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<\/a>\nOsmanthus and goji berries often pair up in desserts like this one, Goji Berry Osmanthus Cake (although I\u2019m hard pressed to call it a cake), from Double Crispy Bakery at 230 Grand Street in Manhattan\u2019s Chinatown. I\u2019ve seen it elsewhere, executed with more finesse TBH, but I was passing by, it was pretty as always, and I wanted to play with lighting it from beneath, so here we are.<\/p>\n
The translucent jello-like bar doesn\u2019t acquire its bounce from gelatin, but rather agar-agar or konyakku. Agar-agar comes from red algae; konyakku is made from the corm of the konjak plant and manifests in Japanese yam cake and shirataki noodles.<\/p>\n
Bright red goji berries (aka wolfberries) are sweet, usually found dried, and are prized for their purported health and medicinal benefits.<\/p>\n
Used throughout Asia, osmanthus shows up in tea and tea blends as well as jams, liquors, and sweet desserts; it has a floral fragrance with a subtle flavor \u2013 I\u2019d describe it as somewhere along the apricot—leather continuum, if there were such a thing. Also found dried, the corolla opens into adorable, tiny, four-petaled yellow flowers when reconstituted.<\/p>\n
But really, all I wanted to do was take this picture \u2013 not deliver a bloomin\u2019 excursus on Asian botanicals!
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Instagram Post 5\/19\/2019 (Click on any image to view it in high resolution.) Osmanthus and goji berries often pair up in desserts like this one, Goji Berry Osmanthus Cake (although I\u2019m hard pressed to call it a cake), from Double … Continue reading