mitarashi dango (みたらし団子、御手洗団子) is japanese skewered rice dumplings originated from kyoto and commonly sold in teahouses and outside temples. first boiled then grilled and accompanied by a sweet soy glaze, i love its charred fragrance and the teriyaki-like glaze. they're fun to eat and so yummy as well.

ajitsuke tamago, ni-tamago or known to some simply as molten/lava egg, is a japanese flavored soft boiled egg commonly used as a topping for ramen or pork belly rice. i think this type of egg has been the fascination of many people, including myself coz of the texture and supposed difficulty in making, not unlike macarons. i've heard stories of how the people working in ramen shops would be unwilling to disclose their secrets or techniques, much to the frustration of those who asked. some even went to the extent of experimenting with a malt vinegar bath to soften the shells so they would be easier to peel. and if i'm not wrong, the high-end ramen shops like ippudo ramen charge $2 for an egg which is just ridiculous if you ask me! i just found out how simple it is to make them, thanks to a japanese youtube video i saw.

if you've noticed, i made mont blanc using both chestnut and purple sweet potato before but this is by far my utmost favorite coz of its creaminess and delicate taste. all along i've wanted to make the pumpkin version but i was afraid my homemade pumpkin puree would be too watery for piping. i then chanced upon a method of roasting the pumpkin instead of the usual steaming (why didn't i think of that earlier!) so i wasted no time in making my favorite version of the mont blanc. this is the 2nd time i'm using a recipe from cakechef's website and armed with google translate and a little guessing game i managed to pull this one off!

i must say that despite the fact that i have a sweet tooth, i've never really been a fan of sugared cereals. i don't like how the milk gets unbearably sweet towards the end so i usually stick to cornflakes or special-K for my cereal choices. i don't even care for froot loops but when i was introduced fruity pebbles by a friend few years back, i was hooked. really really hooked! i love the fruity lemony flavor and the medley of colors and i could still remember on some busy days i actually had it for breakfast, lunch & dinner! this is probably also the only post cereal i eat. anyway, i think these rice krispies kinda treats are really common but i've never had it before so i decided to make some with the leftover marshmallows i had.

i have always wanted to incorporate popcorn into my macarons coz i think the flavor would be so awesome when paired with a salted caramel filling and it really is! all along i've been sticking to one caramel fleur de sel recipe for my macarons which i think is pretty good, but the salted butter caramel cream that pierre herme uses in his macaron book got me really curious. i mean, one that doesn't use fleur de sel, vanilla bean nor glucose/corn syrup, would it be good? i just had to try.

i hope you're not tired of seeing yet another entremet on my blog! it was my friend's birthday last weekend so i made her a cake. i chose a simple one from one of my japanese pastry books and this is basically a white chocolate vanilla entremet with strawberry syrup-soaked almond biscuit sponge and macerated strawberries in spices.