Two gifts from two different students in one day. A box of Mamador bean cakes from Takashimaya in Shinjuku and some macademia nuts from Saipan. Sometimes I wonder how long I'd have to live in Japan to sample every white bean cake on the market. No matter how many we try, more keep popping up. And, we've tried a lot. My husband was given a new variety today as a gift from a student for no particular reason. Japanese people are like that.
When I say "new", I mean "new to us" only. Apparently the company that makes these has been in business since 1946. It's easy to miss any particular Japanese sweet when you're shopping. Department stores have miles and miles of them available and it'd be impossible to buy or try them all. That means that some real gems can slip under your radar and these cakes are pretty, shiny diamonds amongst white bean cakes. In fact, they're my husband's new favorite among the types you can pick up pre-boxed (and locally).
The picture of the inside of these cakes makes them look like like they're full of some sort of yellow or fruit jelly, but they are full of super moist white beans surrounded by a moist cake-like shell. Most bean cakes are relatively dry and their fillings can be downright powdery at times. These are full of butter and milk and the flavor is reminiscent of vanilla cake.
It strikes me that these would make an excellent souvenir to take back home as it's a Japanese sweet which I'm sure even squeamish eaters would enjoy. They're just a little hard to find though unless you happen to live in the right location.
3 comments:
Oh yum, have you had chinese mooncakes for chinese new year? They are just like this! Gosh i love these...you can get round ones or bar ones like the ones in your photo. I haven't had some since the beginning of this year! White bean paste is the best, though i do like the red bean, the white bean is much more simple in flavour, and easy to eat.
I've never had moon cakes, but I've read about them. Many people seem to think they're not very good and I've heard talk of them which compares them to fruitcake at Christmas. The idea is that they get recycled year after year and are so unpalatable that people can't tell the difference.
Thanks for your comment. :-)
My uncle brought these cakes when he visited Japan. The cakes were delishes. I live pakistan, I wonder how I can get these cakes here.
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