Pikachu Anpan

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 300 g wheat flour, type 550
• 1 ½ tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 30 g sugar
• 25 g butter, room temperature
• 1 egg(s), beaten
• 180 ml milk, lukewarm
• some flour, for the work surface
• 240 g paste (Anko – sweet paste made from azuki beans)
• some raisins
• Chocolate, (chocolate drops)
• some cherries, topping
• some poppy seeds

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 55 minutes

Japanese bun with bean paste filling (anko)

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then add the milk, half of the beaten egg, and the butter. Knead well using the dough hook of a mixer. The dough will seem very sticky at first, but will become nice and smooth over time. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. I put it in a slightly preheated oven and place a cup of hot water next to it to prevent it from drying out. After the dough has risen, knead it again with your hands and divide it into 12 equal pieces. From each piece, tear off two small pieces for the ears and form the rest into a ball. Dust the work surface with flour. Roll each ball out into a circle, thinning out towards the sides. Place a heaped teaspoon (20g) of anko paste on each circle and seal it into a ball. Shape the ears from the small pieces and attach them to the balls. Then place the balls on a baking sheet, flatten slightly, and decorate. I use raisins for the eyes, a chocolate chip for the nose, and cherries for the cheeks. The decorations need to be pressed fairly firmly into the dough so they don’t fall off during baking. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rise again until it has increased significantly in volume (about half an hour). In the meantime, preheat the oven to 170-180°C (depending on your oven). Brush the Pikachus with the remaining ice cream and sprinkle the ears with poppy seeds. Then bake for about 15 minutes. They’re done when they’re golden yellow. Note: Anko is available at Asian stores. You can also make it yourself by boiling azuki beans (available at health food stores) until soft and sweetening with plenty of sugar. You can either use it as is or pass it through a sieve first.