WAGASHI 和菓子

Class listing updated on Oct 13, 2024

Wagashi are traditional Japanese sweets that come in a range of shapes and sizes; some seasonal, some available all year around. Often simple but intricate in their design, they are morsels of edible art that channel the beauty surrounding culture and nature.

Format: In person, Hands-on from scratch
All materials included
# of Students: 4 - 6

Choose 1 Topic Below

$110 or 4 prepaid points /person
Approx. 3 hours

Choose 2 Topics Below

$195 or 7 prepaid points /person
Approx. 5 hours

 

Yokan "Twilight"
羊羹「黃昏時」

The sun sets the sky ablaze, with changing reds that slowly yields to a dark crimson. Apple harvested in autumn flavours “yokan” – otherwise deemed too simplistic a wagashi – a fruit forward sweets, while cocoa lays the foundation for this two-layer scenic landscape.

What you will learn:

  • Two-layer yokan made with traditional Japanese ingredients

  • Apple kingyoku top with a base of chocolate yokan

  • Techniques in cooking yokan, casting, and adjusting consistency

  • Using components that are translucent and opague to achieve a dusk scene

  • Learn about using various types of agar

 

Nerikiri "Autumn Leaf"
練り切り「紅葉」

Foliage viewing is an autumn tradition.  From red to yellow, the leaves' colours gradate into an indescribable beauty.  In Japanese sweets, such aesthetics is manifested by the technique of "Bokashi", blurring multiple colours of bean pastes into a gradation that expresses the season's change.

What you will learn:

  • Nerikiri, a malleable bean paste dough, in the form of a maple leaf

  • Hojicha roasted tea filling, and the controlling of its thickness and flavours

  • Making nerikiri dough, adjusting and blurring its colours

  • Techniques in wrapping and shaping nerikiri using bare hands and tools

  • Learn to distinguish various glutinous rice flours

 
 

Uiro "Chrysanthemum"
外郎「まさり草」

 

Sweet Potato Kintsuba
芋きんつば

On the rural streets in Japan where pedestrians stroll, the warm aroma of roasted sweet potato fills the air. Crisp breeze tells the passerby of the season when these warm wagashi are most desired. Kintsuba, with its crispy skin and tender centre, captures the very essence of this nostalgia. Our version transports the memory to Canada with a twist of local flavours.

What you will learn:

  • Preparing sweet potato for this traditional cold season sweet

  • Using a twist of autumn flavours of citrus and spice

  • Techniques in coating and cooking kintsuba batter

  • About alternative flavour variation possibilities

 
 

Baked Chestnut Manju
粟饅頭

 
 

Private class available for booking from 4 people. Please send us an email with your group’s preferred dates and time, we will try to accommodate.

Class fee is per person per set of materials, subject to HST.
Buddy discount available. See FAQ.

HANDS-ON CLASS INCLUDES:

  • Relevant recipes

  • Hands-on practice on recipes as guided by chef instructor

  • All materials needed – the tools and ingredients we use in class are of top quality

  • An apron to use during class (you are welcome to bring your own)

  • Container for you to take away your finished product