For French pastry, it is difficult to do without eggs, butter or milk. But its distant Japanese cousin does it naturally. Those who have already tried mochi, daifuku or dango know that these sweets are no less delicious and tasty, and perhaps more delicate. “Japanese pastry is never imposingexplains the poet Ryoko Sekiguchi in the preface to the book Japanese sweets (Editions de La Martinière, 256 pages, 35 euros). These are miniature landscapes that each pastry chef paints and sculpts with their eyes. Their size never exceeds that of the hand, like an invitation to grab them. »
If there is one thing in common between the two pastries, Japanese and French, it is this way of celebrating the round of seasons. In this beautiful work, Mathilda Motte illustrates it perfectly by paying homage to the kyûreki, the traditional Japanese calendar with 72 seasons. More precisely, there are 72 microseasons, and as many nuances that we observe in the movements of nature. The author, who lived in Japan for two years and opened La Maison du Mochi in Paris, delivers her interpretation of this calendar through 72 pastry creations inspired by the two cultures.
Fig Yokan
Preparation time : fifteen minutes
Gelling time: two o’clock
Material :
- A saucepan
- A mixer
- A rectangular or square container with a flat bottom
Ingredients for around 6 people:
- 175 g anko (azuki sweet cream)
- 175 g peeled black figs (5-6 figs)
- 130 g of filtered water
- 12 g lemon juice (½ lemon)
- ¾ tsp. teaspoon of agar-agar (about 1.5 g)
The preparation :
Cut the flesh of the figs into small cubes, pour into a saucepan with the anko, water, lemon juice and agar-agar. Heat for a few minutes without boiling.
Blend the mixture, then pour back into the saucepan and bring to the boil.
Pour into a flat-bottomed container and leave to cool before refrigerating for at least two hours.
Vegetable marbled cake with black sesame
Preparation time : thirty minutes
Cooking time : Fourty-five minutes
Material :
- A rectangular cake mold approximately 24 × 10 cm
Ingredients for a cake:
- 360 g soy milk
- 140 g + 40 g wheat flour
- 120 g of sugar
- 100g glutinous rice flour
- 1 sachet of baking powder (10 g)
- 90 g deodorized coconut oil
- 70 g black sesame paste
- 1 tbsp. tablespoon of rice vinegar
For the decor:
- 120 g of dark pastry chocolate
- 1 tbsp. tablespoon of black sesame seeds
The preparation :
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