Tomonoura Mirin cake

A Japanese brandy cake used Tomoe Mirin, sweet cooking rice wine

“Tomonoura Mirin cake”is made by Toyosaburo Irie Honten, who was established in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture in 1886. Toyosaburo Irie Honten is not a confectionery shop, but a company that brews a kind of sake called Houmeishu and Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine).

Homeishu and Mirin are said to be made in the same way up to the halfway point in their production process. It is understandable because Mirin, which is now exclusively used for cooking, was enjoyed as a sweet liquor in the old days.  Tomonoura Mirin cake is made with their Tomoe Mirin.

It is true that Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) is sometimes used as a secret ingredient in baking, but it is rare to see Mirin used so prominently in baked sweets.

Rather than having a moist texture, the sponge cake is soaked with mirin that it seems to overflow from the sponge cake.

As the package says, it is exactly like a “Japanese brandy cake. The aroma of sake and the sweetness of Mirin go well with the cake batter. The sponge cake has a slightly mature taste with a sake-like aroma.