Kawagoe Purin is a shop specialising in purin, a tpopular type of Japanese custard pudding. The shop opened on July 11, 2018 in the city of Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture along a street of shops and houses that has an air of nostalgic of the past to it.   The shop's most popular product is their Kawagoe Purin made with sweet potatoes from Kawagoe. Since they began selling the product they have sold over 10,000 units. The custard of the purin is made with sweet potato and underneath are diced pieces of sweet potato. The purin has become something of a local speciality and is enjoyed by locals and tourists in Kawagoe. The production of sweet potatoes in Kawagoe began in the Edo Period. After baked sweet potatoes earned popularity in Edo, Kawagoe prospered as a production area for the shipment of sweet potatoes to Edo. People came to associate the city with sweet potatoes. Sweet potato purin was born from this city and has become so popular that it's not uncommon to see people posting pictures of themselves on social media eating it while dressed in kimono and yukata.   You must try sweet potato purin for yourself if ever you're in Kawagoe, also known as Little Edo.

MACCHA HOUSE have announced yet another new branch which will open in Sanneizaka (also known as Sannenzaka) on July 5, marking the second branch to open in Kyoto alongside Shijo Kawaramachi.   Sanneizaka is a stone paved street that leads to to Kiyomizu-dera, a Buddhist temple and UNESCO appointed World Heritage Site. The new MACCHA HOUSE opening there is in a renovated 80-year-old traditional Japanese building, offering a mix of traditional and modern Kyoto. There are 96 seats in total: 30 on the first floor, 42 on the second, and 24 in the courtyard. MACCHA HOUSE first opened in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan with a total of 9 branches across Asia. The first shop to open in Japan was at Shijō Kawaramachi in May 2015. They serve original fine crafted matcha drinks and desserts made using matcha from Morihan, a famous tea company in Uji, Kyoto. Morihan first established in Ogura, Uji back in 1836. Their matcha desserts have continued to be enjoyed by people ever since. Their Uji Matcha Tiramisu is so popular it’s even been picked up by several news media. It’s made with carefully selected matcha and mascarpone cheese and has a refreshing taste. It’s also served in a traditional masu box. The fresh scent of the hinoki cypress elevates the flavour and smell of the matcha. If you’re planning a trip to Kiyomizu-dera, then be sure to get the full Kyoto experience with some delicious matcha.    

 

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s recipe series! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.

 Today, we’ll be making “Marron Rilakkuma-chan no Maccha Mousse”

 

１：Maccha mousse ingredients

Cream / 100cc

Granulated sugar / 4 tablespoons

Maccha / 2 tablespoons

Gelatin / 5g (soak in 2 tablespoons of water)

☆2 containers (this time, I bought two 7.5×4.5 size containers at Daiso).

 

 

 

 

2: Topping ingredients

☆Moderate amount

Bean paste (melt it with a little bit of hot water if it’s too hard)

Cream

Boiled marron

Strawberries

Chocolate pen

Maccha to sprinkle on the dairy cream

 

 

 

3: Mix the maccha and granulated sugar (2 table spoons) and add hot water (100cc). Mix these ingredients together.

☆Preparation

Boil water (50cc). Then, put the soaked gelatin inside the container and mix it well.

 

 

4: Whip the cream and add the granulated sugar in small batches. Mix it until the cream becomes fairly hard.

 

 

5: Add the maccha liquid which you made in Step 3 little by little to the whipped cream you made in Step 4 and mix it well. Also, add the gelatin you made in Step 3 and mix it together well. Please note that you must add the gelatin little by little since the gelatin and the liquid will separate if you add the gelatin all at once.

 

 

6: Set the bowl of Step 5 into a larger bowl with ice inside and mix it until it gets slurry.

 

 

7: Pour the mixture into the cups you have prepared and leave it for 2 hours or for one night so that it becomes hard.

 

 

8: Cut the boiled marron in half, vertically. The cut surface will become the face.

Using the other half of the marron, cut out two circles to use as the ears. Using a fried pasta attach the ears to the head.

Use the chocolate pen to draw the white part of the mouth, yellow part of the ears, eyes and nose. It is recommended that you use the pointed side of a toothpick to draw the mouth.

 

 

9: Place the toppings.

Put the bean paste on the front side, squeeze the cream out behind the bean paste and sprinkle with maccha.

Place the strawberries to the right and prop up the Rilakkuma (marron) as shown in the photo.

 

Voila! We are finished.

You can use various ingredients as toppings. Let’s enjoy making the character-desserts using your favorite ingredients and fruits♡

 

Kaori also invites you into her world of character-themed rice dishes in her recipe series! Please check out her Instagram where she has uploaded many pictures of her character dishes!