Hey everyone, we’re back in 2026 after a longer break than planned!

For this week’s comic, I wanted to share the story behind one of my favourite things to bake: Japanese melon bread (or melon pan). It’s become a Christmas tradition in our house and one of Laura’s birthday requests.

Back in 2019, we were watching an anime (I cannot recall the title), and there was a girl that was obsessed with eating melon bread. She’d grab one from a convenience store in each episode and I was hooked (yeah I’m very impressionable). Problem was, living in the UK, I couldn’t find them anywhere. So, I decided to bake them myself.

It was the first proper dessert/bread I ever learned to bake from scratch, and it’s a project. Two different parts to make, a sweet bread and a cookie topping, more steps than my daily average, and perfect separation into 8 equal portions. It results in a soft, sweet, round bread with a crunchy cookie topping, that gives it that signature crunchy “melon rind” look (no actual melon flavour, by the way!). It is just divine! The original recipe that got me started is from The Little Epicurean (https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/2015/05/japanese-melon-pan.html#wprm-recipe-container-13121) and I still use it today.

Over the years, I’ve added my own little twist: tucking a block of chocolate inside each dough ball before topping with the cookie crust and baking. The melted gooey chocolate just makes them even more indulgent. Next time, I’ll be adding two blocks of chocolate!

To keep them extra special, I only bake them for Christmas, or if Laura specifically asks them for her birthday.

If you are feeling adventurous, and give it a go, please let me know how it turns out. I’d genuinely love to hear your experience.