Tokyo Desserts

Is it autumn yet?  It's almost mid-September and the weather is still too warm.  At least the sweltering temperatures of August have cooled down but I am still looking forward to much cooler temps.

The stores already have Halloween decorations and I found a few new ones to buy this year so I included them in the photos -- BOO! Also, I wanted to have Indian corn for decoration for the holidays but since I am living in Japan these are very difficult to find. One of my friends spotted them at a Tokyo Farmer's Market and they must be about the only ones in the Tokyo area. Could have kissed that farmer when I spotted them.



Full disclosure, I did not bake the roll cake in the photo. Since I was collecting all of the beautiful fall pumpkins, Indian corn and apples I just wanted to grab my camera and start shooting without the baking part. Also, it's still too warm to start using the oven. In Japan the most popular taste for cakes is chestnut. All types of cakes and cookies with chestnut filling are popular. Pumpkin is not very popular for desserts so I will need to bake my own pumpkin spice cake.  Also, if you visit Starbucks in Japan you won't find a pumpkin spice latte.



I may be a  little too early for Halloween but I wanted to get this fall feeling started. Looking forward to cool evenings and hot drinks. Once this hot weather is over, then we can start complaining about the cold.

It isn't just a recent thing but pancakes have landed on most of the dessert menus in Japan. The slogan "pancakes are not just for breakfast" is taken very seriously here. For me, I prefer pancakes at breakfast with a cup of coffee rather than after a big dinner. The International House of Pancakes (IHOP), an American pancake restaurant icon, is no longer in Japan but that hasn't slowed the growth of pancake lovers.

Hawaiian pancakes have also become popular in Japan. However, besides the tropical flavored syrup such as mango, passion fruit and coconut there isn't that much uniquely Hawaiian about them. I may be wrong and if anyone knows something different, please correct me.

I have to admit that with the abundance of excellent pancake mixes, I am a bit reluctant to whip up a batch from scratch. Due to all of the desserts I usually have around the house, I try to keep the calories down by skimping on breakfast, thus, pancakes are almost never on my breakfast table.

Since I am from the U.S. my go-to-favorite for pancakes mixes is Bisquick. Just a add milk and eggs to the mix and you are ready to start grilling the pancakes in just minutes. The evil calorie laden sister of pancakes is waffles and Bisquick can be used just as easily on the waffle press. I won't allow a waffle press into my house for fear of too many Sunday waffle breakfasts.

For those of you who do want to make pancakes from scratch, the recipe is quite basic. All you need is milk, eggs, flour, baking powder and a little salt. Another of my cooking resources is Martha Stewart and she provides a simple and quick pancake recipe.

Good luck on your pancake or waffle baking and drop me a note if you have an interesting twist on this traditional breakfast or dessert.

This July cities around Hiroshima in Japan are recovering from record levels of rainfall. If you have a chance to support the recovery effort for the area, please do.

Also, most areas in Japan are experiencing a very hot summer with temperatures staying consistently around 36+ C/90+ F. Very hot indeed. It is hard to think about turning on the oven in such heat but July is also the height of peach season so time to try a few recipes. 

I found this cute ribbon in a shop in Tokyo and couldn't resist to buy. Not sure where you can find it in your country but it is a great to way wrap home baked gifts to give to friends and family members.

This recipe combines white chocolate into a traditional peach cake recipe to give it an extra taste boost.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.         Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
2.        Peel and dice the  peaches. Blanch  the peaches in hot water to peel more easily. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and almond flour.
3.       In a bowl, pour the yogurt, sugar and vanilla and mix with a small whisk. In  portions, mix in the eggs and mix with a small whisk until well blended. Mix in the flour and baking powder mixture.
4.        Lastly, mix in the diced peaches and white chocolate and mix with a spatula.
5.        Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered and floured pan.
6.        Bake 25 to 30 minutes. After baking, remove from the pan and cool before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream for a beautiful and delicious summer dessert.