Previously I introduced my Lacecap Hydrangea sweet and this one in another form of my Hydrangea sweet this year. It’s a rather traditional design for this flower as a Japanese sweet, however, I added something unconventional to it!
food photos
Elderflower Mochi
During the Elderflower season in May I made two things to preserve the loveliness of the flowers. One of them is the famous Elderflower Cordial and the other one is Elderflower Champagne. Both are made in a similar way by keeping fresh flowers in a sugary water with lemon and lime to extract the flavour and the scent of flowers into the liquid. You can make a refreshing summer drink by adding water to a little amount of the cordial.
However, I wanted to have it not just as a drink, I wanted to taste it as a Japanese sweet. I wonder what type of sweet is the most suitable for using Elderflower flavour and then thought it should be definitely soft Mochi.
Elderflower Mochi
As the Mochi sweet with Elderflower flavour, the look has to be very simple and the colour scheme has to be white.
Lacecap Hydrangea
Some parts of the UK and Europe have been hit by thunder storms over the weekend. Although London was not affected much, it rains on and off. I’ve been experiencing difficulty sleeping through several stuffy nights so I am very pleased its’ cooled off. The showers were also very welcome in my garden because the earth was very dry.
There is one plant that looks great in the rain. It’s Hydrangea. The flower is normally pink or blue and it’s said that the acidic soil makes the flower blue and the more alkaline soil makes it pink. It’s now in the flowering season of the water loving Hydrangea and the rain enhances its beauty. I think the pompom-like common Hydrangea looks pretty, however, the one I like is the Lacecap Hydrangea which has a little more delicate touch.
Lacecap Hydrangea
I have made several Hydrangea sweets before and this time I created the Lacecap Hydrangea.
Clematis in Lilac Colour
My parents once had a Clematis plant in their front garden. In springtime it opened hundreds of beautiful flowers in lilac colour. Although the plant has sadly disappeared since then, the sight of the beauty stays in my memory forever and I wanted to make it as Wagashi sweet. The Clematis sweet I made last year and two years ago also can be seen from the links.
Clematis
I made Clematis Japanese sweet ‘Wagashi’ by trying to reproduce the flower from my memory.
Floating Sakura Petals
Whilst we’ve been locked down, it’s already the middle of May and the Cherry blossom season has been long gone! Luckily I had a chance to see beautiful Sakura blossom in my area during my walking.
Floating Petals
Japanese people love Cherry blossom so much that we have lots of words which express scenes relating to Sakura blossom. Even when we see the blossom is ending and some petals are blown away, we find a beauty in the scene of sakura petals floating on water such as a pond or river. We call it ‘Hana Ikada’ which means a flower raft. I made my version of Hana Ikada, Floating Sakura Petals.
Matcha Mochi
It was ‘Midori no Hi’ the Greenery Day in Japan on the 4th of May. It’s a national holiday that people should get close to and appreciate nature. Of course we cannot go outside as much as we’d like in the current situation so I am posting a very green sweet as a reminder how wonderful nature is.
Matcha Mochi
This is a ‘Mochi’ sweet with ‘Matcha’ green tea flavoured filling inside and dusted with more Matcha powder.
White Daffodil
How is your lockdown life going? Whilst I have been staying at home, it’s so spring outside. Luckily we are allowed to go out for exercise once a day in the UK so I can find some spring even in this difficult time.
White DaffodilÂ
Daffodil is one on the early spring flowers. The colour of the flower is white to orangey yellow, but I love the white one the best. They look so clean and pure.
I made this sweet as one of the monthly Japanese sweets for the Havan Store (262 Kensington High Street, London) during March. I am pleased to hear that their customers liked it very much and it sold out quickly.
I thought something refreshing taste is suitable for this spring sweet and selected orange flavour for its centre filling.
This sweet is Vegan and Gluten free.
‘Stay Home’ everybody and take care of yourself!
Cross Manju on Good Friday, Easter
We’ve been having the perfect weather for the Bank Holiday. When Easter approaches I always want to make Hot Cross Buns and dream to have it with a huge dollop of clotted cream and raspberry jam. However, last year I wanted to make something similar but also quite different from the usual buns. As a Japanese sweet maker I thought I should try making something similar as a Japanese sweet so I made Hot Steamed Cross Manju. It was a steamed buns with Azuki bean paste filling inside.
Cross Manju
For this Easter I wanted to go for a more Japanese sweet and made this one. It still may look quite like a hot cross bun, however, it is a totally Japanese sweet this time. It might be difficult to see its scale but the size of each sweet is very small and it’s about 4cm diameter.
Weekend Photo – Tulip
I made Japanese sweet into a shape of one of the most string-like flowers ‘Tulip’.
How is your lockdown life going? The weather is so great in London this weekend.
Stay safe at home!💕
Weekend Photo – Plum Blossom Sweet
Have a wonderful weekend!😊
Sakura Junction 