Sakura Mochi: Cherry Blossom Rice Cake

Get a taste of Japan with this homemade sakura mochi recipe! It’s perfect for cherry blossom season and truly captures the essence of springtime with its subtle pink hue and delicate cherry blossom flavour. This iconic treat is often enjoyed during special occasions such as Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) and Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day). But we can easily make sakura mochi at home to eat anytime and have a delicious and pretty treat all year round!  

What is Sakura Mochi (桜餅)?

Sakura mochi is a traditional Japanese confectionery that is typically enjoyed during the spring season when cherry blossoms (sakura) are in bloom. It’s a popular treat to eat when celebrating Girl’s Day “Hinamatsuri” or for cherry blossom viewing called “Hanami”. It consists of a sweet pink oval shape rice cake filled with azuki red bean paste (anko) and wrapped in a pickled sakura leaf. The colour of the rice cakes for this recipe comes from beetroot to get a pink tint naturally giving it a beautiful and delicate appearance reminiscent of the cherry blossoms. These pretty mochi treats have a soft and chewy texture with a bit more bite to them and a unique salty-sweet taste. They’re a must-try for any Japanese dessert lovers!

Varieties of Sakura Mochi

There are two main styles of Sakura mochi in Japan coming from different regions – the Kansai region (western) including Osaka, Kyoto and the Kanto region (eastern) which includes Tokyo. Each variation has its own unique characteristics and flavours. 

Kansai-style sakura mochi is a sweet made by wrapping red bean paste in steamed and coarsely ground mochi rice called domyojiko. Kansai-style sakura mochi is therefore also known as Dōmyōji mochi as it uses domyojiko which was created at Dōmyōji temple in Osaka. 

Kansai style sakura mochi combines the chewy texture of Dōmyōji flour and the gentle sweetness of tsubuan (coarse azuki bean paste) with the scent of cherry blossom leaves.

On the other hand, Kanto-style sakura mochi is a crepe-like dough made from wheat flour and shiratamako, wrapped over koshian smooth strained azuki bean paste. It has the same cherry blossom flavour as Kansai style and is also wrapped in a sakura leaf but the overall texture is different.

Both variations of Sakura mochi are equally delicious and beloved by many Japanese people during hanami (cherry blossom viewing) season.

What Main Ingredients do I Need for Kansai Style?

Since I am from the Kansai region, I am more familiar with Kansai style sakura mochi. So this is the recipe for the sakura mochi that I grew up eating. 

Making it authentically, we need Domyoji-ko (道明寺粉), ‘Anko’ sweet azuki bean paste, and cherry blossom leaves and flowers. However, I understand that when most of us live outside of Japan certain ingredients are hard to get. So we need to be creative to make Japanese things with the available ingredients.

Dōmyōjiko

This is a special type of glutinous rice flour that forms the base of the mochi dough. It gives the mochi its chewy texture and slightly sweet taste. Dōmyōjiko is steamed glutinous rice that is dried and made into coarsely crushed rice flour. This type of rice flour is not readily available outside of Japan, so we can substitute it with a very sticky type of rice called mochigome ‘sweet rice’ or short-grain glutinous rice.

Dōmyōjiko Substitution

The glutinous or mochigome rice needs to be soaked in a bowl of water overnight or a minimum of 1 hour if you are in a hurry (process photo 1). Then the soaking water is drained and pulsed a few times in a food processor to crush the rice grain coarsely (process photo 2 & 3).

Red bean paste (anko)

This sweet red bean paste made from azuki beans is used as a filling for sakura mochi. Tsubuan coarse azuki bean paste is used in the Kansai region, but if you prefer smooth red bean paste which is known as koshi-an, you can use it too. You can buy ready-made sweet red bean paste to make Anko balls from Asian or Japanese supermarkets. However, Anko can be made easily from scratch following my sweet red bean paste recipe.

Pickled cherry blossom leaf

These preserved leaves add a subtle floral flavour to the mochi and are an essential part of this traditional dessert. These beautiful pink cherry blossom petals are preserved in salt water brine to give them a tangy flavor that complements the sweetness of the mochi and anko azuki bean paste. They also add a lovely decorative touch to the finished dessert. Salted Sakura Cherry Leaf, and salted cherry flower are available online.

Beetroot juice

To achieve the pink hue of the mochi, the rice has to be coloured. You can use red food coloring; however, to make it healthier and all-natural I used beetroot juice. It doesn’t affect the flavour in any way so you won’t taste it at all.

Step by step instructions making Sakura mochi

It is relatively easy to make, but you need to start to prepare a night before. You need to make Anko balls (sweet red bean paste made into balls) and start to soak the rice the night before.

Night Before : Make anko paste if you are making from scratch following my recipe. 

1. Drain the soaked rice and blitz it in a food processor. Then steam the rice for about 30 minutes (Process photo 2 & 3). You can tell when it is cooked because the rice grain color becomes transparent. 

2. While the rice is being steamed, prepare the pink-coloured sweet water (Process photo 7 & 8). 

3. When the steamed rice is done, transfer the rice into the pink coloured water to soak (Process photo 11 & 12).

4. Assembling : Divide the rice into 6 portions. Place 1/6 of the cooked rice on plastic wrap brushed with syrup (Process photo 15). Flatten the rice into a round shape with a spatula (Process photo 16). Place one of the Anko balls on the center and wrap the Anko ball with rice (Process photo 17 & 18). Remove the plastic wrap and wrap it with a sakura leaf (Process photo 19). Wrap so that the leaf vein is on the outside, which is prettier. Top with a sakura flower bud (optional).

Tips for Perfecting Your Sakura Mochi Creations

If you want perfect sakura mochi, here are some tips to help you make them even more delicious.

1. Use high-quality ingredients: To ensure the best flavour and texture for your sakura mochi, use high-quality ingredients. 

2. The key is to work with the dough while it is slightly hot, as it will become difficult to handle as it cools. *Be careful not to get burned.

3. When rolling out the dough, make the edges a little thinner than the center so that when you wrap the strained red bean paste, the dough will not get too thick at the closed end and will come out neatly. 

4. Wrap carefully: When wrapping your sakura mochi in pickled cherry blossom leaves, be careful not to tear or damage them. The leaves add a unique flavor and fragrance to the mochi, so handle them gently.

Serving and Enjoying Your Homemade Sakura Mochi

Pair sakura mochi with a cup of matcha for a classic combination that perfectly balance each other. 

Hojicha is another type of Japanese tea that will go great with sakura mochi. The toasty notes of hojicha bring out the subtle sweetness of the sakura mochi.

For a refreshing option, enjoy your sakura mochi with mugicha (barley tea). This tea is usually enjoyed chilled/iced so it’s the best choice for warmer Spring days.

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