Part 13: Confectionery Expert Morisaki Mayuka’s Amazake Basque Cheesecake That’s Shareable with Your Pet Dog

In this ongoing series, we ask food professionals for their top recommended fermented foods. This time we speak with Morisaki Mayuka, an expert on confectionery making.
Fermented foods are, for Morisaki, dependable partners that add a gentle sweetness and depth of flavor to confectionery.
In this article, Morisaki presents her rich Basque cheesecake that features amazake [a sweet drink made from fermented koji rice malt] that you can enjoy with your beloved pet.

The delicious connection between fermentation and sweets

Morisaki Mayuka is active as an expert in confectionery making. She explains how fermented foods are dependable staples in confectionery making.

“The most common examples of fermented foods that are frequently used in confectionery are yogurt and cheese. Their mild richness and the refreshing acidity and umami flavor from their lactic acid bacteria fermentation provide depth to sweets. I also use amazake and sweet koji a lot, as they contribute a gentle sweetness.”

Another plus is that you can cut back on fats and sugars by making deft use of fermented foods.

“Of course, I love sweets that use plenty of fresh cream and sugar, but I save them to enjoy on special occasions. For ordinary snacks, I prefer healthy snacks that are good for your body. I’m always experimenting with recipes, reconsidering each ingredient in classic confectionery recipes and seeing where I might substitute in fermented foods or adding in fermented foods to enhance the umami. Snacks that are easy on dogs’ bodies are surely easy on human bodies too. I’m always thinking about confectionery that people can eat without feeling guilty. That’s what I keep striving for, despite many mishaps.”

Both dogs and humans are what they eat

Morisaki’s beloved Riku is a pampered 10-year-old male dog who loves to eat

Morisaki has always liked miso, yogurt, and other fermented foods. What got her to consciously use fermented ingredients in her confectionery was her pet dog Riku.

“It happened when Riku was around two. He developed red, itchy bumps on his stomach. I took him to the vet, who said he might have an allergy. The vet showed me how to make his daily meals at home, so I tried making homemade food for him while studying various books and other resources. A few months later and Riku’s stomach had cleared up completely. This was a big lesson for me, as I realized how important diets are for dogs as well as for humans.”

After this experience, Morisaki got serious about studying pet food, going so far as to earn a certificate as an associate pet dietary educator. She also opened a store called One’s Daily that sells snacks and meals that people can eat with their dogs.

“The benefit of homemade meals is that the owner selects the ingredients and can make meals without any additives. You can also customize the meal’s form and nutritional balance to suit your dog’s age and constitution. More than anything else, dogs and cats just love eating. Watching Riku, I feel that making mealtimes fulfilling for them is directly connected to their happiness.”

Fermented foods play a big role in regular meals too

Amazake smoothies made with seasonal vegetables and fruits are some of the most popular items at Morisaki’s store.

Morisaki uses a lot of fermented foods in Riku’s regular meals too. Fermented ingredients like miso, in particular, are essential in creating satisfying flavors while keeping the salt content in check.

“The secret to making meals that don’t overly stress a dog’s body is to make dishes that feature the ingredients’ flavors with just a light seasoning to add taste. For example, seasoning with just a small amount of miso really boosts the umami while keeping the salt content down. Watching him enjoy eating makes me happy too.”

Morisaki recommends potage and smoothies that combine vegetables and fruits with amazake as things you can share with your pet dog or cat, and they are among the more popular items at her store. They are sold in easy-to-carry pouches, so many families take them on walks and mix a little bit of the product with water when they need to hydrate their pets.

“I’ve heard from customers whose dogs don’t like drinking water while outdoors that adding just a hint of sweetness will get them to happily lap it up. Amazake is so full of nutrients that it’s been called the drinkable IV drip. It can also help regulate the gut microbiome. People, recently, have been increasingly interested in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome for their dogs. There are even intestinal flora tests for dogs.”

Morisaki’s smoothies, which pair a natural sweetness with a mellow richness, are naturally very delicious for people too. Their mild flavors create more opportunities for dogs and their owners to share smiles together.

How to make amazake Basque cheesecake that you can share with your dog or cat

Morisaki taught us how to make a simple cheesecake that uses highly nutritious amazake and cream cheese, which is also a fermented food.

“All you have to do is mix all the ingredients with a mixer or blender, pour it into a cake mold, and bake. You don’t need to let the cream cheese warm up to room temperature, so it’s a snack you can easily whip up anytime you are in the mood.”

You can still make the cheesecake even if you don’t have a mixer or blender. Let the cream cheese reach room temperature and then mix in the honey, eggs, and rice flour in that order with a whisk, making sure the mixture is smooth before adding the next ingredient.

Once you’ve mixed it all together, pour it into a cake mold and let the oven do the rest

“People often make the batter of Basque cheesecake with fresh cream and cream cheese, but for this recipe, I substitute amazake for the fresh cream. You might think that the taste would be too thin. But amazake gives the batter a surprising richness, depth, and mellowness much like fresh cream, producing that classic Basque cheesecake flavor.”

As an alternative, you can switch out the cream cheese for strained cottage cheese for a lighter texture.
And if you are making this for a special occasion, such as your dog’s birthday or Christmas, you can dress it up with strained yogurt or fruit.

For our next installment, the baton will go from Morisaki to Hasuike Yoko, a professional cook. Be sure not to miss Hasuike’s recommendations as an avid lover of mountains and the outdoors.