Mochi Mommy

The last of my yuzu dessert recipes for now: Yuzu Meringue Pie! I cook the whites Swiss meringue style, which does require a thermometer and stand mixer, but the result is so marshmallowy (and safe for those who can’t eat raw eggs) that it’s worth the hassle. Start with a fully baked pie crust (homemade or store bought), then follow the instructions below. Full recipe coming to the blog this summer! For Yuzu Curd Filling 1 cup sugar 200g 1/3 cup cornstarch 37g 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1.5g 1 cup strong yuzu juice 236mL 1 cup water 236mL 5 egg yolks 1/4 tsp orange blossom water optional For Meringue 5 egg whites 1 cup sugar 200g 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 1/8 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp vanilla extract For the Yuzu Filling In a heat proof bowl, mix all ingredients for the filling except for the orange blossom water. Set a small pot with about an inch of water on the stovetop and bring to a simmer. Place the bowl with your yuzu ingredients on top of the pot to create a double boiler. Continuously stir the filling as it cooks, until it becomes very thick and bubbles. Remove from heat and stir in the orange blossom water. Transfer curd to the prepared pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap, directly touching the surface of the curd, and place in the fridge to completely cool. For the Meringue In the bowl of a stand mixer or other large mixing bowl, place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Clip on a digital thermometer to your bowl. Set up your double boiler again. Place your mixing bowl above the simmering water and cook the egg whites, stirring continuously, until you reach a temperature of 160 degrees F. Remove from heat and beat with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until meringue becomes light and fluffy and is no longer hot. Transfer meringue to the top of your chilled pie. Smooth out the meringue to cover the surface of the filling, and use a utensil to create swoops and swirls. Use a kitchen blowtorch to brown the edges. #yuzujuice #lemonmeringuepie #pierecipe #japanesefoodlover #subtleasianbakes #asiandessert #bakingblogger

Rainbow Sprinkle Butter Mochi Trials 2 and 3! If you caught my previous butter mochi reel, you know I had trouble getting the sprinkles to stay suspended (weirdly they didn’t sink; they floated to the top?). So I tried another version with half heavy cream instead of all whole milk, et voila! Sprinkles were perfect, but the texture is more cakey and less mochi rice-y. I’ll let you choose which version to make! Dense and mochi-like with sprinkles in the crusts only? Cakey and fluffy but with sprinkles throughout? Which would you choose? P.S. Now you know you can also make a 1/4 batch of my full size butter mochi recipes in a loaf pan!! Half batch recipe: 1/2 box mochiko (8oz, please weigh!) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cups sugar 3/4 cups milk 3/4 cups heavy cream 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp almond extract 1/4 cup butter (4tbsp or 2oz) 1/2 cup sprinkles (3 oz) Mix all ingredients except sprinkles very well. Gently stir in sprinkles. Pour into a greased and lined metal 9x9” baking tin and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. #mochi #buttermochi #localgrinds #hawaiifood #japanesefoodlover #glutenfreebaking #funfetticake #rainbowsprinkles

Remember the yuzu curd I made a few reels back? I put it to good use with these yuzu thumbprint cookies. I did a poll to compare an all-AP flour vs. almond flour mix version and the results were about tied, so I went with my personal preference, which is the almond flour version. It was a little more crumbly, but it held its shape and didn’t require chilling. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, since the tendency with using cups is to pack too much flour in, which will make the cookies very dry and hard to come together in a ball. If you don’t have a scale, then add in the almond flour one tablespoon at a time and stop if the dough starts looking too dry and crumbly. For about 16 cookies Ingredients: 113g butter (1 stick) 100g sugar (1/2 cup) 2g salt (1/4 tsp) 1 large egg yolk Optional 1/8 tsp almond extract 125g ap flour (1 cup) 20g almond flour (1/4 cup) 4 tsp yuzu curd (see previous recipe) Method: Cream butter, sugar, and salt. Add egg yolk and extract and beat until homogenous. Add both types of flours and mix until dough just comes together. Use a 2 tbsp cookie scoop or spoon to make little balls of dough. You should have around 16. Use the back of a 1/2 tsp to press a well in the center of each cookie. Use a 1/4 tsp to spoon yuzu curd into each well. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until bottom of cookie is lightly golden brown. #yuzu #thumbprintcookies #cookierecipe #japanesefoodlovers #asianfoodblogger #bakingblogger #momswhobake

