Manju Japanese Desert

Manju is a Japanese steamed cake, and it's a traditional Japanese sweet. A variety of fillings are used in manju. The most popular filling is anko (sweet azuki bean paste.)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
3/4 lb. anko (sweet azuki bean paste)

How To Make:

Sift flour and baking powder. Put the four in a large bowl. Add sugar. Pour warm water in the bowl and knead the dough until smooth. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Make round shapes and flatten them. Put a spoonful of anko filling in the center of the dough. Wrap the anko by stretching the dough and make it round. Place each manju on a small cooking sheet. Preheat a steamer on high heat. Place manju in the steamer, and steam for 15 minutes.
*Makes 12 manju cakes.