Hokkaido Desserts Workshop by Chef Aki Watanabe

HELLO I'M BACK!

Woah, it's good to be back blogging again. Penning my thoughts in cyberspace and wondering who are the people who read my blog? LOL. I have so many backlogs that I don't know where to start. I think I'll just do it randomly whichever way I fancy :p

Ok first up, the Hokkaido Desserts Workshop by Chef Aki Watanabe at Shermay's Cooking School a week ago. I've never been to Hokkaido YET (will be going in November, yippeeee!) but I've heard so much about the abundant produce in Hokkaido, how sweet and fresh everything is. So I signed up for the class immediately when it was published in the school's website.

4 recipes were demo-ed during class:

• Lavender Shio Milk Gelato
• Hokkaido Pumpkin Custard Pudding with Candied Pumpkin Seeds
• Rum Raisin White Chocolate Butter Cream Cookie
• Camembert and Cream Cheese Tart

 

2 bonus recipes, no demo-ed during class:

• Milk and Honey Jam
• Camembert and Cream Cheese Chiffon Cake

Chef Aki demo-ed on how to make a crispy tart case first, followed by the camembert cheese and cream cheese filling. Some prunes were also added into the filling for a tinge of fruity sweetness. And finally topped with sliced camembert cheese.

This Rum Raisin White Chocolate Butter Cookie is a replica of the famous Hokkaido cookie, Shiroi Koibito 白い恋人, except for the addition of rum and raisin.

Everyone was given a generous portion of the cheese tart and butter cookie. Oooh I love the both of them and I'm so going to bake them when I have the time.

The tart base was buttery, light and crispy unlike some tarts I've tried before which were heavy and doughy. The cheese filling was creamy and slightly saltish and well complemented by the sweetness of the prunes. Nice combination!

I love the butter cookies. It's actually a tad different from the original Shiroi Koibito, which was thinner and with more melt-in-the-mouth texture. The texture of this cookie was denser and more crunchy. And the rum raisin white chocolate filling, woah, it was so good!

The Hokkaido pumpkin custard pudding was very unique, made with Hokkaido pumpkin and milk. Very smooth and creamy texture. The candid pumpkin and sesame seeds topping could be eaten on its own, albeit a little too sweet.

But somehow, I'm not a very big fan of custard nor pumpkin, so this was ok only.

 

Oh I love the Lavender Shio Milk Gelato. Made with Hokkaido milk, lavender and sea salt. It's very fragrant (not the soapy kind!), milky with a tinge of saltiness. I love this kind of sweety, salty taste. Now I wish I could just fly to Hokkaido to have a cone of their lavender soft-serve!

 

 

Everyone also received a take-home box with the rum raisin white chocolate butter cookie, camembert and cream cheese chiffon cake and milk & honey jam.

 

The milk & honey jam tastes very similar to condensed milk, but a tad too sweet for me.

 

But I love the camembert and cream cheese chiffon cake, very fluffy and cottony soft with strong notes of cheese. I'm definitely going to try baking this chiffon cake coz I really like baked treats that are not too sweet and with a bit of saltiness.

 

Ok, more recipes to add on to my already very long to-bake list!