Matcha pistachio cream pie This is episode two in my unofficial and self explanatory adding-matcha-to-established-recipes series. If you already have a pistachio cream pie recipe you like, simply add 1 tbsp of matcha to it and you’re golden. If you don’t have a recipe, you can use mine, which is loosely based on Erin mcdowells pistachio cream pie from her cookbook The Book on Pie. In hers, she doesn’t strain out large chunks of pistachio, but I think I would try it next time to see if I like a smoother texture better. I don’t have room to include full recipe directions in this caption, so if you’re not familiar with tempering eggs, which is required for this filling, I recommend checking out the cookbook or waiting until I can do a deeper explanation on my blog. 1 fully baked pie crust 1 cup (140g) unsalted raw shelled pistachios 3/4 (150g) cup sugar 3/4 cup heavy cream 2 1/4 cup whole milk 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 tbsp matcha (6g) 3 eggs 1 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp almond extract 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp sugar Splash of vanilla extract Instructions: In a food processor, blend pistachios and sugar until a nut butter is formed. Option to strain out larger chunks of remaining pistachio. In a pot, mix nut butter with milk and cream. Heat on stove until steaming. In a separate bowl mix cornstarch, matcha, salt, and eggs. Pour a small stream of steaming pistachio milk into bowl to temper eggs and then combine in the pot. Cook on stovetop until very thick and bubbling. Stir in extract. Pour into baked pie crust and refrigerate until cold. When ready to serve, whisk heavy cream and sugar for the topping and top with matcha or the strained pistachio chunks from before. #matcha #pistachiocream #pie #bakingblog #subtleasianbakes #seattlefoodblogger

Do you know your purple sweet potatoes?? I’m seeing a lot of things labeled as “ube” or “Japanese purple sweet potato” when they’re definitely Hawaiian or American cultivated purple sweet potatoes so I thought I’d show what the real things look like. Okinawan sweet potato: light brown skin with light purple insides that turn deep blue violet when cooked. Popular in Japan, Korea, and Hawai’i. Molokai sweet potato: purple on the outside and inside, more reddish in color. Cultivated in Hawai’i. Stokes purple sweet potato: Purple on the outside and inside like the Molokai, it’s patented to someone from North Carolina who apparently received an unnamed purple sweet potato as a gift and decided to cultivate it in the US. It’s now grown in California as well and is probably the most available purple sweet potato on the US mainland. Ube: purple yam, not a sweet potato! I’ve heard it’s not available fresh in the US, but you can find it sold grated and frozen, in powder form, or in ube halaya in Asian markets. Hope that helps! Browse my blog and Instagram for purple sweet potato recipes, and let me know how you like to eat them! #ube #purplesweetpotato #bluezones #japanesefoods #hawaiianfood #asianfoodblogger

What do we think about this rainbow sprinkle birthday cake butter mochi (yes, I have not quite decided on the name and the poll from my stories was very close)? Should I do another batch with sprinkles only on the top? Change the texture to be more cake-y and less mochi-y to get more sprinkles through the middle? Leave it as is? (Honestly, it tasted very good as is) In case you’d like to trial these with me, here are the ingredients! Just mix everything together and bake. Be gentle with the sprinkles so they don’t all sink, and use a metal baking dish or your edges may burn before the center sets. 1 box mochiko 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 cups milk 4 eggs 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sprinkles (6 oz) #buttermochi #mochi #funfetti #sprinklecake #glutenfreebaking #bakingblog #subtleasianbakes

Homemade yuzu curd - perfect on scones, in cookies, and drizzled on pretty much anything. I know I’m having scones with clotted cream and yuzu curd for Easter breakfast. If you have a favorite lemon curd recipe, you can just substitute yuzu juice for lemon juice. BUT PLEASE BEWARE: yuzu juices come in all sorts of concentrates regardless of the label on the bottle, so always check by tasting before you use it. Aim to have your juice about as tart as lemon juice, which you can adjust by diluting with water if you’re is too strong. If you’d like to use my recipe, I’ll list the ingredients below. Adjust sugar to your sweetness preferences. Cook everything except the butter in a double boiler, continuously stirring, until the mixture gets slightly thickened, opaque, and frothy. Then remove from heat and stir in the butter. Chill in the fridge with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Enjoy! 2 eggs 1/2 cup yuzu juice 1/2-3/4 cup sugar Pinch of salt 2 tbsp butter #yuzu #lemoncurd #subtleasianbakes #japanesesweets #bakingblog #easterbreakfast

Matcha banana bread! Just add 2-3 tbsp of matcha to your favorite banana bread recipe. 2 tbsp will give just a mild flavor for those who don’t want too much matcha. You will need to use a very strong and bitter blend in order to compete with the banana flavor! If you use white sugar instead of brown, you may get a slightly greener color, but in general it will turn more brown due to the oxidized bananas and egg yolks. If you don’t have a favorite banana bread recipe, you can use mine! Just mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees until cooked through (took about 70 mins in this 1 lb tin). 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp baking soda 3 tbsp matcha 2 eggs 4 bananas 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup melted butter 1/3 cup sour cream 1 tsp vanilla bean paste #matcha #bananabread #bakingblog #easybaking #asianfoodblog #subtleasianbakes