The first sunny weekend of the year

I had a friend in town, so I spent the weekend showing her around my 'hood.

Saturday


Wandering around Portobello market



A cafe I want to try next time I'm along Westbourne Grove


Lunch at Daylesford Organic


Raw vegetarian 'pad thai' salad, bread for 2, carrot and ginger juice. The salad tasted nothing like pad thai, but was tasty all the same.




Despite a good lunch, we couldn't resist sharing some churros and chocolate



Dinner at Boxwood Cafe. Really impressed by the very attentive and friendly service. Our greens were over salted and they replaced it with a minimum of fuss.


Chocolate fondant with caramel and mint ice-cream (not pictured). It was so good.


Finishing off Saturday with a cocktail at the Blue Bar

Sunday


Dim sum at Jade Garden


It's too beautiful a day to be indoors. Walking through Green Park



Squirrels in the park are obviously so well fed, they aren't afraid of people



Walking through the Duke of Wellington Square


I can't believe it's taken me this long to walk through Hyde Park



Spring wardobe of flowers and feathers


Finishing the afternoon off with tea and cake at my favourite South Kensington cafe, Tombo

Mini rosebud cakes for spring

Lemon and rose - a very good combination

With spring comes the desire to make lighter cakes. When I was back home in Feb, my friend made some very tasty and pretty lemon rosebud cakes. It was the perfect recipe to test the new silicon moulds from Pantry Magic.


Anticipation. What will they turn out like?


They've turned out well. Hurrah!


Rose petal jelly surprise hidden inside the cake.


Golden rose - yogurt and egg whites help to achieve a lighter texture.


If you're in Singapore, you can learn other great recipes for cakes at Shermay's Cooking School.

Beautiful cherry blossoms (redux)

Photos of cherry blossoms, this time my own. These were taken near my place last weekend while walking home. I love spring.