What Are Typical Japanese Desserts?

Japanese desserts can be divided into Wagashi and Yogashi with the main difference being that one is created as a sweet contrast to green tea, whereas the other is enjoyed for its own sake.

Wagashi are traditional Japanese sweets made from rice flour and plant ingredients including matcha tea, chestnuts, azuki beans, or sweet potato. They do not generally contain dairy, oil, sugar, or gelatine. The reason for this is historical. Japan was closed to foreign influence until the late 19th century, and before that time did not have access to sugar or wheat flour.

Yogashi are western style sweets made primarily with wheat flour and sugar. Some of the most popular yogashi are Castella Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Mont Blanc, and Cheesecake.

What Are Wagashi?

Delicate Sweets

Wagashi were originally made to satisfy the sweet cravings of the Imperial Family and the nobility. Small tidbits were created with beautiful shapes and colours to be enjoyed along with green tea. Over the years, wagashi evolved into exquiste sweet creations reflecting the aesthetic beauty of nature and its four seasons. Since green tea, especially the matcha green tea used in the Tea Ceremony, is quite bitter, the sweetness of the wagashi are a perfect complement.

Daifuku

Daifuku is made from soft sweet mocha dough that is wrapped around a filling of red or white bean anko. Other delicious seasonal varieties include daifuku filled with juicy fresh strawberries, orange segments or chestnut.

Dango

Dumplings made of mochi and speared on a stick. They are chewier than Mochi and are often toasted like marshmallows and sprinkled with Kinako powder or covered with a sweet soy sauce.

Dorayaki

These are delicious small pancakes that are sandwiched together and filled with anko (red bean), chestnut, or ice cream.

Manju

These Japanese cakes have been popular in Japan for over 700 years. Made from rice powder, buckwheat flour, or wheat flour, they have a filling made typically from anko - adzuki bean and sugar boiled and mixed into a paste. Many regions of Japan have their own style of manju, and a maple leaf shaped manju is a specialty of Hiroshima and Miyajima.

Monaka

These crispy creations are made from sandwiching together two rice flour wafers with red or white bean paste. Some wafers are sandwiched together with a type of cream usually flavoured with vanilla, green tea or strawberry.

Mochi

Mochi is rice cake made of sweet Japanese rice that is pounded until sticky - it can be toasted and topped with Kinako (a powder with a distinctive maple syrup flavour that has been used to sweeten traditional Japanese desserts until the 19th century when white sugar arrived on the scene).

Warabimochi

A type of clear jelly made from ferns. Usually this dessert is sprinkled with a light dusting of kinako powder or green tea powder.

Yokan

Yokan is a traditional Japanese dessert made of thick red bean or white bean paste, sugar and agar. Usually it is formed into a block and then sliced and served chilled during the hot summer months. Often yoke contains chopped ingredients such as beans, chestnuts, sweet potato or figs. Introduced into Japan in 1191 by Zen Buddhists, yokan was originally eaten by monks but over the centuries has evolved into a traditional sweet enjoyed by everyone.

What Are Yogashi?

Although Wagashi are the traditional confectionary of Japan, Yogashi or western style sweets have become increasingly popular. These western recipes have evolved and contain less sugar in order to appeal more to the Japanese palate.

One of the most famous is Japanese Castella Cake, a lovely light sponge cake with a honey flavour. Brought over with the Portuguese traders and missionaries in the 16th century, Portuguese Pao de Castela is made from four ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and honey. Moist and spongy, it is baked in a long rectangular shape that is easy to slice and easy to transport, so it is a favourite souvenir for travellers. Although a Nagasaki specialty, Castella has many variations - vanilla, chocolate, green tea - and can be bought all over Japan