Strawberry Sakura Marshmallows

The trees outside my window are covered in pink blossoms. Soon the petals will release and float on the air like snowflakes, and then the show will be over. This spring spectacle is too brief, so I decided to try to capture it in a confection - and what could be more "springy" than a pink marshmallow?

Preserved sakura (cherry blossom) is a Japanese ingredient that is sparsely available at international markets here in the states. I searched for it locally and came up empty-handed, but luckily it is procurable online. Two of the ingredients - the blossoms and leaves - arrived within a week of ordering (you can find those for purchase here

and here

), but the tiny bottle of sakura essence

took close to a month to arrive. It was well worth the wait. It has crisp, citrusy top notes, floral heart notes, and a faint lingering base note that reminds me of Thai lime leaf.
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