Christmas cake クリスマスケーキ
The Japanese Christmas cake is a light sponge layered with whipped cream and topped with strawberries. It is the usual dessert on Christmas Eve.
About Christmas cake
- What it is: A strawberry shortcake with white cream and a fluffy sponge. Its red and white colours are often given as one reason it became the Christmas dessert.
- History: Japan's first Christmas cake was sold in Yokohama in 1910, as a fruit cake. Strawberry shortcake appeared in 1922 and became widely available as a Christmas cake from 1952.
- Season: Christmas Eve, 24 December. Families often share one in the evening after everyone is home from work.
- With fried chicken: Fried chicken is the usual Christmas Eve dinner. Many families pre-order it weeks ahead, a custom dating from a 1970s advertising campaign.
- Where to try it: Specialist bakeries and confectioners make their own versions, and supermarkets and grocery stores sell simpler ones.
Season
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Checked against: Christmas cakes in Japan: An affectionate history | Japan Today · A Guide To Japanese Christmas Foods | Culture Trip.
Christmas cake on Shibuya246
Photos and stories from the blog, as they were written at the time.
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