Small Sakura Mochi

Directions

1. 1
   Rinse the preserved sakura leaves and blossoms and soak in clean water to remove the saltiness.
2. 2
   Drain the blossoms well which you are going to add to the mochi dough.
3. 3
   Separate the flowers from the stems.
4. 4
   Shape the anko into small balls.
5. 5
   To make regular-sized ones, take 20 to 25 g of anko for each, and take 8 g for small-sized ones.
6. 6
   The sakura mochi pictured on top has homemade sakura-an.You could also use the store-bought variety.
7. 7
   After removing the saltiness from the sakura leaves, chop finely and add to the anko.
8. 8
   You can enjoy the nice sakura flavour in the adzuki bean paste easily in this way.
9. 9
   Put the shiratamako, joshinko, sugar and trehalose in a bowl.
10. 10
    Add the food colouring dissolved in water.
11. 11
    Mix well with chopsticks.
12. 12
    Cover the bowl with cling film loosely and microwave for 1 and half minutes.
13. 13
    Remove the bowl from the microwave and mix well with a heat-proof plastic spatula.
14. 14
    Microwave for another 30 seconds and mix again.
15. 15
    Microwave for another 30 seconds and mix again.
16. 16
    If necessary, microwave for another 30 seconds...until the mixture is elastic and shiny.
17. 17
    It will form a dough.
18. 18
    Put the mochi dough onto a work surface dusted with mochitoriko flour.
19. 19
    Divide the dough into 5 portions and then divide each into 3 portions.
20. 20
    Dust your fingers and shape the portioned dough into a flat round with your fingers (make the centre thicker).
21. 21
    Wrap the adzuki bean paste with a piece of dough and it is done.
22. 22
    Make them pretty.
23. 23
    This is one of 15 sakura mochi.
24. 24
    They're so small.
25. 25
    Try your best not to eat them all before serving them to other people.
26. 26
    This is a regular sized one (a 1/5 portion).
27. 27
    I added chopped sakura leaves to the aduki bean paste.
28. 28
    Here are 'Sakura Strawberry Daifuku'.
29. 29
    These are particularly popular with girls.
30. 30
    Look how pretty they are!