Keisuke Okamoto×Chisako Takashima

It takes ten years to become a professional castella cake baker

Takashima

I have heard that baking a castella cake requires a great deal of special skills.

Okamoto

Although only the simplest ingredients go into a castella cake, its quality is determined by the mixing and baking skills involved. It used to be said that it took ten years to become a professional at baking a castella cake. Our artisan bakers were granted the opportunity to improve their skills thanks to Koshiro Mori, who was designated a Living National Treasure for foods. As chief artisan, he shifted from the conventional approach of “stealing skills by watching one’s masters” to a tailored instruction approach and guided his apprentices individually. Therefore, many of our employees heightened their artisan skills significantly.

Takashima

What kind of person is cut out to become an artisan baker?

Okamoto

I would say, people who are patient and relaxed.

Takashima

Oh, that is not for me (laughs).

Okamoto

You may be right (laughs). If you wanted to bake a castella cake in a limited amount of time, it would be possible to bake one at high temperatures in perhaps 20 minutes. However, in order not to let the moisture escape, it would require 40-50 minutes in a slow oven. Minor adjustments are made every day to the time spent on mixing and baking. These decisions are based on high artisan skills.

Takashima

I had never realized that they were so difficult to make. We enjoy your castella cakes very often at home, because my children are great castella fans. /dd>

Okamoto

Thank you. Castella cakes do not contain butter and other fats, so they have fewer calories than often imagined. Yet, given their carbohydrate and protein content, they have high nutritional value. Many professional athletes enjoy them too. I can recommend them to people of all ages, from children to the elderly.

Takashima

Free of additives, they are healthy treats.

Okamoto

The best way to eat a castella cake is to break it with your fingers in order not to squish it. The last thing you should do is press on it with your fork. I have been told that Ryunosuke Akutagawa said that the right way to eat a castella cake was to break it with your fingers. Because a castella sponge becomes dry within a few minutes, it is best to finish a cake as quickly as you can once you have opened a box.