——First, I would like ask Chef Matsume to describe Cake Kinako.

Matsume: As the name indicates, it is a pound cake made with kinako, that is, roasted soybean flour. Pound cake has long been sold at WAKO too, and people of all ages readily become fond of it. This made me decide to use it for the base. Pound cake is a Western pastry item, and I therefore wanted to add a traditional Japanese ingredient to it. Kink came to mind. I mixed amanatto sugared beans made from white kidney beans, which are used to make shiro-an white sweet bean paste, into the cake batter. Outside Japan, I think there are few cultures that use sweetened beans to make confections, and I pictured a new type of pound cake blending Japanese and Western ingredients in the process of development.

——Ms. Manabe, what was your first impression upon seeing Cake Kinako?

Manabe: Topped with dried figs, raisins, and other ingredients, I thought it looked wonderful. And even before taking a bite, there was a strong kinako fragrance. That surprised me. Does the cake actually contain a large amount of kinako as this suggests?

Matsume: I tried various types of kinako and chose the one with the richest fragrance for this cake. The actual content of kinako is not that high. Use of traditional Japanese ingredients is apt to make the confection look more somber. For this reason, I topped the cake with dried figs, jewelry raisins, and the red granules of framboise cereal to brighten it. Please eat the dried figs and cake together. The texture and sweetness of the dried figs go very well with the kinako cake.

Manabe: It has the gorgeous flair that pastry should have. With the kinako and white kidney beans, the cake has a gentle flavor, but the combination with the tartness of the dried figs is really exquisite. The cake, too, is not as oily as sponge cake, but still has a moist texture and crumbles in the mouth. I felt that there was a certain resemblance to Japanese confections. The texture and the flavor as well are a Japanese-Western hybrid. It is a truly novel creation. In my view, it is not just a pound cake made with Japanese ingredients.

——Have you ever before eaten pastry with such a pronounced kinako taste?

Manabe: No. The use of kinako is one thing, but the cake also contains dried fruits commonly used in Western pastry, and this makes for a mild flavor with a fairly subdued sweetness. And yet each ingredient retains its unique qualities. It is indeed a marvelous cake. I sensed a little saltiness in the dried figs, and the cake consequently struck me as one for an adult palate. Because the flavor is so gentle, I think the cake could be enjoyed with a wide range of companions, meaning not only green tea, black tea, and coffee but also red wine and sake.

Matsume: I used the nappage technique to put a glaze on the cake surface. I ordinarily use ingredients such as jams for this, but I selected Mizuame (millet jelly) this time in order to accent the kinako flavor.

——I understand that the nappage also acts like an adhesive that prevents the cake topping from falling off. Little touches like this gladden the heart.

Manabe: As might be expected of a master pastry chef. This is really perfect for a gift. I would like to give one to someone at the workplace and see the surprised look on their face. I believe the taste would also delight children. The cake would be ideal for occasions that bring together both young and old, and men and women.

——Next, I would like to ask Chef Oguma, who was in charge of Ruby Shortcake, to tell us about it.

Oguma: Hearing that the Tokyo Tokyo concept for this project is “Old meets New,” I decided to make a “shortcake of the future,” meaning one that had a new flavor and appearance while based on the traditional shortcake born in Tokyo about 100 years ago. The main ingredient is ruby chocolate, which is considered the “fourth chocolate.” Because ruby chocolate itself has a strong sweetness, I added berries for their tartness to strike a proper balance. By molding the ruby chocolate around the outside in a tubular fashion, I was able to add a variety of toppings, including strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I also used ingredients like puffed rice and chocolate-covered raspberries for their texture accents. On the inside, I put raspberries into the ruby chocolate cream between the shortcake sections for a more tart flavor.

Manabe: Overall, it is not too sweet and has a very clean taste. Ordinarily, shortcake is liable to feel heavier toward the end. But with Ruby Shortcake, the tartness works just right, and I could easily eat the whole thing without getting tired of the taste before finishing.

——From here on, I would like to ask Ms. Manabe to talk about her memories of Tokyo confections. I understand that you were born in Ehime Prefecture. Were there any Tokyo foods that you longed to try?

Goodness, I had a longing for all kinds of Tokyo foods! Take pasta, for example. While I lived in Ehime, I knew of only about three types, one being Neapolitan. But when I came to Tokyo, I was stunned to learn of the existence of pasta in a cream sauce made with sea urchin eggs (laughter). Oh, I just remembered; I'm sure you know the cute tart covered with plenty of fruit that is sold by Qu'il fait bon, for example. But in my native Ehime, “tart” means that sold by Ichiroku.

——Ichiroku tart! Yes, I know it. It's a confection made by rolling sweet bean paste in sponge cake, and has a hint of a citron scent. I like it too.

You know it!? That makes me happy! I always identified that item with “tart”. So when I first saw the cake they call “tart” in Tokyo, I was amazed. “But it's not rolled!” I thought (laughter).

——Even though the name is the same. It is strange.

This was before Qu'il fait bon became so popular, and there were not many sweets in the form of tart topped with plenty of fruit. For this reason, I have still not forgotten the jolt I got when I first saw the tart they sell in the department store basements of Tokyo's Shibuya district. Even now, I can clearly remember thinking, “Just what kind of tart is that!?”