Caramel Agar Agar/Agar Agar Caramel

This eggless caramel pudding tastes very much like flan but it is much lighter. I think I like this version better but Carlos prefer the egg version. I can’t blame him as he grew up eating that with Dulce De Leche.

Shrimp and Carrot Fritters

I love fritters of any kind. They were great for afternoon tea or even breakfast. I prepared this batch for fritters when my friend Nini’s came over for afternoon tea. We had it with some Chinese tea from Teavivre – Tea for Life . They sent me some sample packets to try out a few weeks ago. We tried out the Jasmine ‘Dragon Pearl’ Green Tea. When I opened the packet I can see the unopened bud and small leaves in it. I understand that the tea leaves were hand rolled into small pearl shape, which will slowly unfurl during brewing. The flavor is so delicate and light, with great aroma of sweet jasmine and faint hint of green tea. You have to drink this tea slowly to savor all the delicate taste.

Now let's get back to the fritters. I’ve made a lot of fritters but I think by far this is the best tasting one as the fritters came out crunchy and with a bit of sweetness from the grated carrot. It goes really great with a cup of tea. What a great way to cleanse the palette.

Persimmon and Banana Muffins

I am a big fan of persimmon and the last season my backyard persimmon tree gave me quite a few fruits compare to the previous year. Carlos is not a fan of it and I’ve been eating it a lot and giving some away too. The persimmon is the Fuyu kind which is round and crisp and I like eating it as it is but there were a few sitting on the kitchen counter and they were getting soft and over-ripe. I decided to dice them up and used it in the muffins and since I have a couple of blacken bananas I decided to add them into the mix as well. By the way, persimmons are wonderfully good for you. They are full of fiber, vitamins A, C, antioxidants and iron. So next time if you see these nice orange fruits at the farmers market or supermarket do pick up a few.

Lime Cake

Carlos has been away for business every week, so I have some time on my hand and so I decided to do some cleaning and organizing our computer room. I have so many cookery books from Tesco lying around the shelves and table. It took me nearly 3 hours to arrange them accordingly so it will be easier for me if I need to look at certain recipe. So happen, I found a hand written notebook in a pile and while flipping through it, I found a cake recipe using lime. I have a lot of limes in my fridge given by Nini's and decided to try it out. It turns out really good, soft and moist and with fine crumbs. This cake goes really well with a cup of tea or coffee.