Mesmerizing Japanese Desserts

Cherry Blossom Raindrop Cake

Ingredients
for 2 servings

CHERRY BLOSSOM JELLY

2 tablespoons (8 g) agar powder
2 teaspoons (10 g) sugar
1 cup (250 mL) water
½ oz (20 g) salted cherry blossom
MILK JELLY

1 tablespoon (4 g) agar powder
2 teaspoons (10 g) sugar
1 cup (250 mL) fat free milk
FOR SERVING

brown sugar syrup, for serving
matcha, for garnish
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

ice ball tray

Preparation

1. Make the cherry blossom jelly: In a small bowl, combine the agar and sugar.
2. Pour the water into a small pan, then add the agar mixture and stir.
3. Cook over high heat until the water is boiling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
4. Move the pan to the ice bath, and chill for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Rinse the salted cherry blossoms and soak in water for 10 minutes. Gently squeeze the flowers to remove the calyxIn.
6. In an ice ball tray, place the cherry blossoms in the bottom and pour the agar-sugar mixture over them. Chill for 15 minutes.
7. Make the milk jelly: In a small bowl, combine the agar and sugar. Pour the milk into a small pan, then add agar mixture and stir.
8. Cook over high heat until the milk is simmering. Reduce to the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Move the pan to the ice bath and chill for 2 minutes.
10. Pour the milk mixture over the chilled cherry blossom layer in the ice ball tray. Cover with the lid and chill for 1 hour.
11. Remove the raindrop cake from the tray, and pour the brown sugar syrup over it. Garnish with matcha powder, if desired.
12. Enjoy!

Giant Mochi Ice Cream

Ingredients
for 8 servings

MOCHI

7 oz (200 g) glutinous rice flour, shiratamako
4 oz (100 g) sugar
1 teaspoon matcha, fine green tea powder
1 cup (200 mL) water
potato starch, or cornstarch as needed
MATCHA ICE CREAM

14 oz (400 g) condensed milk
2 ½ cups (500 mL) heavy cream
1 tablespoon matcha, fine green tea powder

Preparation

1. Make mochi. Combine glutinous rice flour, sugar, matcha, and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk until smooth. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Mix well with using a wooden spatula.
3. Line a 10-inch (25 cm) bowl with plastic, set it aside, and sprinkle your tabletop with enough potato starch to avoid sticking.
4. Mix the mochi mixture and place on top of the starch.
5. Roll out the mochi larger than the bowl, about 15 inches (38 cm) across.
6. Lay mochi over the plastic-lined bowl.
7. Make the matcha ice cream. In a large bowl, add heavy cream, condensed milk, and matcha. Using a hand mixer, whip until thickened to soft peaks.
8. Add the ice cream mixture into the mochi-lined bowl. Take the excess mochi and lay it over the middle, encasing the ice cream. Cover with plastic.
9. Freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.
10. Bring the mochi ice cream to room temperature for 15-30 minutes before serving so mochi has time to soften.
11. Garnish with extra matcha on top, if you please.
12. Enjoy!

Giant Pumpkin Fondue Pudding

Ingredients
for 4 servings

PUMPKIN PUDDING

400 g pumpkin, peeled and chopped
5 teaspoons (15 g) gelatin
3 tablespoons water
1 ⅔ cups (400 mL) milk
¾ cup (200 mL) heavy cream
½ cup (100 g) maple syrup
CHOCOLATE GANACHE

200 g milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup (200 mL) heavy cream

FOR SERVING

cocoa powder, for serving

Preparation

1. Make the pumpkin pudding: Place the pumpkin in a medium bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and microwave for 5 minutes, until the pumpkin starts to soften. Let cool.
2. In a microwave-proof ramekin, combine the water and gelatin and mix well. Set aside. Microwave the gelatin mixture for 10 seconds, then mix well.
3. Combine the pumpkin, milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, and gelatin mixture in a blender. Blend until smooth.
4. Place a medium bowl into a large bowl filled with ice. Strain the pumpkin mixture through a sieve into the medium bowl. Whisk until the mixture begins to thicken.
5. Transfer the mixture to bundt pan and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
6. Make the chocolate ganache: Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until just boiling.
7. Transfer to a medium bowl with the chocolate and mix until well combined and smooth.
8. Invert the pudding onto a serving dish.
9. Pour the chocolate ganache in the center hole until it overflows over the pudding cake and dust the cake with cocoa powder.
10. Enjoy!

Fluffy Jiggly Japanese Cheesecake

Ingredients
for 6 servings

⅔ cup (130 mL) milk
4 oz (100 g) cream cheese
7 tablespoons butter
8 eggs, yolk
¼ cup (60 g) flour
¼ cup (60 g) cornstarch
13 large egg whites
⅔ cup (130 g) granulated sugar
parchment paper
strawberry, to serve
powdered sugar, to serve

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 320°F (160°C).
2. In a small pot over medium heat, whisk the milk, cream cheese, and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the cream mixture, stirring until evenly combined.
4. Sift in the flour and the cornstarch, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.
5. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until you see soft peaks when lifting the mixer up from the egg whites. Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat until you see hard peaks when lifting the mixer up.
6. Take about ¼ of the egg whites and fold them into the egg yolk mixture, then repeat with the remaining egg whites until the batter is evenly combined.
7. Place a 4-inch (10-cm) parchment paper strip around the edge of a 9x3-inch (23 cm) cake pan that is already lined with parchment at the bottom. If you are using a springform pan, make sure to wrap the bottom and sides completely in foil, twice, to prevent any leakage.
8. Pour the batter into the parchment-lined pan and shake to release any large air bubbles.
9. Place the filled pan into a larger baking pan or dish lined with 2 paper towels at the bottom. The paper towels ensure that the heat is distributed evenly along the bottom of the pan. Fill the larger pan about 1-inch (2-cm) with hot water.
10. Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 280°F (135°C), and bake for another 55 minutes, until the cake has risen to almost double its height.
11. Remove from oven, and carefully, invert the cake onto your dominant hand and peel off the paper. Be extremely careful, the cake will be hot. You can also invert the cake onto a plate, but this will cause the cake to deflate more.
12. Sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar, slice, and serve with strawberries while still warm!
13. Enjoy!