Japanese Sweets

Japanese Sweet Making Workshop in London in December

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How time flies! Right after posting the report of the Halloween themed Workshop it is already time to announce the workshop for December. Since it will be in December the theme of the workshop is Christmas, I’ve been considering what kind of Japanese sweets I should make with the participants?

I always take a lot of time to decide the sweet designs to make with workshop attendees. I consider many elements such as if the design is seasonal, and if is too simple or too difficult for first time attendees.

Wagashi Making Workshop in December

Before finalising the three sweets, I tried several designs. I wanted to make a Christmas Tree. I have made several types of Tree in the past but never made one in the workshop yet. When I was thinking about the possibilities, I suddenly got a brilliant idea. I was very excited and was confident that it would go well, but when I tried making it, it was far too difficult to create the shape.

Chris ad

on: the 1st / December (Sunday), 13:00 – 15:00 
at: The Havan (262 Kensington High Street, London W8 6ND)

So we will make these three sweets. If the attendees would want to go more creative they can decorate the tree with any shapes such as an angel, Christmas sock, candle or present boxes.

The sweets we will make are all Vegan and Gluten free.

We continue having the Havan Store as the venue since it is a very beautiful and comfortable space with very hospitable owners who are interested in Japanese culture. I was pleased to see that all the participants in the previous workshop loved the shop and their thick and creamy special Matcha green tea.

[The tickets] for this workshop are available now from here (←click here to the Link). The class is limited to 10 people only so don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

I have mentioned about the 13 years old girl who wanted to join us for the Halloween workshop. I am very happy to tell you that she is joining us with her mother for this Christmas one. It is going to be another great one! If you would like to join us, small number of seats still available.

‘MOMIJI’ Japanese Maple

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What I like about Japanese sweets is that they are so seasonal. The colour, design and ingredients are all reflecting the season. For instance in spring we create lots of Sakura Cherry blossom sweet and in November it is officially Autumn so we make sweets of Autumn colour.

‘Momiji’ Japanese Maple

One of the most famous plant leaves in Autumn colour is the Japanese Maple. It is called ‘Momiji’ in Japanese and is famous for its leaves having the beautiful shape with the most delicate cut and it changes the colour into a very vivid red colour amongst all Acer family.

Momiji 3

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Wagashi Workshop in London for Halloween

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October poster2It was already two weeks ago. Just before the Halloween night came I had hosted my Japanese Sweet Making Workshop in the Halloween theme. As you can probably imagine it was such a fun class with all the fun loving participants. We gathered in a newly open shop in Kensington High Street on Saturday morning. I planned to make three sweets for this day. Although one of them was originally the purple flower in the photo on the right side, I got the better idea in the last minute and three designs we created were Jack-O’-Lantern, Ghost and Frankenstein’s Monster.

 

Wagashi Making Workshop in the Halloween Theme

So all of us sat comfortably at the table at my new workshop venue that is a lovely shop with lots of Halloween related decoration. The owners of the shop love Halloween and also Japanese culture so it was the perfect venue and they were very enthusiastic about this event.

Hallo 12

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Monsterrrr!

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Yaaay! I have finished the Halloween themed Wagashi Making Workshop in London. I always prepare enough material for going to any events just in case for any situation and some sweet bean paste left with me after the class. I wanted to use it creating something interesting. I was in the Halloween mode and wanted to make a playful design.

Monster

So, this is what I created with the green paste (for Frankenstein’s Monster) and the orange one (for Jack-O’-Lantern). It’s a Monsterrrrr! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

MONSTER2

You might not be able to see well but the Monster is opening its mouth and the inside its mouth beyond its sharp fangs is orange.

I wanted to play with it more and made the mouth bloody too.

MONSTER1

It is Vegan and Gluten free.

Have the enjoyable Halloween🎃, everyone!

Incy Wincy Spider II

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My sweet for this year’s Halloween is Spider! I made another one and posted it a little earlier. I am not a great fan of spiders. They are spooky but I don’t like killing them. Whenever I find them in my flat, no matter how big or small, I look for a container and place them in it and release them outside. They are good guys and not our enemies.

Spider

When it comes to the Halloween theme the colour scheme is orange, purple, black and white? I covered all of them in this sweet. The parts that the spider’s legs are touching have got a small dent on the purple surface. These marks are making the impression that the spider is walking on a slightly wet surface and creating tiny ripples.

Spider2

This sweet is Vegan and Gluten free.

Have a wonderfully spooookitacular weekend, everybody!

Frankenstein’s Monster Appears in the Workshop!

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NNNGWAAAAAASHI!

