Sakura Water Chestnut Cake

It's hanami (flowers viewing) season again! One of Japan's traditional customs that draws thousands and thousands of people, locals and foreigners alike, to parks with flowering sakura (cherry blossom) trees across Japan. 

Sakura holds an important place in the hearts of Japanese and many resonate with it being their national flower. It symbolises the arrival of spring, the start of a new year and also an opportunity to bond with friends, family and co-workers, over a picnic underneath the breath-taking canopy of sakura flowers.

I have yet to visit Japan during this tourists-magnet season because expenses are usually higher and everywhere will be a lot more crowded. But I do hope to partake in hanami and yozakura (hanami at night) at least once in my lifetime to experience these magical moments and appreciate the transcendent yet short-lived beauty of sakura for myself.

Meanwhile, with a small jar of pickled sakura flowers from my Japan trip earlier this year, and half a pack of leftover water chestnut flour, I thought I'll make a snack befitting hanami and probably something a Japanese will be proud to bring along to their potluck picnic.

Sakura Water Chestnut Cake (makes 6" square x 6cm tall)

125g     Water Chestnut Flour
200g     White Sugar
750g     Water, tap
  50g     Water Chestnut, peeled, finely diced
  10g     Pickled Sakura Flowers

Optional
a few drops of red food colouring

1. Lightly grease the pan with a little oil and set aside.

2. Stir the water chestnut flour into 300g of the water till dissolved and set aside. Soak the pickled sakura flowers in water for about 30mins, changing the water once or twice as needed till they are no longer overpoweringly salty.

** Optional: reserve a few whole sakura flowers for decoration

3. In a small saucepan, dissolve the white sugar and red food colouring (if using) in the remaining 350g of water and bring to a boil.

4. Add in the finely diced water chestnut and pickled sakura flowers. Let simmer for a few seconds then turn the heat to low.

5. Give the water chestnut flour mixture a stir then add it into the saucepan. Stir constantly to prevent the batter from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook and stir till mixture has thickened and is lump-free.

6. Transfer mixture to the greased pan and smooth the top with a slightly wet spatula. ** If using the whole sakura flowers as decoration, gently push them into the mixture as desired.

7. Steam mixture for about 20-25mins till the cake turns translucent or a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.

8. Let cool completely before slicing it anyway you like. Cut with a slightly wet knife, wiping in between every cut. Serve at room temperature, or chill in fridge before serving. Keep leftovers in the fridge, covered, for up to a week.

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Thoughts: If you already love water chestnut cake and sakura mochi before, you will definitely fall in love with this sakura water chestnut cake. The pickled sakura flowers not only perfume the cake with its delicate fragrance, the slight saltiness provides a nice contrast to the sweetness, and together with the subtle sourness from the umezu used to pickle the flowers, the resulting cake has quite the complex taste profile. Certainly makes the already refreshing water chestnut cake even more so refreshing! 

You may already know that most of my desserts are not as sweet as the general dessert recipes. While I feel that the stated amount of sugar used provides just enough sweetness and keeps the flavours in balance, you are welcome to add more sugar to suit your preference. If you like, you can also use slab sugar (片糖) in place of white sugar. Slab sugar are usually used in making the traditional water chestnut cake, just note that it will give the cake a yellowish appearance.

Texture of the cake remains the same as the traditional water chestnut cake, firmer than the jello-jelly but not quite as firm as the Japanese yokan (羊羹). I love having the cake at room temperature, although I think it tastes equally, or according to hubs, "even more awesome"😆 after keeping it chilled in the fridge. However, I did not have the opportunity to pan-fry some, like how we would do to the traditional water chestnut cake during Chinese New Year celebrations.

If you try this recipe and tried the pan-fried sakura water chestnut cake, let me know how it tastes like and share your yummy creations with us on facebook or tag @whattobaketoday on instagram! 

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