Tag: sweet

Daifuku (Red Bean Mochi) Recipe

written 12/8/24, updated 12/8/24

What

Japanese dessert. It’s mochi (sweet glutinous rice flour), a chewy rice cake, wrapped around a filling, usually anko (sweet red bean paste). Can be filled with other ingredients like mung bean, fresh cut fruit, ice cream, or custard, and colored with powders (such as matcha powder), fresh fruit puree, or food coloring.

This recipe is made in the microwave for ease, but can also be steamed

*See Notes for more details

Ingredients

1 Cup Shiratamako or Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour (*See Notes)

¼ – ½ Cup Sugar (more or less as desired)

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Anko (sweet red bean paste, bought or made)

Katakuriko (potato starch or cornstarch as needed for dusting)

Supplies

Heat-proof bowl

Silicone Spatula

Silicone Whisk

Plastic Wrap/Microwave Cover

Parchment Paper

Baking Sheet/Tray

Time and Serving

Time: 5 minutes combine + 2 minutes microwave + 20 minutes shaping = 30 minutes

Serving: 8 pieces

Directions

  • Prepare your Anko filling
  • On a tray or baking sheet, do the same thing and set aside (this is where you’ll put the formed daifuku)
  • Whisk together Flour (1 Cup) and Sugar (¼ – ½ Cup, to your desire)
  • Add the Water (1 Cup) and combine with the silicone spatula until it forms a smooth batter
  • Cover with either plastic wrap or microwave lid
  • Microwave for about 1.5 minutes
  • Remove and stir well
  • Return to microwave for another 1.5 minutes
  • It should have formed a shiny, smooth dough, a somewhat hard lump, different from the batter from before
  • If not, then return for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between
  • Dust your parchment paper workspace with either potato starch or cornstarch
  • Scrape the dough out onto your workspace (Be careful, it’s going to be HOT)
  • Sprinkle starch as needed to make it less sticky
  • Divide the hot dough into equal portions
  • Roll them into flat disks
  • Put your Anko filling into the middle and pinch the ends to close them
  • Place it seam side down on your pre-dusted tray
  • Continue to make the rest
  • This is best enjoyed right away, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days

Notes

Clean-Up Tips

  • Soak your bowls and implements in water to help loosen it up
  • Try not to dump the wet flour down the drain if you don’t want to deal with a clog
  • If it’s being stubborn even after soaking, use the silicone spatula to scrape the wet dough into the trashcan

Katakuriko = potato starch

Mochi vs Dango

  • Dango: term for ball-shaped foods
  • While these days the lines have blurred between the two desserts’ ingredients, traditionally, the difference is that Mochi was made from steamed glutinous RICE (grain) and pounded in a pestle, while Dango was made from non-glutinous rice FLOUR, mixed with water, kneaded, then steamed or boiled.
  • Dango is made like boba, where the little balls are boiled

When made the same way (Flour, sugar, and boil little balls) tapioca starch (cassava) will make boba, while rice flour will make dango.

Mochiko vs Shiratamako

  • Both flours are similar to each other but differ in processing
  • Both can be used in other dishes like bakery goods and as thickening agents in savory dishes
Mochiko
  • Ground when rice is dry
  • Less working time until hardening
  • Sticky, chewy texture
  • Stronger flavor
  • Finely ground flour
Shiratamako
  • Ground when rice is wet, then dried
  • Stretchier, even when cool
  • Smoother texture, more delicate
  • Good for refined desserts
  • Coarse, granular textured flour

Vegan Dried Fruit Milk Sweet Bread

written 2/18/2024, updated 9/25/2024

What

Sweet bread with dried fruit and nuts, made vegan, without eggs or cow’s milk

Ingredients

Main (amounts also in instructions)

½ Cup + ~4 Cups All-Purpose or Bread Flour

1½ Cup Plant-based Milk (e.g. Oat milk)

1Tbsp Cornstarch

~½ Cup Water (boiled)

2¼ tsp or 1 envelope Active Dry Yeast

2 tsp + ~½ Cup Sugar (Depends on how sweet you want it)

1Tbsp Salt

¼ Cup Vegan Butter

Supplies: Electric Stand Mixture, Measuring Cups, Spatula, Plastic Wrap, Non-Stick Spray, Loaf Pan/Baking Sheet/other Bread Pans, Cooling Rack, Bread Bags

Optional: Honey, Nuts, Seeds, Cinnamon, Red Bean Paste, Fruit, Corn Syrup

Time

Prep (1.5 hours total) + Resting (2 hours total) + Baking (40 minutes) = ~4.1 hours Total

Serving Size

2 bread loaves

Making

  • Remove vegan butter from refrigerator to warm to room temperature

Yeast (~15 minutes)

