Sakura Mochi Chocolate
- 3 to 5 Salt-preserved sakura buds (for chocolate)
- 1 Salt-preserved sakura leaf (for gyuuhi)
- 25 grams Shiratamako
- 15 grams White sugar
- 5 grams Trehalose
- 45 ml Water
- 1 for dusting Katakuriko
- 60 grams White Chocolate
- Soak the sakura buds and leaf in water for a while to remove some of the salt.
- Dry the sakura buds out in a microwave and rub them with your finger tips until they become powdery.
- Drain the leaf and chop finely after removing the stem.
- Place the shiratamako, white sugar, and trehalose in a heatproof bowl, and mix well with a whisk.
- Add the chopped sakura leaf and water, and combine.
- Loosely cover the heatproof bowl from Step 2 with plastic wrap, and microwave for a minute (at 700 W).
- Remove from the microwave, and mix with a spatula.
- Microwave for another 30 seconds, then mix again.
- Spread out the katakuriko in a tray and set the dough on top.
- Make the dough into a stick shape smaller than the mold diameter, and loosely cover the tray with plastic wrap.
- Place the finely chopped chocolate in a bowl, and warm up using a double boiler (a little under 60C).
- Remove the melted chocolate from the double boiler.
- (The chocolate temperature should be about 45C.)
- Place the sakura buds in the bowl from Step 5, and mix with a spatula.
- Let cool while stirring constantly, with the bottom of the bowl exposed to cold water (about 15C).
- (The chocolate temperature should be about 25C.)
- Warm up the chocolate again in a double boiler (about 35C).
- (The chocolate temperature should be about 28 to 30C.)
- Pour the chocolate into the molds about halfway up, and gently tap the molds a few times.
- *Store the remaining chocolate in a warm place and set aside.
- The bottom of the bowl should be barely touching the hot water underneath.
- Cut the stick from Step 4 with a pair of kitchen scissors (into appropriate thickness).
- Place the slices one by one into each mold from Step 7, and gently tap the molds again...
- Fill the molds with the remaining chocolate, covering the gyuuhi.
- Gently tap again... Store in a cold place to harden the chocolate.
- Chocolate shrinks slightly when hardened.
- Add more chocolate and let cool again if necessary.
- Scrape off excess chocolate from the molds with a spatula, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
- Take the chocolate out of the molds, and it's done.
- Place the chocolate on top of the sakura leaf, de-salted and dried.
- The aroma of the leaf should transfer a bit to the chocolates.
- "Kinako Mochi Chocolate"
- "Matcha Chocolate"
salt, salt, shiratamako, white sugar, trehalose, water, white chocolate
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/170695-sakura-mochi-chocolate (may not work)