Asakusa Souvenir · Doll-Shaped Cake
Ningyo-yaki
Photo: 毒島みるく (Dokujima Miruku) / Wikimedia Commons · CC0
When it was invented in the early 1900s at a confectioner in Tokyo's Ningyocho district, ningyo-yaki was molded in the shape of the Seven Lucky Gods, not the simpler lanterns and pagodas most Asakusa bakeries shape it into today.
A light castella-style batter of flour, egg and sugar is baked in individual cast-iron molds shaped like little figures, lanterns or temple pagodas, then filled with sweet red bean paste and sold warm straight from the mold at stalls along Asakusa's Nakamise shopping street.
Why it's made this way: Bakers on Nakamise-dori — one of Japan's oldest shopping streets, serving pilgrims to Senso-ji since the early 1700s — adopted the Ningyocho technique from the Taisho era onward and turned it into Asakusa's default souvenir, baked to order in full view of passersby.
More from Japan
Ramune
Takoyaki (Octopus Balls)
Yakitori (Skewered Chicken)
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)
Taiyaki (たい焼き)
Sapporo Miso Ramen
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.