Many (baking) bloggers were baking and posting this cake on their blog. I was rather intrigued because it seemed like such a delicate and complicated cake to bake.
It took some bakers many attempts and tweaking to get it right. Heck, you even need a wooden baking pan to bake this cake.
Well I had already murdered one too many Japanese Cheesecakes and I am not going to add another victim to my list.
Fast forward 12 years later, this here in my hand is the famous Fukusaya Castella Cake, all the way from Japan.
My brother (YB#1) took his wife to Japan on her birthday (which explains the cake). So nice right? I will still be stuck in Damansara Uptown on my birthday wahahahaha!!! Never mind lah. I got no luck. Tsk!
The cake was very well packed and securely wrapped.
This is how the cake looked like after it was unwrapped. Very dark brown crust and ready-sliced. There was a plastic wrap on top and I almost ate it >.<
I was quite eager to taste this cake to see what the hoo hah was all about (yeah, I waited for more than 10 years).
Oh! It was a very nice cake - moist with tender crumb. It's pretty much like a sponge cake but more compact and more moist. This Castella cake was on the sweet side but not the type of sweet that makes my eyes pop.
Well, I have now tasted a Castella cake that came all the way from a bakery in Japan. Yes, it was a good cake. But no, I'm (still) not going to attempt to bake this hah..hah...
Anyone who is interested, you can find the recipe here :
Nice! It always feels good to receive a gift or souvenir from friends or family be it expensive or not. It is the thought that counts. The cake looks tasty and after your verdict confirm chop it is good. But I have no luck like you too cos Japan has never been in my bucket list due to the risk of frequent earthquakes and typhoons in their region, I am not that brave lah lol. My youngest sister and her hubby with their friends once went Tokyo and run into typhoon there but luckily they were able to find alternative accommodation elsewhere with the help of a local Japanese friend and all came home safe and sound.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an eventful holiday your sister had. Thank God she and hubby and companions were safe. I am not brave, always will think of "what if" something bad happens when overseas hah..hah..hah...
DeleteThe way you photoed this cake gift from your brother and wifey and the way you "documented" it shows how much you treasure this thought and gift from them.
ReplyDeleteIt was much appreciated since they brought it all the way from Japan.
DeleteDoes it taste buttery?
ReplyDeleteNo buttery taste at all, so should be well accepted by people who dislike butter smell.
DeleteI think I tried Castella Cake from the local bakeries and hopefully I can try those from Japan one day.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen Castella cake at local bakeries. Maybe I wasn't paying attention.
Deletehmm....the name castella cake is very familiar but I'm not sure if I have taste tht before, maybe during the time when i was still a little kid. My late grand-aunt used to bake cakes and distribute them during CNY....most likely it was from her, else could be neighbours.
ReplyDeleteNice that you had the chance to taste it as a kid. It's a nice cake. Maybe if I see at local bakery, I will buy to see if it tastes like the one from Japan.
DeleteI love a simple castella cake too...and have only eaten a version of them from local bakeries just like CY. It was once made available in Isetan KLCC (last year if I'm not mistaken...and it's sold in Isetan Singapore). I think you might have gotten the cake upside down...lol. This Japanese sponge cake it seems is identifiable by its dark base that has coarse sugar crystals, maybe that's why the cake is sweet. I recently got a matcha castella cake that my neighbour gifted me from her recent Japan trip. It was good too (wrapped like yours too) but didn't pay attention to the wrapping (if it's the famous one). I had one piece (but didn't take any photos) and my husband finished it. :D
ReplyDeleteOh, I terbalik the cake? hah..hah..hah... Ah, I remember you mentioned that your hubby is the one with the sweet tooth hee..hee..
DeleteDoesn't matter lah terbalik or not, after eating, it is all the same inside the stomach lol.
Deletehah..hah..
DeleteHah..hah, ya, nothing wrong with eating it terbalik. Just let you know in case you want to photograph it better the next time. Lol....I think the plastic wrap was a dead giveaway that it was the bottom.
DeleteI should have known better since I have baked before and the cake tin is always lined and therefore that should be the bottom LOL!
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