Must- Try Japanese Sweets That Are Delicious
Don't miss out on Japan's amazing variety of sweets, from matcha to mochi, you have to try some of the most popular Japanese dessert .
WHAT ARE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE SWEETS ?
Traditional Japanese sweets, or wagashi, include mochi, dorayaki, taiyaki, and yokan. These confections are often made from rice, sweet beans, and natural ingredients, celebrating Japan's seasonal ingredients and cultural heritage.
Mochi are small, sweet Japanese cakes made with glutinous rice flour (mochiko).
MOCHI - is fundamental in Japanese sweets. Mochi, the tiny cakes made out of glutinous rice, are an important part of Japanese cuisine and culture. The preparation of mochi starts with a time-consuming process of pounding boiled or steamed rice, usually the glutinous mochigome variety until it forms into a thick and homogenous paste.It can be colored to match the season or brushed with sugar and grilled. It is often filled with red bean paste, fresh strawberries, or ice cream (then it's called Daifuku). Notably, mochi has a taste reminiscent of rice, but it comes with a sticky, stretchy, soft, and chewy texture.
Street food in Japan is an affordable and there's something for every palate!
JAPANESE CHEESECAKE - The combination of creamy cheesecake and cotton-soft soufflé is what makes this cheesecake insanely good. The Japanese cheesecake is more fluffy and sponge-like than regular cheesecake, and it's sometimes eaten cold, but most people prefer to eat it straight out of the oven while it's still hot, so it almost melts in the mouth. It was created by a Japanese chef Tomotaro Kuzuno who went to Germany in the 1960s and found käsekuchen, a type of German cheesecake.
Imagawayaki - is a Japanese snack that is enjoyed throughout the country and is known under various names. The dish consists of a cake-like sponge that is filled with sweetened anko (red bean) mixture. The thick, egg-based batter is poured in special pans, allowing the cake to attain its traditional round form and a crispy shell.
Made with only 4 ingredients, this Japanese castella cake is a very popular confectionery in Japan. It’s super moist with a hint of sweetness from the honey. A perfect holiday or hostess gift for someone who has tried sponge cake in Japan.
Fluffy sponge cake rolled up with fresh matcha cream in the middle, this matcha swiss roll will be an instant favorite this holiday season! If your guests have a soft spot for anything matcha, I am pretty sure they are going to be as obsessed with this cake as I am.
DORAYAKI - A classic Japanese confection, these honey pancakes are filled with sweet red bean paste. They are really easy and let me show you how to make the best dorayaki at home!
TAIYAKI -is a Japanese fish-shaped cake that is often consumed as a snack, made from flour and filled with azuki sweet bean paste. It is usually served warm and is often found at most taiyaki stands at any winter festival in Japan. Most people believe that this sweet treat originated in Tokyo during the Meiji era, but taiyaki became extremely popular in 1976 with the emergence of a beloved children's song called Oyoge!
The crisp, golden exterior contrasts beautifully with the soft, moist interior and the gentle sweetness of the anko (sweet red bean paste) inside.
WARABI MOCHI - is a chilled, deliciously chewy, jelly-like mochi covered with sweet and nutty soybean powder and drizzled with kuromitsu syrup.
GOMA DANGO - Sesame seed balls or goma dango is a variety of Japanese sweet treats known as dango. These small rice flour balls are filled with sweet red beans (anko) on the inside, while their exterior is crispy due to the process of deep-frying – first at low temperatures, then at high temperatures near the end of frying.
Glutinous balls with sesame coating, usually filled with white lotus or red bean paste. It's yummy, you're supposed to eat it hot.
MITARASHI DANGO -These sweet rice dumplings on a skewer can be found at street stalls, local sweet shops, or festivals all over Japan. Similar to the well-known mochi, dango are sticky rice balls that are chewy and sweet. They come in many flavors like sweet soy sauce glaze and red bean paste.
Mitarashi dango is a popular Japanese treat which consists of skewered rice cakes covered in a sweet, sticky soy sauce glaze. They are traditionally made with five round cakes, just like they were initially prepared at the Kamo Mitarashi Tea House in Kyoto.
Mitarashi Dango, a fun and delicious Japanese dessert are chewy rice balls with a very subtle sweet taste skewered on a stick.
DAIFUKU - often referred to as daifukumochi, is a popular Japanese confectionery. It is usually shaped into small round balls, which consist of a chewy outer layer and a creamy, sweet filling. The daifuku shell is made with mochi, a glutinous ingredient created through the time-consuming process of crushing boiled or steamed rice.
HANAMAI DANGO - Hanami dango are sweet mochi rice dumplings on a skewer, and each of them has a different color – pink is used to symbolize cherry blossoms, white represents the remaining snow of the past winter, and green is used as a herald of spring, representing the color of young grass.
Flower-themed desserts can be enjoyed at patisseries and cafes across Japan and a treat for the eye and the palate.
The dessert is named after a popular Japanese tradition of hanami, meaning flower viewing. It is believed that the practice dates back to the Nara Period (710-794) or Heian Period (794-1185), and nowadays it typically takes place in late March in Kyushu or mid-May in Hokkaido.
It is often tinted with different colors, most commonly pale pink and light green, creating a decorative and appealing treat. Each daifuku cake is filled with the luscious creamy and sweet content, and the most common is the traditional semi-sweet red bean paste, popularly calledankoortsubuan.
MATCHA GREEN TEA ICE CREAM - If you've ever wound up at a Japanese restaurant with a bowl of green tea ice cream, you may have wondered how you could enjoy the sweet and refreshing treat at home. We've got you covered with our essential ice cream maker recipe that uses matcha powder (available online and at Asian grocery shops), and a handful of pantry staples to churn up a delightful frozen dessert.
Ice cream flavored with matcha, or green tea. It is popular in Japan and other parts of East Asia.
PURIN - Also known as creme caramel or custard pudding, purin (as in, “pudding”) is the Japanese solution to the classic gelatin, caramel-flavored dessert snack.
MATCHA GREEN TEA COOKIES -Nothing is more festive than these matcha green tea cookies. The unique, earthy flavor of matcha matches the rich, buttery taste. Make a big batch for your cookie exchange and save some for afternoon tea.
WAGASHI - traditional Japanese sweets that are usually made from natural, plant-based ingredients such as grains and azuki beans. The sweet treats are typically served with tea and are classified into three categories: namagashi (fresh confectionery), han namagashi (half-dry confectionery), and higashi (dry confectionery).
Wagashi is characterized by its design, so in spring, when cherry blossom is in full bloom, the producers make wagashi in cherry blossom shapes, using cherry petals or leaves. The origins of these sweets date back to the Yayoi Era when there was nothing more than natural nuts, fruits, and berries, so wagashi was influenced by the grain processing skills introduced from China.