“… Sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in …”

Jane Austen

The explosion of spring never fails to amaze me. Within a day in Ithaca, it will go from being grey, with sparse crocuses and snowdrops poking through, to a riot of pink, yellow, and white blossoms everywhere you look.
Though we don’t have any dedicated cherry groves like in Japan or D.C., there are many cherry trees growing in our neighborhood, and we have a gorgeous weeping cherry tree in our front yard.
I collected 3 different types of blossoms, the first from our tree, weeping Higan cherry blossoms, are white to pink and very ruffly.
The second are the dark pink Okame cherry blossoms, which are larger and more vibrant.
The third are Yamazakura cherry blossoms, white with a dark pink center.
Looking at all of the flowers brought me back to my spring Japan trip a few years ago.

I wanted to make these mini cakelets to celebrate cherry blossom season. My hope was to make them look like Hostess Sno Balls—one single-serve little pink pufflet all for yourself.
Inside is a velvety, moist white yogurt cake threaded with cocoa marbling. The cakes are soaked in cherry blossom, clover, and chamomile syrup, which adds a lovely subtle floral note. They are frosted generously with tangy cream cheese frosting and decorated with an abundance of sakura blossoms.

Any edible flowers would work here. Just make sure they are untreated and clean for both the syrup and decorations.

Hope you are all having a beautiful spring. Back soon with lots of pictures from my vacation in Europe.

Sakura Cakelets
makes 6 small cakes

for the white yogurt cake:
113 grams (1 stick) butter, cubed and at room temperature
200 grams (1 cup) sugar
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200 grams (1 2/3 cup) cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
140 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) yogurt
30 grams (2 tablespoons) neutral oil
2 teaspoons cocoa powder

for the soaking syrup:
2 tablespoons cherry blossoms, picked over and cleaned
1 tablespoon dried red clover blossoms
1 teaspoon chamomile flowers
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water

for the cream cheese frosting:
113 grams (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
180 grams (1 1/2 cups) powdered sugar
140 grams (5 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

directions:
Prepare a 6 x 1/2 cup silicone dome cake mold with butter and flour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the cake: cream butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until fluffy and lightened in color.
Mix in the egg whites and vanilla and beat for an additional 3 minutes.
Add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt and mix for 30 seconds, until almost incorporated.
Add the yogurt and neutral oil and stir with a spatula until batter is homogeneous.
Portion out 1/3 cup batter and whisk the cocoa powder in until combined.
Pour layers of the white batter into the mold and swirl in dots of the chocolate batter in each layer.
Bake for 15 minutes until a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
Allow to cool completely.
To make the syrup, place all ingredients in a small pot over low-medium heat.
Bring to a boil and cook until syrup is thickened and fragrant.
Allow to cool completely before soaking the cakes thoroughly with syrup.
To make the frosting, whip butter, salt, and powdered sugar together until fluffy and light.
Add the cream cheese and whip for an additional 30 seconds, careful not to overwhip.
Frost the cakes generously and decorate with flowers.