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1
Soak the salted sakura leaves in water to desalt for about 30 minutes.
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2
Change the water occasionally.
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3
Add just a bit of the water into the shiratamako, and knead well until lumps are completely gone.
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4
Add the sugar, salt, and food coloring to the bowl.
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5
Add half of the remaining water, and continue to mix.
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6
Sift in the flour, adding it in several portions.
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7
Alternate with small additions of the remaining water, while mixing until smooth.
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8
Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
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9
In the meantime, remove the hulls from the strawberries, rinse them, and gently wipe off the excess water.
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10
If the strawberries are big, cut in half.
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11
Remove the cherry leaves from the water, and gently wipe off the moisture.
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12
If the leaves are big, cut them in half, and remove the tough veins.
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13
Divide the anko paste into 8 equal portions and wrap each portion around a strawberry.
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14
Lightly grease a frying pan with oil, heat on low, then ladle in the batter.
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15
Using the back of the ladle, flatten the batter into a 1-mm thick, 10 x 6 cm round crepe.
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16
When the mochi batter has hardened, turn it over to cook the other side.
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17
The surface should be cooked just to the point where the batter is dry (do not brown).
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18
Cool the batter, then wrap the balls of anko from Step 8.
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19
Then wrap each cake with a sakura leaf.
