Sw’hits 2013

Favorite desserts and sweet treats of the passed year.

桜餡sakura an is the girlie version of anko, the classic sweet bean paste used to make Japanese sweets.

It is traditionally flavored with pickled sakura.

Dried daifuku mame. They are big white beans, very convenient to make Japanese sweets.

After soaking and cooking.

1. Paste the beans.
2. Add color (beni koji for red) and syrup or sugar. I also add a little brandy.
3. Pass the paste through a sieve.
4. Add pickled minced sakura leaves (for strong taste) and/or flowers (for lighter taste and pink bits in the mass).
5. Let a few hours, so the paste takes the full flavor.

The pickled sakura must be rinsed and soaked, otherwise they are really too salty.

That’s the finished paste. It can be used in sweets and breads.

With the rest of paste that didn’t pass the filtering, and some leftover of anko bean paste, I made a toast.

Wagashi Saga : Japanese sweet posts and tutorials.

Recipes using sakura-an :
sakura mochi
double sakura waffles
sakura anpan

Two tones of sakura mochi

A classic wagashi (tea sweet) for the season, the sakura mochi. Actually, there exist several sweets under the same name. This one is the Kansai style version.

They are simply ohagi, like those in this tutorial post. I colored some in pink. Then I placed them on pickled sakura leaves.

The leaves need to be rinsed and soaked 15 minutes.

I filled the white ones with sakura an bean paste (recipe here).

The pink ones are filled with classic anko bean paste (recipe here).

Wagashi Saga : Japanese sweet posts and tutorials.

Kurogoma purin. Silver flan. (made from seeds)

Don’t let the metallic aspect deter you, it’s very cream, sweet and the taste is naturally nutty.
黒ゴマプリン, kurogoma purin, literally “black sesame pudding” is now a classic Japanese sweet with countless version.Here is mine.

That’s the occasion to talk about “goma cream“. This kind of spread is so addictive that I avoid buying it.

The basic ingredient is black sesame, kuro goma. They usually sell it roasted.

This my quick home-made neri goma (paste).I put some in my electric mill, and paste it. The mill heats a lot, so I do it in 5 or 6 time, letting it cool in between, while I do something else.
It is not as smooth as the “pro version”. I can tell you how theirs is done : just after the sesame is toasted, it is pounded in a mortar, then passed through a thieve. You can do that. Just not every morning in 5 minutes…

Making goma cream :
Then with the neri goma the paste, I make the silky spread. I add 1/2 ts of neutral oil and 1 ts of syrup or honey, and I mill a little more.

Both the paste and the cream can be stored a while in a jar, pour a small layer of oil on top, keep at room temperature.

Recipe for 2 servings :

A.Take 1/2 cup of sesame seeds. Paste them. With half of the paste, make goma cream.
B.In a bowl, whisk the rest of paste, with 1/2 cup of water, 1 ts of potato starch, 1 ts of sugar.
C.In a pan, mix 1/2 cup of water and 1/3 ts of agar, bring to a boil. Add the B mixture while whisking, and 2 tbs of coconut cream (from a can), reheat on low heat, stir till it starts taking texture.
D. Pour in molds. Let cool at least 1 hour.