Sakura-mochi (Cherry Blossom Mochi Cake)

On my last Japan trip, I went to Hanami, Japanese phrase for Sakura viewing. Wrapped in cherry leaf, Sakura-mochi is a typical spring wagashi that celebrates the season.

Ingredients (for 6 pieces)

Domyoji rice powder - 65 g
water A -100 g
Sugar - 30 g
Water B - 20 g
Red food coloring - some
Azuki beans paste 120 g
pickled cherry leaves 6 pieces
pickled cherry blossom 6 pieces

Sugar syrup for hands
sugar -10 g
hot water -10 g

Steps

1. Pour water A in a bowl, and sprinkle Domyoji rice powder in. Keep and soak about 30 min.

2. Put sugar and water B in a microwave-safe bowl, mix and heat in a microwave until sugar is fully dissolved.
3.Add food color to sugar water to make it pink.
4. Add soaked rice powder to sugar water bowl; mix until the whole mixture becomes evenly pink.

5. Heat the bowl in microwave on high heat for about 1.5 minute
6. Mix with spatula to turn upside down. Reheat 50 sec.
7. If mixture is not ready, mix and reheat 40 sec.
8. If mixture is not ready, mix and reheat 30 sec.
9. Mix and spread in the bowl. Cover with wrap film to fit the dough. Keep about 30 min.

10. Prepare the cherry leaves by washing them in water, and then wipe with paper towel. Remove the some stalk if needed.

11. Prepare the cherry blossom by socking them in water about 1-2 min, and then lay on paper towel to remove excessive water.

12. Take moisture off the bean paste if necessary using paper towel. Then divide and roll into 6 balls.

13. Making sugar syrup for hands by dissolving sugar in hot water.
14. When the dough is ready, divide it into 6 parts. Dip hands in syrup before handling the dough. Wrap each bean paste ball with mochi dough, then wrap with cherry leave, and finally decorate with cherry blossom on top.

The pastry is best consumes together, the salty taste from the cherry leaf and blossom blends perfect with the sweet bean paste. You can also wrap it like this.

If you make too many, which could never been the case in my house, you can put them in freezer. Take it out 3 hours before serving for the pastry to return to room temperature.

Cold Pea Jelly (豌豆凉粉)

Pea jelly is a delicious Chinese appetizer. The Jelly is best to be served cold. You can put on any sauce/topping you want, spicy or non-spicy, even condensed milk to make it into a desert.

I normally just pour on some vinegar and off the shelf hot sauce. Easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

- Pea starch(豌豆淀粉) 100g
- Water 1000g

Steps:

1. In a sauce pot, dissolve pea starch fully in cold water.

2. Cook with medium heat until the solution becomes half translucent; keep stirring to prevent clots.

3. Pour in a glass bowl, and wait for it to cool down. Then you can cut or shred it to serve with your favorite sauce/toppings.

It should be consumed within 24 hours.

Lemon Bliss Bundt Cake

This is the King Arthur Flour Recipe of the year for 2017. I used it to try out my new Bundt cake pan, with homegrown lemons.

Ingredients

CAKE
16 tablespoons (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk, whole milk preferred
finely grated rind of 2 medium lemons
GLAZE
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice; the juice of about 1 1/2 juicy lemons
3/4 cup granulated sugar
ICING 
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt, first until combined, then until fluffy and lightened in color. 

3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once all the eggs have been added, and beat briefly to re-combine any residue.
4. Measure the flour by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Whisk the baking powder into the flour. 

5. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three parts alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. The batter may look slightly curdled when you add the milk. That's OK; it'll smooth out as you add the flour. Mix until everything is well combined; the batter will look a bit rough, but shouldn't have any large lumps. Stir in the grated lemon rind.
6. Thoroughly grease a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, leveling it and smoothing the top with a spatula.

7. Bake the cake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. A pan with a dark interior will bake cake more quickly; start checking at 40 minutes.

8. While the cake is baking, make the glaze by stirring together the lemon juice and sugar. Microwave or heat over a burner briefly, stirring to dissolve the sugar. You don’t want to cook the lemon juice, so microwave just until very warm, but not uncomfortably hot — less than 1 minute should do it. Set the glaze aside.

9. Remove the cake from the oven, and carefully run a knife between cake and pan all around the edge. Place the pan upside down on a cooling rack. If the cake drops out of the pan onto the rack, remove the pan. If the cake doesn’t drop onto the rack, let it rest for 5 minutes, then carefully lift the pan off the cake. If the cake still feels like it's sticking, give it another 5 minutes upside down, then very gently shake the pan back and forth to loosen and remove it.

10. Brush the glaze all over the hot cake, both top and sides. Let it sink in, then brush on more glaze, continuing until all the glaze is used up.

11. Allow the cake to cool completely before icing and serving.
12. To ice the cake: Mix the sugar and salt, then mix in 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, adding just enough additional juice to create a thick glaze, one that's just barely pourable. Drizzle it artfully over the completely cool cake.

Store the cake, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.