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Sweet Comfort Food
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 25m
G
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 25m
G
If you visit cake shops and department stores in Japan in December, you’ll be met by a sea of red and white Japanese Christmas cakes, or kurisumasu keki. The ubiquitous layered strawberry shortcake made with a light sponge, fresh strawberries and whipped cream is the centrepiece of Japanese Christmas.
The highlight of Christmas in Japan
With a vast majority of Japanese people practising Shintoism and Buddhism, Christmas isn’t officially observed in the country. But even if it’s not a public holiday, it’s still celebrated with illuminations, decorations, markets and food. On Christmas Eve, couples, families and groups of friends gather to eat together, most often and cake. While cakes like the , are gaining in popularity, the Japanese Christmas cake leads the way.
Strawberry shortcake is popular during Christmas in Japan. Credit: Maki Wong
On top of being delicious and , its colours evoke a snowy Christmas and the Japanese flag. The and don't have a fighting chance.
The strawberry shortcakes can be ordered ahead of time from renowned patisseries and department stores, bought from stalls in the streets and even found at convenience stores. Many families, like 's, also make them at home.
It was the highlight of our Christmas party.
Now based on the Sunshine Coast, she grew up in Gifu, a prefecture in central Japan. "When I was a child, my mum used to make strawberry shortcake every year, she didn't change anything. In the country, there weren't many cake shops so most families made the cake at home," she says. "It was the highlight of our Christmas party."
The origin of the iconic cake
Cake shop chain Fujiya . Inspired by a visit to America where he tried strawberry shortcake with a biscuit base, Fujiya's founder, , launched his version with a sponge, a type of cake already beloved in Japan, in 1922.
It took off after World War II, when , and . It's reported that in the mid-1960s, over two days.
The kurisumasu keki is now one of the most ingrained Japanese Christmas traditions. The cake, which is also a birthday staple, even has its own emoji.
The secret(s) to a great Japanese Christmas cake
Fujita believes that a great Japanese Christmas cake is all in the sponge. "The sponge has to be very soft and fluffy, that is not easy to make successfully," she explains.
agrees: "Japanese cake is very light, a bit different from a lot of cakes here that are more dense and heavy and sweet."
She advises choosing pure fresh cream, with no additives.
"For the strawberry, you need a bit of a sour one, not too sweet or watery, a nice crunchy, hard strawberry, with a hint of sourness," says Wong.
Decorate your cake with strawberries, maybe a sprinkle of powdered sugar to mimic snow, and something Christmas-y like a sugar Santa. When Wong bakes the cake for her daughters, she makes a Santa out of strawberries. "I make it every Christmas. It's nice to hand down these traditions," she says.
Both , in Sydney, and , on the Sunshine Coast, make Japanese Christmas cakes to order.
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Maki Wong's strawberry shortcake recipe
Serves 4-6 people
Famous for its fluffy and soft layers of sponge with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. A light and refreshing cake, perfect for every occasion.
Please note: this recipe is intentionally listed in grams and has been tested.
Ingredients
Sponge
- 20 g milk
- 10 g butter
- 10 g canola oil
- 150 g egg
- 100 g sugar
- 90 g flour
Filling
- 300 g fresh pure cream (chilled)
- 17 g sugar
- 10 g condensed milk
- 250 g strawberries
Decoration
- Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries
- Melted chocolate to draw a Santa face
Method
1. Line the tin with baking paper, including the side and the base.
2. Preheat the oven to 175˚C and prepare a bain-marie.
3. Measure milk, butter and oil together in a small stainless steel bowl, and place on bain-marie till the butter is melted.
4. Mix egg and sugar together and warm the mixture in the baine-marie till lukewarm (about 40˚C). Then take out and use the mixer to beat until the mixture is whiter and thick.
5. Use a spatula to fold in sieved flour. Do this in 3 portions, slowly and gently.
6. Add a little of this mixture to the milk, butter and oil. Combine well and add this back to the main mixture.
7. Mix with a spatula and pour into a 15 cm (6 inch) tin.
8. Bake at 170˚C for 25-30 mins.
9. Take out the sponge and place it on the cooling rack. Let the steam out then cover the cake with the tin and leave till cool.
10. Once the sponge is completely cooled, slice the sponge into 3 layers. (If possible, slice off the golden brown top and bottom of the cake.)
11. Thinly slice 6 strawberries for the filling.
12. Whip the fresh pure cream with sugar and condensed milk until soft peak. Remove 100 g for decoration then whip the rest till a stiff peak forms.
13. Using a palette knife, spread some cream on the first sponge layer. Place sliced strawberries on top then cover with more cream.
14. Add the second sponge layer and repeat step 13.
15. Add the last sponge layer and cover the whole cake with the remaining cream.
16. Decorate the cake with the remaining 100 g soft peak cream, berries and chocolate.
Notes
- It is best to bake the sponge the day before decorating the cake.
- For a gluten-free version, change the flour to 72 g rice flour and 18 g cornflour.
