Cherry Blossom Tri-Color Pudding - blossoms

Method

• Note: If you mix gelatin with milk, the milk will split into 2 layers.
• In this recipe I have a way to avoid that.
• Preparation: Rinse the salt-preserved cherry blossoms gently in water to remove the surface salt.
• Put the rinsed cherry blossoms in the milk with the sugar, and leave to soak for a while (at least an hour, up to overnight).
• Green layer: Combine the milk, matcha and sugar.
• Put half in a bowl over ice water.
• Add the gelatin to the remaining half of the milk mixture, and heat in a pan while mixing to dissolve the gelatin.
• Add this to the chilled mixture and keep on mixing continuously until the whole mixture had cooled.
• When the pudding mixture has become cold and started to thicken, you can stop mixing.
• Pour it immediately into chilled glasses, and refrigerate until set.
• White layer: Put the white pudding ingredients in a pan and mix until everything is dissolved.
• Pour into the glasses from Step 5 and refrigerate until set.
• Pink layer: Add food coloring to the cherry blossom infusion from Step 2, and mix in a blender.
• Be sure not to add too much food coloring.
• Divide the mixture into 2 portions.
• Chill one portion in a bowl over ice water.
• Add the gelatin to the remaining portion of pudding mixture, and heat in a pan while stirring until the gelatin is dissolved.
• Add this to the chilled portion of pudding mixture, and keep on mixing continuously until it has completely cooled down.
• When the pudding mixture has become cold and started to thicken, you can stop mixing.
• Pour the pudding mixture immediately into the chilled glasses (on top of the white pudding layer), and refrigerate until set.
• Optionally top the pudding with some reserved de-salted cherry blossoms before refrigerating.
• Just a tiny bit of food coloring is needed to add color, so be sure to add it little by little.
• The color will deepen when the pudding mixture is heated, so keep the color on the light side when mixing it in.