Two shades of ‘ume’. Plums from the rains.

The rainy season we have now in Japan (mid-June ~ mid-July in Kansai) is married with the plums. It’s called the “plum rains”. So these ume are the “rain plums”.
You make think they are not ripe on this photo. It’s true they are very sour and hard. But that’s at this stage of maturation that they are picked and used to make umeboshi (pickled plum).

When they reach this color they are too mature for the salted pickle. When they become soft…they are not sweet, still as sour and less fragrant. Well, mines are yellow and still hard.

Good to make jam !

With kurozato black sugar.

I’ve just put the whole plums, blocks of sugar and water in the home-bakery. Lazy… but I was punished : that splashed and then cleaning the machine was a hell !

On the little plate, ume pesto (see here).

Sesame black sugar mousse is luscious

Schluuuuurrrrpppppp…
Mmmm. Sorry it’s over, there is none left ! Make yours it’s quick and you need only 3 ingredients.

That’s extremely simple. In a mill, process the sesame into paste, or use paste you already have (tahini, nerigoma).

Mix it to silky tofu (about 2 tbs of paste per cup) and a little kurozato black cane sugar. Whip well. Add a few drops of vanilla essence and a little brandy for flavoring (optional).

Transfer into cups.

Mix some more sugar and water, stir till it gets a black syrup texture.
Pour half of the syrup on top, and refrigerate at least one hour.

The syrup went down around the cream, so pour the rest just before serving.

Carrot tofu pancakes and ‘caramel salé’ spread

Soft red pancakes, with a very creamy spread of caramel salé, caramel flavored with salty butter.

Tant pour tant, equal weight.
(1 : 1 : 1) sugar : cream : salted butter.
Melt the sugar into blond caramel, add in the warmed cream. Remove from stove, add butter.
See what you can do with it here, I mean besides eating it all with a spoon.
You can also continue :

To the hot tant pour tant caramel, I have mixed in 2 additional volumes of cream. It became very liquid, it has a cream textured when cooled. I have then added a few bits of rock salt.
It can be used like a jam or a spread.

The pancakes are also tant pour tant, 1:1:1. It’s flour (plus baking powder), tofu, carrot paste (grounds when I juiced kintoki carrots with mandarin oranges).

Nonnettes et flocons de neige, fluffy December sweets

Double dessert, but so light that they could fly…

Plain nonnettes, the soft ginger bread. (recipe here).
These are not filled, only glazed in a syrup of kurozato black sugar.

Mini Flockensahne tortes, topped with sesame seed streusel. It’s light low-fat plant based cream and vanilla for the whip.

Coucou Saint-Nicolas ! Nonnettes aux kakis

It’s Saint-Nicolas today, in the tradition of North Europe. So let’s make those nonnettes (ginger-bread small cakes).
For a quick nonnette recipe click here.
This year’s is made over 2 days, but it takes only 5-10 minutes of your time.

It’s my belated participation:

Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us.

The filling is made of kaki (persimmons).

Passed in the blender (after taking away seeds), they become that paste. I’ve added dry mikan orange peel too, but no sugar.

Sugar is added to the batter. It’s Okinawan black cane sugar. It already has a spicy taste.

Simple batter :
-kurozato black sugar, lukewarm water, yeast, let 10 minutes
-add bread flour, salt, more lukewarm water with diluted sugar to get a very soft dough, stir with chopstick.
-let raise 1 hour at 28 degrees (oven dough program), then overnight in the fridge (or the kitchen, it’s the same here)
-stir a little, flavor with cinnamon