• 80 gr 大和芋
• 140 gr granulated sugar (it works better with granulated sugar rather than powdered sugar, because you want some shearing!)
• 80 gr water
• 100 gr かるかん粉 (I used to use 上新粉, but it never really worked)
• 0.4 gr baking powder

Grate 芋 in すり鉢, then add sugar in 3 steps. Then add water in 5 steps. Sieve in 粉 and baking powder. Add colour and flavour. Stand under moist cloth for 20', then pour into mould lined with a baking sheet. Steam for 20' on high, having covered the lid of the steamer in a cotton cloth to prevent dripping. Cool on wire rack under a moist cloth for a bit, then cut (from the back side) with a wire.

• LK suggest: 梅酒 can be used as a flavoring during the spring and summer. Daitokuji natto, salty fermented black beans, can be cut into small pieces and mixed in the batter. Lightly roasted white or black sesame seeds can also be mixed in the batter. Finely chopped crystallized ginger or grated orange zest can also be used.
• 初音: Based of a 淡交テキスト recipe called 初春 (reserve 20 gr of batter, colour it pink and add as a top layer or use to paint flowers onto it). My brandying shape is from 源氏物語's chapter 23 called 「初音」. Here, Lady Akashi writes (among others) the following poem:

めづらしや 花のねぐらに 木づたひて 谷のふる巣をとへる鶯

How adorable!
From among its flowery roosts,
Flitting from tree to tree,
To its old nest in the valley
A-calling comes the warbler.

• 桜川: Another 淡交テキスト recipe, that uses a mugwort-flavoured こなし layer sandwhiched between a blue and pink かるかん layer. This requires 3 steaming sessions à 20' each, and IMHO the こなし doesn't add much.

• かるかん饅頭: They can also be steamed as individual portions (which makes subsequent cutting superflous!) Here the recipe is slightly altered:
  • 35 gr 大和芋
  • 70 gr granulated sugar
  • 40 gr water (or tea)
  • 42.5 gr かるかん粉
• It also adds 7 gr of lemon (or ゆず) peel, which is fantastic. Pour into molds, add some 中餡 (I used pineapple!) Steam for 20' at medium heat, then chill in water bath.

• I had been wondering if I couldn't just mix it all in the blender — but that doesn't work at all. The 大和芋 works a bit like egg white, only it needs shearing rather than aeriation. So if you blend all together, that doesn't work
• The とろろ works somewhat, but it has better taste and texture with the 大和芋.
• Instead of adding water, add some sheng puer, and steam it in green tea?
• Lavender also pairs well with the yams.