Strawberry season is starting in Japan and in fact they even have a Strawberry Day! Depending on the source it’s either the 1/5 – fifth of January – or the 15th, due to the numbers 1 (‘ichi’) and 5 (‘go’) giving us ‘ichigo’ which means strawberry in Japanese. Regardless of the date, now’s the time to be celebrating strawberries and I have collected some of the tastiest looking recipes I could find. If it’s not strawberry season where you are then save these recipes for later, try out the ones that use freeze dried strawberries, or even see if you can sub in some frozen ones!
I couldn’t create a list of strawberry recipes and not include the classic Japanese strawberry shortcake. It’s primarily eaten around Christmastime and while simple it’s all about the strawberries. I’ve got a couple of options; Omnivore’s Cookbook (above) has that beautiful classic look and Just One Cookbook is my go-to for Japanese recipes in English.
Strawberry macarons are always popular, but these ones from Sugar Bean are even shaped like strawberries and look fantastic.
The Little Blog of Vegan always makes such beautiful looking desserts and I love how these no-bake cheesecake bars make it look like the strawberries are perched on little clouds.
If you’re looking for a centrepiece and something that literally screams ‘STRAWBERRY’ then this strawberry cake from Pies and Tacos is the one. The cake is made with strawberries, its filled with strawberry jam and then the frosting also contains strawberries. Plus, the whole cake is covered with real strawberries. If one cake truly celebrates strawberries, it’s this.
Have you ever seen such adorable daifuku? These little mochi bears are filled with chocolate paste (instead of the usual red bean) and a whole strawberry. If the decoration seems too fiddly, then these daifuku will be just as delicious without.
Have you ever tried a fruit sando? Fruit sandwiches are everywhere in Japan and these from Drive Me Hungry contain whole strawberries and whipped cream in between slices of fluffy white shokupan (milk bread). It might seem unusual to some of you at first glance, but trust me, it’s just dessert in a sandwich and who doesn’t want one of those?
This roll cake from Love & Olive Oil is pretty in pink and absolutely covered in an all-over strawberry pattern. Not only is it decorated with strawberries, but there’s strawberry in the filling too. I love this design, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to make it look that perfect. I’d love to try though!
If it all feels like strawberry overload by this point, then these strawberry shortcake shaped cookies from Kamioka Wonderland might fit the bill. They don’t actually contain any strawberry, but as they were so adorable I wanted to include them. They actually come in plain, cocoa and matcha flavours, but if you DID want to include strawberry you could probably adjust the recipe to fit (maybe using freeze dried strawberries?). The video has Japanese text, but an English translation in the subs and the recipe in the description box.
Are you a strawberry fan?
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