Why Japan Absolutely Loves One TikToker's Unique Sponge Cake
While the light and golden dessert may have been created in Italy (per What's Cooking America), cultures across the world have put their own unique spin on sponge cake. In England, Victoria sponge cake, which involves placing jelly between two sponge cakes layered on top of each other, is meant to be enjoyed with tea. Chefs in France "rolled Genoise sponge cake" brimming with buttercream and garnished with chocolate to create yule log cakes in honor of the holidays (via Atlas Obscura). And now a TikToker has baked a sponge cake that has captured Japan's heart.
According to Allrecipes, sponge cake's main ingredients typically consist of milk, sugar, flour, butter, and eggs. Its simple recipe and straightforward preparation method make sponge cake both an easy-to-bake and easy-to-modify treat. Of course, the sponge cake that has Japanese TikTokers talking is a direct reflection of the country's adoration for themed food and restaurants.
Just last year, American and Japanese TikTokers alike found themselves enamored with the Bear Claw Cafe – a bear-themed restaurant that has its servers hand orders through a hole in a wall while wearing fluffy bear paw gloves. Japan's tendency to theme its dining experiences was even the inspiration for the owners of the first-ever unicorn dessert bar in the U.S. to open themed restaurants of their own in Texas (per The Daily Texan). But the sponge cake that has taken Japanese TikTok by storm doesn't just have perfect theming, it also has star power behind it.
Japanese TikTok influencer Shinako has created a dish sponge themed sponge cake
With 1.3 million followers, Shinako, known on TikTok as @ssshinako, has become popular in Japan thanks to her brightly-hued food-focused content (via AJ Marketing). According to a TikTok video made by @japanontiktok, Shinako is the creator behind spongy sponge cake, a sponge cake cheekily designed to look like a dish sponge. The dessert has the signature green top and yellow bottom of a typical dish sponge and is splashed with what appears to be whipped-cream-based "dish soap." While this treat may look like cleaning products were dropped onto a plate, fans of Shinako, like @japanontiktok, seem to think it tastes delightful.
Users have taken to the comment section to note spongy sponge cake's realistic look. One wrote, "I feel like that was an actual sponge 🤨." Another TikToker noted that "it looks and behaves like a sponge when you cut into it .. woah."
Spongy sponge cake's popularity doesn't seem to be declining anytime soon. The TikTok demonstrates that eager Shinako fans are waiting hours in front of Baby Tapi, the Tokyo restaurant serving up this hyper-realistic dessert, to get a taste of the cake.