History of famous Japanese desserts

Legend has it that a group of Portuguese monks were sailing to Macao when their ship ran into bad weather and they landed in Nagasaki, Japan instead. That chance encounter changed Japan and its cuisine forever.

The beautiful coastal city of Kyushu. Photo: Lonely Planet

During the 16th century,  Kyushu island , in Nagasaki province (Japan) was the only city where foreigners could trade with the Japanese. This is also the land that produces many famous Western-style sweets

Kyushu - city of sweetness

A famous dessert that hails from the island is castella , a Portuguese-inspired pastry . Although the pound cake style originated in Portugal, one ingredient that makes the dish distinctively Japanese is mizuame syrup , made from sticky rice.

A smooth castella sponge cake with sweetness from Japanese mizuame syrup. (Photo: Japan Hub).

The store called Fukusaya is where you can buy the best castella sponge cake in Japan. This is a famous pastry shop chain, opening its first location in Nagasaki in 1624. The castella cakes here are cut into square pieces, individually wrapped in colorful packaging and then placed in gift boxes.

According to a Fukusaya employee, although there are occasional special flavors such as sakura (cherry blossom) in the spring or chocolate at Christmas, the classic castella cake is still the best seller.

Castella sponge cake (kasutera in Japanese) also appears in another famous Japanese pastry, Doremon's favorite cake: dorayaki. This can be considered a thinner castella and is made into a pancake with a layer of sweet red bean filling inside.

Among the famous Japanese desserts, the indispensable wagashi cake, which also originates from Kyushu, is indispensable.

Famous Dorayaki cake. (Photo: gltipj).

Culinary interference between Japan and Europe

Another European sweet with a Japanese twist is the macaron, also known to the Japanese as makaron , which is made with peanut flour instead of almond flour and often carries traditional Japanese flavors such as green tea or beans. red.

Cute little Japanese-style macaron cake. (Photo: CNN).

' I think Japanese people really like European pastries, especially French ones, ' says Michele Abbatemarco, pastry chef at Est restaurant at the Four Seasons Tokyo in Otemachi . Over the past 50 years, pastries have made great strides in Japan. And then there are quite a few bakeries in Europe and around the world that are inspired by Japanese products ," he added.

A royal legacy

One of the most popular and recognizable Japanese sweets is konpeito . These small, pale sugar cubes look like crystallized stars or flowers. The name is said to come from the Portuguese word for a type of sugar candy called confeito, brought to Japan by sugar merchants.

However, it's not just their size that makes the candies 'cuter' because in the 16th century, sugar was so expensive that even a small treat was extremely valuable.

Sparkling konpeito sugar cubes. (Photo: Super Cute Kawaii).

According to ancient Japanese tradition, Imperial guests such as heads of state and other royal family members receive silver candy boxes called bonbonnieres (French for 'boxes'). candy' ) as welcome gifts when they attend important events such as weddings or 'festivals' of the King and Queen of Japan.

The candy box was made of silver by Tokyo-based jeweler Miyamoto Shoko and decorated with a chrysanthemum, the symbol of the royal family, on top. Inside the candy box, lucky guests will find sparkling konpeito sugar cubes.