What I Got: Strawberry Cream Tart, Benihougyoku, Sakuragoromo, Sakura Senbei, Ohkashigure, White Peach Financier

Price: $$-$$$$

Location: NYC

Review:

K. Minamoto is a Japanese Bakery.  It is truly incredible and special.  Although the items are on the expensive side, they are truly an incredible treat that is worth splurging on now and then. Every dessert is a work of visual and culinary art.  They are fantastic gifts for any occasion.

Strawberry Cream Tart – The Strawberry Cream Tart is a Japanese style strawberry tart with strawberry flavored chocolate cream, white bean paste with cream cheese, topped with a real dried strawberry.  This is a delectable little treat!  The entire tart melts in your mouth with its creamy strawberry goodness.  The base of the tart is buttery and crumbly.  The white chocolate strawberry frosting has a wonderful sweet, genuine strawberry flavor.  The white bean paste with cream cheese adds its wonderful sweet, mild flavor.  The frosting and white bean melt in your mouth to become creamy and smooth.  The strawberry tops it all off with its sweet and tart flavors.  All the layers come together to create a delicious treat that anyone can enjoy!  It is a fantastic Valentine’s Day gift!

Benihougyoku – The Benihougyoku is a whole cherry covered with sweet white bean paste and soft mochi rice cake.  The cherry stem sticks out of the top for maximum adorableness.  I am a big fan of cherries (maraschino cherries are a guilty pleasure of mine), so I loved this!  The cherry inside is wonderfully juicy and not too sweet.  The white bean paste is smooth and sweet to balance out the slight tartness of the cherry.  The mochi on the outside is lusciously soft and chewy.  This is the perfect treat for cherry lovers.

Sakuragoromo – The Sakuragoromo includes sweet red bean paste, mochi rice cake, and a cherry blossom leaf all wrapped in a Japanese style crepe. This dessert is an incredible experience of texture and flavor.  The red bean paste is sweet, smooth, and earthy.  The mochi rice cake is chewy and more neutral in flavor.  The cherry blossom leaf adds a delicate floral flavor along with a hint of leafiness.  This may sound scary, but if you are a fan of tea, you will pick up on it and enjoy it like I did.  If you hate the sound of leafy flavor, it is so subtle you probably won’t even notice.  The Japanese style crepe is tender and brings everything together.  These textures and flavors all come together in perfect, complex harmony.  This was probably my favorite of these desserts because it was so interesting.

Sakura Senbei – The Sakura Senbei are cherry blossom flavored cookies with cherry blossom flavored cream filling sandwiched between them.  The cookies are crisp, buttery, and sweet with a light floral flavor.  The cream is light and sweet.  This senbei is so delicious and light.  The floral flavor brings it to the next level.  K. Minamoto also has matcha and vanilla flavored senbei if you are not a fan of cherry blossom.

Ohkashigure – The ohkashigure is a steamed cherry blossom flavored bean cake topped with a salted cherry blossom petal.  Out of all the cherry blossom flavored desserts, the Ohkashigure has the most cherry blossom flavor.  It is still delicate and not overpowering in the slightest bit. The cake is flaky, soft, and melts in your mouth.  It is sweet and floral.  The salted cherry blossom petal adds a touch of saltiness to balance out the sweetness.  I loved getting to taste the unique cherry blossom flavor shine through.  This is a fantastic dessert if you are already a fan of cherry blossom or are adventurous and want to try it!

White Peach Financier – The white peach financier is a Madeleine cake with white peach. The cake itself is buttery and perfect.  The white peach is tender and tastes just like wonderfully sweet peach (because that’s what it is).  If you like peaches and Madeleines, you will absolutely love this!