Servings: 6 mochi
Cherry Blossom Rice Cake 桜餅
Sakura mochi is a traditional Japanese confection made with sweet glutinous rice and cherry blossom leaves. It's the perfect springtime treat!
Ingredients
Sakura Mochi
- 150 g sweet azuki bean paste *1
- 100 g Domyojiko *2
- 160 ml water
- 20 g sugar
- tiny amount red food colouring
- 6 pickled cherry blossom leaf
- 6 salted sakura flower buds
Sugar syrup for shaping mochi
- ½ tsp gelatine leaf Or 1/2 gelatine leaf 1.2 x 1.2 inch (3cm x 3cm)
- ¼ cup water
- ⅛ cup sugar
Domyojiko Substituion *3
- 1 cup glutinous rice *4
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak the cherry leaves and cherry blossoms in water for about 20 minutes to remove the salt. Cut off the stems, spread them out on a paper towel, and cover with paper to keep them from drying out.
- Make the sugar syrup for shaping by putting all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to simmer. When the gelatine has dissolved, turn the heat off.
Making Sakura Mochi
- Place 1 tablespoon of water from the water listed in the ingredients in a small bowl and dissolve a tiny amount of red food colouring. You only need a tiny amount as when it is cooked, the colour intensifies, and we want a subtle pink like the colour of cherry blossom flowers.
- Pour the rest of the water and the dissolved coloured water into a pot and add sugar into the pot. Dissolve the sugar and then add the domyojiko into the pot.
- Cook the domyojiko and the water over low-medium heat for about 7-8 minutes by constantly stirring with a wooden spatula to prevent it from burning.
- Turn the heat off and put a lid on to steam.
- Divide the cooked domyojiko into 6 equal portions.
- Brush some plastic wrap sheet with the sugar syrup and place 1/6 of the cooked domyojiko over it.
- Fold the plastic wrap over the domyojiko and flatten the rice into a round shape with your finger tips.
- Place one of the prepared anko balls and wrap the anko ball with the cooked pink domyojiko.
- Remove the plastic wrap and wrap it with a sakura leaf (wrap so that the leaf vein is on the outside, which is prettier) and top with a cherry blossom flower bud.
- Repeat 6-9 steps for the rest of the ingredients.
Domyojiko Substitution with Glutinous Rice *3
- Wash and soak the rice in 2 cups of water (not listed in the ingredients list) overnight. *5
- After the rice is soaked overnight, drain the rice and pulse the rice a few times in a food processor.
- Steam the rice for 30 minutes over medium heat. *6
- Place the water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to boil to dissolve the sugar. Add a tiny amount of red food colouring. Transfer the sugar water to a large bowl and set aside.
- Add the steamed rice to the large bowl with pink colored sugary water. Stir the rice with a wooden spatula to let the rice absorb the pink coloured sugar water.
- Divide the rice into six equal portions.
Notes
*1 See the above post, if you are making from scratch, you need to do this the night before. Homemade Anko recipe here
*2 If you can't get Domyojiko. and you are substituting Domyojiko with mochi rice follow this step. *3 Domyojiko Substitution with Glutinous Rice instruction.
*4 US cups (240ml) or you can weigh 200g.
*5 You need to soak for a minimum of 2 hours. You can see the rice become a solid white colour.
*6 Or you can cook rice as you usually cook rice with your rice cooker. You need the same amount of water as the amount of rice that you use.
*Salted sakura flower and leaves are not calculated into the nutrition value.
Nutrition
Calories: 173kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 5mg, Potassium: 26mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 1mg