Scrumptious Japanese Desserts

We’re all too familiar with sushi, sashimi, bento boxes, tempura, curry, and so on. But there is a whole new realm to explore in Japanese desserts. These are designed to whet your appetite while maintaining a sense of aesthetics. The Japanese are known for creating desserts with such detail, precision, and aesthetics that they resemble a work of art. The desserts are made to be savored by the eyes as much as by the mouth.

Here are some of Japan’s delicious desserts:

Daifukumochi

Mochi – this popular Japanese dessert is made from glutinous rice flour. It resembles a dumpling and is usually stuffed with ice cream, jam, jelly, or red bean paste.

Mochi is also the name of a Japanese cake. The traditional way of preparing this dessert is to pound the rice by hand.

Dango – similar to mochi, also made of glutinous rice flour. It is sticky and dense, and does not have any filling. It is often served on skewers.

Meibutso – cookie confections usually shaped like maple leaves, with red bean paste filling.

Dorayaki

Dorayaki – another type of Japanese pancake made up of two castella (Japanese sponge cake) patties with a filling of sweet red bean paste.

Taiyaki – a pancake shaped like a fish, with sweet red bean paste filling.

Crepes – unlike French crepes, Japanese crepes have fresh or raw (not cooked) fillings, folded into triangular cones. They are available almost anywhere, from fine restaurants to side streets.

Mochi ice cream – this delectable dessert resembles a golf ball in size and shape. It has a mochi outer layer and an ice cream inner layer. Flavors vary from vanilla to matcha (ground green tea.)

Warabimochi – a jelly-like dessert made out of bracken starch dipped in toasted soy bean flour.