Fūki-mame Castella

Yamagata Prefecture's traditional bean confectionery in Castella

The ingredient is green peas, which are carefully peeled and cooked with sugar to make this bean confectionery, which is called “Fūki-mame”. It is a traditional bean confectionery made in many confectionery shops in Yamagata Prefecture.

This time, I bought “Fūki-mame Castella” from “Chōeidō” which has a long history of making such “Fūki-mame”. Incidentally, “Chōeidō” is a very long-established confectionery shop that has been in business for 130 years in Yamagata.

A cross-section of a Castella baked with rich beans mixed into the dough. A considerable amount of beans are kneaded into the dough and the colors are beautiful.

The texture of the dough is more like a fine pound cake than Castella.

The natural and subtle sweetness of the “Fūki-mame” stands out in the very moist cake batter. It was an elegant and delicate sponge cake that accentuated the beans’ natural, rustic flavor.