I am the Frankenstein’s Monster. Please come to Make and Eeeet Meeee!

oct Poster5

I am going to have WAGASHI Japanese Sweet Making Workshop this Saturday. The original sweet selection I was planning to make at the workshop is these three in the following photo. I chose the purple flower because it is a traditional Japanese sweet shape and you can learn how to use the Wagashi tool and your fingers well. However, the theme of this event is Halloween. It’s the only occasion that you can make anything crazy. So I was searching for some design which is easy to make and attractive, as well as looks very Halloween!

October poster2

on: the 19th / October (Saturday), 11:30 – 13:30 
at: The Havan (262 Kensington High Street, London W8 6ND)

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Incy Wincy Spider …

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🎶♬ Incy Wincy Spider went up the water spout … 🎶

It’s nearly Holloween time! Great thing about this season for sweet makers is that we are allowed to create any spooky wooky designs.

🕸️Incy Wincy Spider🕷️

I have never tried making a spider sweet before and this is my first attempt. Its thin long legs were quite tricky to make but it turned out to be so realistic.😅 I just hope you don’t have arachnophobia.

Spider1

Although there is a spider on this sweet, “No Animals were harmed in the making of this sweet” so that this sweet is totally Vegan!🤣

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Grape Mochi

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This is one of the Mochi sweets I recently made. I used fresh red grapes as well as some sweet white bean paste as the centre filling. The size of the grapes was a little smaller side for using for this type of sweet but it was very juicy and tasty. In order to make biting easier the skin of the grape was removed before wrapped up in the Mochi layer.  So it got three thing – looks pretty, tasty and easy to eat.

Grape Mochi

This sweet is Vegan and Gluten free.

I would also like to announce to all Wagashi lovers in London. I am going to have a WAGASHI Making Workshop in the Halloween Theme soon.

October poster2

on: the 19th / October (Saturday), 11:30 – 13:30
at: The Havan (262 Kensington High Street, London W8 6ND)

This time the venue is in a wonderful shop in High Street Kensington which serves a bowl of beautifully thick and creamy Matcha tea and lovely vegan sweets.  They are also a kind of concept shop and have a lot of lovely things. They are offering 10% discount of any purchase on the day for all the participants. Isn’t that Great?

[The tickets] If you are interested in participation, please visit the detail page (←click here to the Link). The class is limited to a small group of people so book now not to be disappointed! Cheers!

Wagashi Making Workshop in October

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Oh, Nooooo, we are in October! It’s been raining every day and cold winter is coming soon! The sky is dark and miserable. I already miss summer. However, for the Japanese sweet lover who lives in or near London there is a great experience coming to you. I am going to have a ‘Wagashi’ Japanese sweet Making Experience Workshop this month. Because it will be held in October, the theme of the sweet we are going to make is Halloween. I love making Jack-O’-Lanterns and Ghosts but haven’t made them in a workshop yet. It will be a great fun making these cute & spooky sweets together.

 

Wagashi Making Workshop in London (19th/Oct)

I have been using different venues for the last few workshops and this coming workshop will be also in a new place. However, it is going back to a little closer to central London this time and also it will be held daytime on Saturday, so this will be much easier for some people who really wanted to participate but couldn’t before.

October poster2

on: the 19th / October (Saturday), 11:30 – 13:30
at: The Havan (262 Kensington High Street, London W8 6ND)

The venue Havan is a new type of café which is located in the High Street Kensington area. It is an Ethical Lifestyle Boutique and Matcha Tea Bar. The shop owners are great Halloween lovers and I am very excited to have a Wagashi Workshop in the Halloween theme at their shop. As well as great thick and creamy Matcha tea and lovely Vegan food they have many interesting products. Come and join me in the workshop and you will probably find something interesting to take home with you from the shop.

[The tickets] for this workshop are available now from here (←click here to the Link). The class is limited to a small group of people so don’t miss out on this great opportunity! See you there then!

Strawberry Mochi

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My ‘Mochi’ making report continues. Recently I made Strawberry Mochi. It is one of my favourite Japanese sweet. Soft Mochi wrapped up the filling of sweet Adzuki (Red) bean paste with a fresh juicy strawberry. At the beginning of summer I made very similar sweet, actually almost identical, which I named Strawberry Daifuku. It was also a Mochi sweet with a fresh strawberry but filled with sweet white bean paste. The contrast of white paste and the strawberry’s red in colour was great. Both Adzuki bean paste and white bean paste goes very well with a strawberry and Mochi so when I make a strawberry Mochi I always have to think a little to decide which bean paste I should use.

Strawberry (Daifuku) Mochi

So this is the latest Strawberry Mochi with sweet Adzuki (Red) bean paste.

Strawberry mochi

Whichever the sweet bean paste is, Strawberry Mochi tastes always heavenly great with a cup of tea!