Concave cake (Chinese: 凹蛋糕, half-cooked cake) becomes popular in Chinese society since it has been introduced by a Taiwanese television variety show. The appearance is similar to a volcano, the stuffing leaking out when it is sliced. The traditional recipe combines egg, egg yolk, honey, white sugar as well as low-gluten flour. The variety of flavors are more and more after improving technical baking skills. Beside the traditional honey flavour, cheese, matcha as well as chocolate are alternatives.
Contents
- Composition and variants
- History
- Starting
- Countries and cities
- Recommendation from celebrities and television programs
- Popular brand in Hong Kong
- Counterfeit controversy
- References
The half-cooked cake was usually considered as unsuccessful cake in terms of its shape—concave-shaped. The public was surprised when first heard of its existence. It is now becoming a popular culture.
Composition and variants
Concave cakes are commonly made with eggs, egg yolk, low gluten flour, honey and a small portion of sugar. Regardless of ingredients, the procedure for making the cakes is fairly consistent in all recipes. First, preheat the oven at around 170 degree Celsius, at the same time, mix the 1 eggs and 3 egg yolks by adding sugar and honey which depend on preference. The mixture will be creamed by using a wooden spoon or electric mixer. The gluten flour will be added and stir them softly for a while. Then, pour the mixture into molds. Place them into the oven and adjust to 170 degrees Celsius for 16 minutes. Someone may prefer to well done, then prolong the time to 20 minutes.
History
Concave cake is believed to be originated from Portugal during the Age of Discovery. Women at home were worried of their husbands and family members who traveled out of home as being sailors, they baked this kind of cake to pray for their safety. This cake form represents “sunny days”, good luck.
In between the 15 to 17th centuries, it was introduced into Nagasaki, a city in Japan.
The original variety of this cake was only honey, but as the development ongoing in Japan, different tastes have emerged, for example, strawberry, Earl Grey, etcetera.
Starting
Concave cake trend has been triggered since April in 2013 –a Taiwan famous variety show Kangxi Lai Le had recommended concave shaped cake to audience. The daily searches of the name of Concave cakes have immediately risen in a night. Because of the popularity the show, this cake became popular in 2013. Although the run on purchasing concave cake has already sparked off beforehand in Japan, the cakes and its franchise shop were just known by Taiwanese and mainlander after broadcasting. And soon after, there have been different kind of shops which advertised themselves as “authentic” half-cooked cake in later 2013.
Countries and cities
The recognition of the brand name “Rikuro” which specifically sells half-cooked cake has spread immediately in Japan. Later on, concave cake almost swept over every Chinese since 2013, and therefore the amount of shops are selling half-cooked cakes have risen in mainland China. Moreover, some of them were blamed for shanzhai (cheap copy), as is discussed below. The problem of product copyright did not exist in Taiwan. Lots of audience and artists in Taiwan were queuing up in front of stores after Kangxi Lai Le was broadcast.
Recommendation from celebrities and television programs
Celebrities and television programs have introduced the concave cake. In the most popular Taiwanese variety-comedy talk show, Kangxi Lai Le, concave cake was introduced on 16 June 2013. The host Dee Shu and Kevin Tsai recommended and praised the taste of the cake which later created a trend among the public. And thus all audiences were urged to queue up and purchase this cake. Na Dou, a Taiwanese comedian once exaggerated that “If one want to eat concave cake, they will have to wait for half a year,” to represent how difficult it was to buy even one concave cake due to their popularity. Other variety shows such as Super Taste have also introduced this cake.
Popular brand in Hong Kong
This popular trend arrived in Hong Kong after Taiwan. The owner of a dessert shop in Hong Kong decided to introduce this cake to the Hong Kong people after revisions such as reducing the sweetness and making the cake spongier in order to cater for the flavors of the general Hong Kong citizens. Different bakeries have also started to sell this concave cake as they see a market and coming trend such as Noah Castella, Honey Headquarters, etc. Apart from these bakeries, people can also purchase the cake online through group buying.
Counterfeit controversy
As mentioned before, some China stores were blamed for “shanzhai”. In 2014, a bakery in China called Grandpa Rick was forced to turn down by the officials as it was accused of illegally claiming itself as the franchisee of a Japanese Concave Cake store called Rikuro; Grandpa Rick used its name, logo and false promotion of its history. It used egg yolks and whites out of cartons rather than the fresh ones, as promoted, so the company is now under investigation.