‘Kintsuba’ Azuki Cakes

Name: ‘Kintsuba’ Azuki Cakes
Yield: 10 to 12 cakes
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 cup ‘Tsubu-an’ Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste *about 250 to 300 g; 2 g (about 2/3 teaspoon) Kanten Powder OR Agar Agar Powder; 100 ml Water; 1 tablespoon Sugar; 1/4 cup Plain Flour *OR Plain Flour 3 tablespoons & Glutenous Rice Flour 1 tablespoon; 1/4 cup Water; Oil

Hiroko Liston @hirokoliston

Melbourne, Australia

I sometimes crave for Japanese sweets, which I know I can’t purchase from any shops near my home. Therefore I have to to make them. If I were in Japan, I wouldn’t even try. There are so many delicious and artistically created beautiful Japanese sweets easily available anywhere.
‘Kintsuba’ Azuki Cakes are easy to make. Set the sweet Azuki (Red Bean) paste ‘Tusbu-an’ with Kanten (Ager) and coat the surfaces with batter. You don’t need any special ingredients. Not only I but also my children enjoyed these cakes with a nice cup of green tea or matcha tea.

Hiroko Liston @hirokoliston

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Ingredients

10 to 12 cakes

1 cup‘Tsubu-an’ Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste *about 250 to 300 g
2 g(about 2/3 teaspoon) Kanten Powder OR Agar Agar Powder
100 mlWater
1 tablespoonSugar
1/4 cupPlain Flour *OR Plain Flour 3 tablespoons & Glutenous Rice Flour 1 tablespoon
1/4 cupWater
Oil

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Steps

1

Place Water and Kanten (Ager) Powder in a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Keep boiling for 2 minutes occasionally stirring. *Kanten is different from gelatine. It needs to be boiled in the water to dissolve.
2

Add Sugar and ‘Tsubu-an’ Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste and mix well.
3

Line a square 20cm cake tin or a container with plastic food wrap, pour the mixture and smooth the surface. Let it set in the refrigerator.
4

When the mixture is firmly set, cut into smaller squares.
5

Mix Plain Flour (OR Plain Flour & Glutenous Rice Flour) and Water in a bowl to make the batter.
6

Heat a frying pan over a low heat and Oil very lightly. Dip one of the surfaces of a block of firmly set mixture in the batter, cook the surface. Repeat for all six sides of the block. Re-apply Oil to the pan as necessary. Once you know how, you can cook several blocks at same time.
7

If the excess batter flanges along the edges, you may wish to trim them with kitchen scissors or a knife. Serve at room temperature or cold with nice green tea.