Cherry Blossom Recipes For Sakura Season

It’s finally sakura season and I’m lucky enough to be in Japan surrounded by cherry blossom. Hanami, or flower viewing, is something that everyone does here and it usually involves a picnic of some kind underneath the trees. I’ve collated a few sakura recipes for you to have your own cherry blossom picnic or just to celebrate the season.

These cherry blossom cookies from Just One Cookbook use preserved sakura flowers on top AND in the dough. You can find these in Japanese grocery shops and online, but there are recipes out there to make your own.

This cherry blossom jelly cheesecake from Constellation Inspiration is an absolute showstopper. It’s perfect for a grand picnic or you could even make mini ones for easier transportation.

One of the most common hanami treats is Hanami Dango, with each of the three colours representing a part of the cherry blossom experience. The green part is traditionally made using yomogi, or mugwort, but here Japanese Kitchen by Miss Wagashi colours it using matcha powder. You’ll also need two types of rice flour, which are listed in the description box.

Another traditional treat is sakura mochi, which is a beautifully pink mochi filled with red bean paste and wrapped in a pickled sakura leaf. The Kansai and Kanto regions each have different versions, but seeing as how I’m in Osaka, I wanted to share the Kansai version from Japanese Taste.

Combining two very traditional Japanese flavours into one dish, Love and Olive Oil came up with this elegant sakura matcha mousse cake.

Manju is a very traditional Japanese sweet that again uses red bean paste as the filling. Kitchen Princess Bamboo uses preserved sakura flowers as decoration and for their flavour too, so I recommend not skipping them.

I hope you are all enjoying the blossom as much as I am!