Momiji manju
Photo: Monami at Japanese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Momiji manju was created on Miyajima in the early twentieth century, taking its shape from the maple leaves of Momijidani valley behind Itsukushima shrine. Makers now fill it with matcha, custard, cheese and Setouchi lemon as well as the original bean paste. Momijido, trading on Miyajima since 1912, put a deep-fried version on a stick on sale in 2002, and it has since become the standard walking snack on the island's approach street, where the shops bake to order and hand the manju over hot.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 12Hands-on 30 minTotal 50 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 70g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 100g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 250g smooth red bean paste
  • Butter for the moulds

Method

  1. Whisk the eggs, sugar and honey until pale and thick enough to leave a ribbon.
  2. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold gently, then loosen with the milk.
  3. Rest the batter for 20 minutes so the flour hydrates and the bubbles settle.
  4. Roll the bean paste into 12 balls of about 20g each.
  5. Butter a maple-leaf or madeleine mould and heat it. Half fill each cavity with batter.
  6. Press a ball of bean paste into the centre, cover with more batter and close or bake at 180C for 12 minutes.
  7. Turn out while warm; the sponge firms as it cools.

Tip from the editors. A madeleine tin is the nearest common substitute for the maple mould, and the bake time is close enough to unchanged.

Where to eat momiji manju

Momiji manju in Hiroshima

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Hiroshima. See where to eat Momiji manju in Hiroshima or the Hiroshima signature dishes guide.

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