Even though I do not have a sweet tooth at all and rarely eat desserts, while in Japan, I got hooked on their matcha desserts, especially in Kyoto which is the capital of matcha sweets. Japanese desserts are barely sweet, the focus is on delicate flavors an not sugar. Nothing is too bold, screaming in your mouth and aggressive. I adore the slight bitterness of matcha…and the vibrant color makes all matcha desserts very sexy.

Most matcha desserts are served with black bean paste made with adzuki beans, those kinds of beans are used in Asia to use in sweet preparations. You can make the paste yourself by cooking the beans and adding sugar, or you can buy already made paste at Japanese stores (which is what I did). As for tea, there is two different kinds of matcha, the one for cooking, baking, using in shakes, etc..and the one for tea ceremony drinking. Make sure you buy the right kind of matcha. They are quite different in flavors and colors.

I have seen so many gorgeous pastries, sweets, desserts made with matcha such as baumkuchen, jellies, ice creams, cookies, and anything you can think of. This recipe has been the courtesy of Hibiki-an.

I follow instructions carefully but I might have used less gelatin than the recommended dose of 5g. I found that my jelly was a bit too soft and not as hard as the ones I tasted in Japan. I used one pack, it might have not been 5 grams. The flavor was delicious. I replaced the condensed milk with vanilla ice cream.

A little sample of matcha desserts in Japan…absolutely amazing. They almost managed to turn me into an addict. For someone who does not eat desserts, I did quite well in that department!!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons(5g) gelatin
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon Matcha
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 250ml hot water
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
• 3 tbs adzuki bean paste
• 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream or condensed milk

Preparation

Soak gelatin in cold water. Set aside.
Make the Matcha: first sift Matcha with a tea strainer, put into a bowl, add 2 tablespoons hot water and then gradually add 250ml more hot water.
Add sugar and gelatin to the Matcha and stir to dissolve.
Strain through a sieve and pour into 4 glasses.
Chill in the refrigerator.
Serve with sweet red adzuki bean paste (anko), vanilla ice cream or condensed milk.

Here is a refreshing pudding for the summer, filled with fruits and exotic flavors. My lovely neighbor Rui gave me this mango pudding a couple of months ago and I fell in love with it. This is an Asian dessert, served in many Chinese or Indonesian restaurants. It’s usually topped with condensed milk. Of course, there are many recipes, some of them use condensed milk, some others coconut milk, some add mango pieces inside the pudding…so there are a lot of variations to this dessert. The last time I had one of those mango puddings was at a Chinese restaurant, and it was topped with condensed milk. What a delight!

This pudding is creamy in the inside, so if you like it more gelatinous and hard, add more agar-agar (or gelatin). Instead of condensed milk I poured coconut milk that I sweetened with a tiny touch of sugar. So for those who like coconut, please try it, it’s such a wonderful combination. I ran into so many people who don’t like coconut lately, how is that possible? I thought coconut was like chocolate, one of those things that is universally loved. I was wrong.

If you want to make this dessert vegan, instead of condensed milk, use coconut milk and agar agar instead of gelatin, it will work perfectly fine.

I am due for my bi-yearly trip to France visiting my parents. I will try to post something before I leave on June 8, if not then I will post new recipes while I am there. I am so excited to get all the new summer fruits, and hopefully get lots of fruity recipes.

Ingredients for 6-7

• 2 large and well ripe mangoes, peeled and cut in pieces
• 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
• 3 packs of gelatin powder (or the equivalent of agar agar) dissolved in water
• 1/3 cups agave nectar
• 1 cup coconut milk (for topping) + sugar to taste
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Preparation

Puree mangoes with a condensed blender and place in a large container. Mix condensed milk with agave nectar, and heat it up but do not boil. Dissolve gelatin powder in 4 tbs warm water. Add gelatin to the milk mixture. Mix well. Pour milk into the mango recipient. Mix well. If you want to add fresh mango pieces, add them at this stage.

Divide the mango mixture to small glass containers. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Un-mold pudding in plates, pour some sweetened coconut milk on top, and decorate with fresh raspberries.