Kabocha Pumpkin Custard Pudding

It's a recipe to make custard pudding with Japanese kabocha, which is called kabocha purin. It's a popular sweet in Japan.

Ingredients:

7 oz kabocha, seeds removed and peeled
1 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs
*For Sauce
4 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
*whipped cream for topping

How To Make:

Heat 1 Tbsp of water in a sauce pan and 4 Tbsps of sugar in a sauce pan and simmer until the sauce is browned. Pour the sauce into heat resistant small cups or pudding molds. Cut kabocha into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe plate. Cover with plastic wrap and cook in macrowave until softened. Mash and strain kabocha through a strainer to a bowl, using a spatula. Set aside. Put milk in a sauce pan and heat to about 140 degrees F. Dissolve sugar in the milk. Stop the heat. Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix heavy cream in the egg. Gradually add warm milk in the egg mixture. Add mashed kabocha and mix well. Run the mixture through a strainer to a bowl. Scoop out some bubbles from the surface of the mixture. Pour the mixture into small cups over the sauce. Place the cups ot pudding molds in a steamer and steam for about 15-20 minutes on low heat. Stop the heat and let them cool. Top with whipped cream.
*Makes 4 - 6 cups

Japanese Custard Pudding

Creamy and smooth puddings are generally called purin or custard purin in Japanese and are popular desserts in Japan. This is a basic Japanese-style custard purin recipe.

Yield: 6 puddings

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
*butter
*For Sauce
6 Tbsps sugar
2 Tbsps water

How To Make:

Butter individual pudding molds. Heat 2 Tbsp of water in a sauce pan. Add 6 Tbsps of sugar and simmer until the sauce is browned. *Carefully add 1 Tbsp of warm water to thin the sauce. Pour sauce into the molds. Put milk in a medium pan and heat to about 140 degrees F. Dissolve sugar in the milk and add vanilla extract. Stop the heat. Lightly beat eggs in a bowl. Gradually add warm milk in the egg mixture. Run the egg mixture through a strainer. Scoop out some bubbles from the surface of the egg mixture. Pour egg mixture over the sauce in the molds. Place the pudding molds in a steamer and steam for about 15-20 minutes on low heat. Stop the heat and let them cool. Remove pudding from the molds and serve on plates.

Kanto-style Sakuramochi

Sakuramochi is a sweet rice cake which is traditionally eaten on Japanese Girls' Day. There are some kinds of sakuramochi in Japan. This is a recipe to make Kanto-style (eastern Japan) sakuramochi.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp shiratamako (glutinous rice flour)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup anko (sweet bean paste)
*red food color
8 store sold, salt pickled sakura (Japanese cherry tree) leaves

How To Make:

Wash salted sakura leaves in water and dry them with paper towel. Make 8 anko balls and set aside. Put shiratamako flour in a bowl and add water in the bowl gradually, stirring. Dissolve a little bit of red food color in the water. Further, add sugar in the bowl and stir well. Sift flour in another bowl. Add the colored liquid to the flour gradually, stirring. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Make thin oval-shaped pancakes. Wrap each anko ball with a pan cake, further wrap it with a sakura leaf.