AND REALIS, WASHINGTON POST
The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (left) has a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. French chef Alain Ducasse (right) will open his first Singapore restaurant at the Raffles Hotel next year.
The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (above) has a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. French chef Alain Ducasse will open his first Singapore restaurant at the Raffles Hotel next year. PHOTOS: PIERRE MONETTA AND REALIS, WASHINGTON POST

Here are some highlights on The Straits Times' food website - ST Food, straitstimesfood.com.

ALAIN DUCASSE TO OPEN NEXT YEAR

Renowned French chef Alain Ducasse will open his first Singapore restaurant at the Raffles Hotel in Beach Road next year.

He made the announcement at the recent 2018 Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau gala dinner in Macau.

The chef runs more than 20 restaurants around the world, including his eponymous three-Michelin-starred restaurants at The Dorchester in London and Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris.

Ducasse on his restaurant plans: http://str.sg/oZ8V

TAIWAN'S GRAND CASTELLA CAKE OPENS HERE

Grand Castella, a Taiwanese brand that touts itself as one of the original purveyors of castella cake, opened its first Singapore outlet at nex mall in Serangoon Central last Thursday.

It will open another store at Raffles City Shopping Centre by the end of the year.

The jiggly and airy sponge cakes come in flavours such as Original ($9.90), Cheese ($11.90), Chocolate ($12.90) and Pandan ($10.90).

Grand Castella opens in Singapore: http://str.sg/oZPh

RECIPES TO TRY

The chocolate chip cookie celebrates its 80th birthday next year. The Washington Post analysed 10 popular chocolate chip cookie recipes, whittled the number down to six and did a taste test.

The unanimous winner - called The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies by Joy Wilson of JoytheBaker.com - has a chewy centre and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.

Bake some chocolate chip cookies for the festive season. The recipe makes 36 cookies.

The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe: http://str.sg/oZXX

Aside from eating panettone, the traditional Italian spiced Christmas bread, on its own, how about turning it into a bread pudding?

The dessert, which was featured in The New York Times, is simple and great for parties. It smells and tastes of Christmas too.

Panettone bread pudding recipe: http://str.sg/oZiv

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on December 10, 2017, with the headline The best chocolate chip cookie. Subscribe