It’s the cherry blossom season! According to the cherry blossom forecast, Tokyo is having cherry blossom in full bloom today! I made a cherry blossom milk pudding (桜ミルクプリン) to celebrate spring and to enjoy the short cherry blossom season, which usually lasts only 1-2 weeks. If you plan on visiting Japan, I highly recommend visiting during the cherry blossom season between the end of March to the beginning of April (it’s hard to predict when it’ll exactly happen each year) or fall. The weather is nice and it’s just a beautiful time to sightsee.
Silky, Light and Not-So-Sweet Cherry Blossom Milk Pudding
My family loves this milk pudding that I make with fruit jelly (or Americans would say jello) on top. I sometimes make plain milk pudding and serve with seasonal fruit compote. “Milk” pudding is made with just a few simple ingredients, milk, heavy cream, and yogurt. I highly recommend getting full-fat milk, heavy cream, and full-fat yogurt for the ultimate milk pudding. I used low-fat yogurt this time and the result also turned out really well. I’ve been using this ratio of milk/heavy cream/yogurt for a long time since we really love it, but you’re welcome to experiment and play around with ratio to your liking.
My Favorite Gelatine Sheet
Edible Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms
Last summer when I was in Japan, my high school friend gave me a care package of Japanese ingredients that she thought I would enjoy. She loves cooking too, so the box has a lot of cool ingredients that I can’t easily get in the U.S. One of them was salt-pickled cherry blossoms. I actually forgot about them until a few weeks ago! The cherry trees in our backyard had bloomed already in warm California back in February, but it’s a good thing I found them before everywhere else has a cherry blossom season. 🙂
How To Make Them?
Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms are made with Yaezakura (八重桜). You’ll need to carefully handpick tender young buds, washed, drained/dried, sprinkle salt over the flowers (about 1 cup salt for 10 cups of flowers), and put weight on top. Next day, you will squeeze out and discard brine, and submerge the flowers in ume plum vinegar (梅酢) and let them sit for about 3 days. Finally, let them dry in a single layer for 3 days in the shade or until they are completely dry. To preserve, pack them in a jar with salt (about 1:1 ratio). This way, they can keep for one year.
Where To Buy Them?
Creamy Cherry Blossom Milk Pudding with Sakura Jello on Top
I am usually not very proud of my desserts, but I would say this is probably one of the most beautiful desserts I make at home. So what does this pretty dessert taste like, you might wonder? The bottom milk pudding part is very similar in texture and flavor to panna cotta. To celebrate cherry blossom season, I made pink cherry blossom jelly to go on top. The top layer is both sweet and a bit salty from the salt pickled cherry blossom, and the combination of salty cherry blossom jelly, creamy and gently sweet milk pudding is a match made in heaven! You can definitely try making different flavors to go on top of the milk pudding base, let me know what you made and what combinations taste good.
Recipes Using Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms
Use salt pickled cherry blossoms this spring to make these delicious and pretty recipes! Happy spring!
Cherry Blossoms Madeleines Cherry Blossom Rice Balls Cherry Blossom Cookies
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