Kibun Yakiimo-fuu Toufu (baked sweet potato-style tofu) – 紀文 焼きいも風とうふ

So my no-dairy Lent has begun and when scouring the supermarket for new things to try I came across this intriguing item made by Kibun, which although not technically a snack or dessert can be eaten as such, and is certainly sweet enough to warrant a place in this blog.

Firstly I should state that the name of this product is vastly misleading. As it calls itself  ‘baked sweet potato-style tofu’ I assumed it was real tofu with artificial flavourings, when in fact the opposite is true: it uses natural satsumaimo paste but is not a fermented soybean product, being made instead from vegetable fibre and kudzu starch. So what you actually have is ‘sweet potato, tofu-style’.

The ‘tofu’ is a largish 120g block which comes in a sealed plastic container with a tab on the base that you can snap off to release the contents and turn it neatly out on to a plate. In the case of my purchase, the custard coloured cube was virtually unblemished and the surface was smooth and gleaming. Some small-print on the back of the packet stated that any black fragments in the product would be pieces of potato skin, but my piece was a perfectly clean golden-yellow all the way through.
The subtle smell is closer to steamed sweet potato than the rich, sometimes chokingly sweet aroma of freshly baked satsumaimo. I caught a hint of an almondy scent too, reminiscent of annindoufu (a Chinese tofu dessert flavoured with apricot kernel). The consistency is fairly firm – there is no wobble – but it melts in the mouth, although not quite as smoothly as pudding as there is a little pulpiness to the texture. Warming the product for 40 seconds in the microwave is recommended on the packaging, but I opted against this as I didn’t want to risk turning it into a mushy, wet mass, as I prefer a firmer texture.

The flavour is sweet and mild with an almond note to it and no trace of fermentation like you would get with real tofu. Basically it resembles a solid egg custard in all aspects, with a faint satsumaimo flavour. Unfortunately the pleasant aftertaste fades away very quickly and leaves your mouth watering for the next bite.

I was pleasantly surprised by this, largely due to the fact that I initially thought this was real tofu and was thus anticipating a less sweet taste and the slicker, wetter texture of soft tofu that I personally don’t like. I wasn’t convinced by the sweet potato flavour and honestly just felt like I was eating the center of custard tart, but that was delicious in itself. Despite not being made from soybeans, this still has one of the benefits of tofu in that it is low-calorie, at just 83kcal for the whole block, as well as being fat-free. I wouldn’t save this as a special treat but for a quick everyday snack I think it’s great and I’ll no doubt be eating it many more times before Lent is over.

7/10

Kibun Yakiimo-fuu Toufu  120g  83kcal

Three Desserts: Pumpkin Pudding, Pumpkin Cake, Mocha Coffee Jelly – 三つのデザート：パンプキンプリン・パンプキンケーキ・カフェゼリーモカ

Just a quick roundup of some recent treats this time, beginning with the Yukijirushi Megumilk Pumpkin Pudding, pictured above.

This sees the light, fluffy steamed egg puddings get a Halloween makeover with the introduction of a pumpkin flavour and cute festive packaging.

These little 70g pots are almost like tiny souffles, the pudding is like a very wet, fluffy mousse and you can almost hear the faint popping sound of the air being released as it dissolves in your mouth.

I don’t like to use the word ‘eggy’ because it never sounds appetising, but it is certainly different from standard milk-based puddings. I’m not a big fan of mousse and it was a little too spongey for me. I also would have liked a bolder flavour.

According to the packaging these contain Hokkaido pumpkin so it’s possible that they’re not available outside of this my cold northern island home, but perhaps there are several versions that use vegetables grown in other regions. The tiny pots make perfect snacks or light desserts, don’t taste very sugary at all and only contain 96kcals each, so are a fairly guilt-free autumn treat~

6/10

Continuing with the pumpkin theme we have 7-eleven’s Pumpkin Cake:

As you can see, 7-eleven has also produced an attractively packaged seasonal sweet, adding charming spooky designs to the standard gold and clear plastic cake container.

The rich yellow is wonderfully vivid, although perhaps a shade or two paler than actual pumpkin flesh. The label proclaims ‘the natural sweetness of pumpkin’, but this has an undeniable sugariness to it – the delicate sugariness of icing sugar rather than the stronger sweetness of say granulated sugar.

The appearance being similar to Mont Blanc, I was expecting a similarly dense and rich texture to the yellow topping, but it seems to be a flavoured whipped cream rather than a heavy vegetable puree, so it has a very smooth and light consistency.

The internal structure mimics Mont Blanc quite closely: beneath the golden-yellow confection is a layer of fresh cream which surrounds a pureed pumpkin center, and these three creamy layers sit atop a small square of fluffy sponge cake. This was really delicious and just gorgeous to look at, without being as filling as its chestnut equivalent.

8/10

7-elven Pumpkin cake ￥232  223kcals

Straying now from the seasonal thread for the final product, which is Emial Mocha Coffee Jelly:

I’ve tried every Emial Cafe Jelly I’ve come across so far – Caramel, Milk Tea, Coffee – but as soon as I peeled back the lid of the new Mocha version I new it would be my favourite. A lovely rich coffee aroma infused with dark chocolate notes hit me at once and it had a lovely milky cocoa hue (which has been a little washed out in the photograph).

The chocolatey sauce is as silky and thick as double cream, yet without as much fat. There is a pleasantly bitter hint of espresso and unsweetened cocoa that counters the rich dairy elements perfectly. The jelly cubes are solid enough that you can slice through them with a spoon without them disintegrating into a mass of shapeless blobs. There is a mild coffee taste but the jelly acts primarily to provide a substantial texture to act as a base for the creamy sauce.

I really loved the tastes, scents and textures of this and felt that it had the best coffee flavour of all the cafe jelly range. Eating it with a fresh cup of hot coffee was a like a little luxury, so I’m going to go ahead and give it:

9/10

(!)

Emial Cafe Jelly Mocha  247kcal