i hope its not too early to start on some springtime sweets! ukishima translates as "floating island" which is one of the simpler wagashis to make. its a steamed cake made of anko (or shiro-an, in this case) and is usually done in two or three layers. basically it symbolizes the arrival of spring, with its soil layer in brown, followed by a white layer which represents snow, then green (sprouts) and pink (flowers). i made only two layers since i really like the combination of matcha and sakura.

happy new year, guys! as you can see, i made this during christmas so its an overdue post. i wasn't planning on making something christmassy like a buche but i thought this looked like a tree so it was quite apt too! i also had these slanted-side tart tins for sometime now which i wanted to use for hidemi sugino's fig tart but i couldn't find any figs but i'm glad these had been put into good use.

you know how much i love junko's roll cake and among so many roll cake recipes i've tried, hers is still the best in terms of taste, texture and flexibility in rolling. like a good basic macaron batter, all you need is just one to experiment with other endless flavor possibilities. i'm not usually a fan of instant coffee from grocery stores since most are too acidic for my liking but i went to isetan last weekend and chanced upon this UCC one from japan which is really really good. its not acidic at all and is pretty strong and full-bodied so i decided to add it into my favorite recipe to make a coffee roll cake. also jazzed it up a little by adding cocoa powder to part of the batter to make the dots. turned out fab!