Monaka (最中) is a traditional Japanese sweet (wagashi) consisting of a sweet filling sandwiched between two thin wafers.
The wafers are often made of rice flour, and they can have pretty much any shape.
While the traditional filling is sweet bean paste, nowadays it can be many things. For example chocolate, ice cream, mochi, etc.
It’s a popular sweet that’s made all throughout Japan.
History of Monaka
An early version of the monaka consisted of a mixture of rice flour and water that was steamed and then cooked so that it had the shape of a crepe.
Then it would be sweetened with honey or syrup.
During the Edo period, it started to have a filling in the middle of the wafers.
However, it wasn’t until the Meiji period that the process of filling and giving a more functional or decorative shape to the wafers was invented.
From that point on, it gained much popularity.
This sweet isn’t easy to make at home, one probably needs special molds for the wafers.
But I found one from Amazon, here’s the link.
Have you tasted monaka before?
