Irresistible Ube Mochi Cake Recipe by Kat Lieu — modern asian baking (2024)

FAQs

Why are Japanese cakes so soft? ›

The Baking Method

The moisture of the water bath also prevents the cake from cracking or drying out during baking. Japanese cheesecakes are baked differently, using low heat and high air circulation. This, combined with whipped egg whites and cream cheese, gives these cakes their signature light, fluffy texture.

Usually when you think of a cake, you think of something light and crumbly. This, however, was basically a slab of rubbery mochi, rather than a fluffy cake. The flavor was very subtle, with accents of coconut and butter.

Introduced to the Japanese by Portuguese merchants in the 16th Century and now a speciality of the Nagasaki region, Castella sponges have a finer, more compact texture than traditional sponge cakes, while still being lighter than pound cakes or butter cakes.

How long will they last? Our Japanese Cheesecakes can stay in room temperature for up to 12 hours. We recommend putting them in the fridge as soon as possible, and they can last refrigerated for up to 3 days.

How Long Does Fresh Mochi Last in the Fridge? Fresh rice cakes can typically last in the fridge for about four weeks. It's necessary to store mochi in an airtight container to help keep it from drying out or cracking. You can also put fresh mochi in the freezer for up to three months.

Mochi is typically made with a sweet rice flour called mochiko, while snow skin mooncakes are made from a mix of regular rice flour and glutinous rice flour.

Mochi (もち, 餅) [motɕi] is a Japanese rice cake made of mochigome (もち米), a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The steamed rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape.

Japanese castella cake consists of only a few ingredients — flour, sugar, water, honey, and eggs. Unlike a traditional sponge cake in the United States, there's no baking soda or baking powder, and instead, it's the eggs that give the cake its fluffy texture.

Cream fillings usually have a mousse-like fluffy consistency, frostings use fresh, sweetened whipped cream and sponges are light and delicate. They are never sickly or overly sweet and in fact tend to use less sugar than Western desserts making them easy to eat, even after a meal.

Castella typically has a soft, light, and bouncy texture that's unlike other traditional cakes. Castella is adored for its subtle sweetness (typical for wagashi and other Japanese desserts) and for its moist, fine-grained texture.

What is the difference between Japanese cheesecake and regular cheesecake? ›

As we mentioned before, Japanese cheesecakes are much lighter and fluffier than regular cheesecakes. You can tell the difference in texture just by looking at the two kinds of cake. A regular cheesecake is dense and heavy, while a Japanese cheesecake is light and airy. They taste nothing like each other!