  • Heat Milk (1½ Cup) to about 105-115F
  • Pour into stand mixer bowl
  • Dissolve Sugar (2 tsp) and optionally, Honey
  • Add Active Dry Yeast (2¼ tsp or 1 envelope)
  • Lightly stir
  • Cover and let bloom for about 5-10 minutes (until it foams and smells like yeast)

Flour Paste (aka Tangzhong method) – adds a creamy texture

  • In a mixing bowl, combine Flour (½ Cup) and Cornstarch (1Tbsp) with Boiling Water (add ~½ Cup first then more if needed. I used between 2/3 Cup and 3/4)
  • Whip vigorously until smooth. It will be sticky (I tried a whisk first but it was either too small or I didn’t add enough water and it got all stuck inside. Switched to a spoon for better results)

Optional: Fruits and Nuts *see Notes section

  • Soak dried fruit in warm water
  • Toast walnuts

Dough (~15 minutes)

  • By now the Yeast should have bloomed quite well
  • Add the Flour Paste and dissolve with a paddle attachment at Stir speed
  • Dissolve Sugar (½ Cup for sweet bread, less for less sweet)
  • Add Salt (1Tbsp)
  • Incrementally add Flour (~4 Cups total) until it starts turning into dough
  • Switch to the dough hook, increase speed to level 2, and finish adding the flour (scrape down the sides every so often)
  • When it is well combined, but still sticky cover and let rest for about 10 minutes (good time to wash dishes)

Dough Part 2 (5-10 minutes)

  • Cut Vegan Butter (¼ Cup) into little cubes
  • Add to mixing bowl
  • Run at speed level 2 until well-mixed
  • Dough should come nicely off the sides of the bowl. Add small amounts of flour as needed
  • When it is smooth and tacky, cover

Rise #1 (1 hour)

  • Cover and place in a warm place for an hour until it has doubled or tripled in size
  • If using fruits and/or nuts, drain the fruits and prep nuts/seeds if you haven’t
  • Prepare any other fillings or additives

Dough Part 3

Really big now!
Prep surface
Divide how you’d like
Spread fruit if using
Shape

Toasted walnuts
Cranberries and walnuts
Fold up
Roll
Flatten and fold again until you’re happy
Shape

  • Either turn stand mixer on to speed level 2 (for 2 minutes) to remove air, or simply punch it down
  • Prepare loaf pans by placing parchment paper
  • Lightly flour working surface
  • Turn out dough and decide how you want divide
  • If adding fruits/nuts/paste, flatten the dough and add, then fold together, and roll. When satisfied, place seam side down onto pans
  • If no additions, shape and roll into proper shape for pans, remembering that bread will rise again and expand when baking

Rest #2 (1 hour)

  • Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray to prevent plastic wrap from sticking to the dough later
  • Cover and place in a warm location until doubled in size

Bake Prep (5 minutes)

Wow
These are huge
Syrup and Honey Wash

  • Your preference of wash (Optional)
  • Can be Syrup Wash (1:1 Corn Syrup to Water) or any combination or ratio of the syrup to water. Can add honey to the ratio
  • I used 2:1 Corn Syrup to Honey, and added a dash of water
  • If adding toppings to bread, add it
  • Cut vent lines in the top of the loaves
  • Here, I messed up because I didn’t grease the plastic or the dough, so I had to re-shape the loaves and let them rise a little again
Oh noooo
Welp. Missing some dough here… Time to reshape
This one came out fine for some reason

Bake (40 minutes)

  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • Uncover dough and brush tops with Wash
  • Bake for about 40 minutes until golden
  • Brush with Wash again after removing from oven
  • Let cool before slicing!
  • Important: Make sure to remove any parchment paper from under the bread! Otherwise, the bottom will remain wet while the rest cools

Notes

  • Dried fruit: (like raisins, cranberries, blueberries, etc.) can be folded into the dough, but can soak up moisture. To counteract that, soak them in hot water
  • Nuts: can be chopped and folded in raw but can also be toasted to improve flavor. Harder nuts should be soaked in warm water otherwise they can be too hard after baking
  • Seeds: If topping with seeds, do not toast beforehand as they will burn during baking
  • Paste: Same gameplan as the other add-ins. Prepare to your taste, then spread it like you’re buttering toast, then roll, spread, roll, etc until you’re happy

9/22/24: Made both Sweet Red Bean Paste and Dried Fruit bread. Red bean paste from a can. Did filled buns, 1 twist, and 1 loaf of that. Just 1 loaf of dried fruit bread, using dried apricots, cherries, and cranberries. Should have cut the apricots even smaller (did quarters). For the loaf, added some orange extract to the red bean. Might have added too much, but it does give it an interesting taste. Did not use a glaze and they’re a tad overdone.

Fruit
Red bean