Reviewing Japanese desserts

It has been a long while since I’ve attempted a book review of any type. Usually, if I’m interested in a book of any genre I will read the reviews already written.
Depending on the amount, most either regurgitate reviews from the back of the book or simply say, “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it or even finish it.”
Typically, depending on my own personal conclusion, it will get one to five stars on Goodreads or Amazon as I have nothing new to add to the many reviews already written.
So bear with me as I review Sweet and Easy Japanese Desserts by Laure Kie. In past articles I have written often of Japanese foods and a sweet treat named mochi. This baking book gives step-by-step instructions to create not only mochi, but matcha, sweet buns, the doughs to create these, and delicate cakes that melt in the mouth.
The photography is clear and detailed, with many recipes depicted in step-by-step photos.
When looking for a baking book related to Japan I found that many used measurements in the metric system only. In this book both metric and imperial measurements are given in each recipe, and there are conversion charts in the back pages.
For those of us who know the term “metric” but not “imperial” the International System of Units or SI (the modern form of the metric system), the British imperial system, and a third time popped up in my research, American “customary”, but it looks the same as “imperial”.
In the beginning there are sections on fillings, flours, and utensils and even instructions on how to wrap the desserts for gifting.
When it comes to fillings, red bean paste and green tea matcha are popular names you might have heard. When those of us who live here in the southwest read “red bean” we might automatically presume it’s the same type of beans we have in this area, namely kidney or pinto.
The Japanese use a red bean named adzuki, aka red mung bean, which primarily grows in Asian countries.
The dried beans are soaked in water for twelve hours, drained, and covered in fresh cold water, then boiled for two hours until very soft.
The beans are cooled and crushed into a paste – smooth or chunky depending on the dessert that is being created.
Now, many of us have used dried beans to create soups, stews, or side dishes using the soak, drain, and cook method, but on desserts?
The bean paste is combined with sugar. Oh, yellow mung beans and white beans, called shirohana, can be used for paste making also. Don’t fret; if you can’t find the authentic Asian varieties, local varieties from your area work just as well.
But how does sweetened bean paste taste? Personally speaking, it was unusual at first. It’s a unique flavor that kept getting better, especially when combined with whatever outer layer contained it. That’s where the different flours come in, and whether a cookie, cake, or bun has been created.
Now, this is supposed to be a book review, but here I am going on about making bean paste. Guess what? I believe the review is working out well as I’m showing you how excited the descriptions and photos can make the reader.
Basically, if I was showing you the book in person it would be, “Look! Look at this photo! I wanna eat some of that right now! Oh, and look at the recipe. That’s so easy!” In essence, whether it’s a novel or cookbook, if it gets the reader excited it must be doing something right.
And here I go again with some excitement. I just found the recipe on page 84 for Japanese Cheesecake. This cheesecake isn’t the typical dense variety that has to cool overnight while you hope the top doesn’t crack.
It’s a light, airy, sponge-like variety obtained by mixing in whipped egg whites. It’s also called “jiggly cake” due to its tendency to wobble or jiggle when touched.
This cake isn’t super sweet and simply melts in the mouth. Great accompaniments are whipped cream and fresh fruit on the side.
For those of you who might be Pokémon fans, the character Jigglypuff is not named after this cheesecake. His name in Japanese is actually Purin, which translates to custard pudding. That’s still a dessert, but not cheesecake.
Recipe sharing in this article? Oh no. Instead, if you’re truly curious and want to delve into the realm of Japanese baking, buy this book.
Careful though. You may become so addicted to all the new sweets and treats that your usual snickerdoodles won’t taste as good any longer.