Japanese cake molds

28 Mar 2006 Category: Features, Graphics, Japan

Spring has come - and it has made me want to eat Japnese cake, for some reason… Wagashi is what Japanese sweets are called and there are many different kinds: “kusamochi”- made from mugwort, “kashiwa-mochi” - wrapped in an oak leaf and everyones’s favourite daifuku, dango and monaka. White, yellow, pink and green… There are lots of different colors and flavors, but I think the best thing about Japanese cakes are the shapes. Today I will show you some old, traditional Japanese cake molds I found in Kyoto!

Written by Chiemi

If you are Japanese (or have been to Japan) you have probably experienced many different styles and designs of Japanese sweets, which makes it very obvious that not only the taste, but also the looks are of great importance! Did you ever find yourself staring at the amazing beauty and perfection of confectionary in a Japanese cake shop?

This is how some of these cakes are made - or: how they used to be made! Prepare your dough (mainly out of sugar) and press it into this shape.

When the cake is done, you can lift the top…

And the beautiful cake will reveal itself. Well! I didn’t make the cake but by looking at this great carving you can guess how beautiful it would be!!!

Here are some examples of how the finished cakes might look like:

Overall, I guess the most popular shape is somehow flower-related. Well - aiming for pure beauty that is!

Sometimes you find rather funny molds…

The photo below looks almost like a real mushroom to me. It’s interesting to know that people in old days made cakes shaped of vegetables.

The shape of a fish always means some kind of happiness (especially when it is a sea bream, which is considered to be a very expensive and delicious fish in Japan). Look at the detail of scales! You can tell how much people used to care about these cakes even in the old days.

I even found some molds of husband and wife.

Amazing! This is no longer confectionary, this is definitely art, isn’t it!?

Most names for Japanese sweets are inspired by the ‘beautiful sight of nature’ (kachoufugetsu). That is why there are many molds of things such as birds and the moon.

This is where I found all these molds. If you come across such a nice stand, you might discover some treasures such as these as well.

16 Comments

1. Wagashi is the best! my favorite is daifuku! XD

   Posted by: Fei on March 28th, 2006 at 10:25 pm

2. [...] Vancouver or some recipes for Japanese cakes let me know. posted by steph tekano at 5:17 pm | | permalink Leave aReply [...]

   Posted by: Steph Tekano | Steady Vibe Design | Vancouver on March 29th, 2006 at 10:18 am

3. WOW fantastic!!!

   Posted by: srinoo on March 29th, 2006 at 2:17 pm

4. cakes are shaped by molds,my eyes are shaped by Pingmag choose.

   Posted by: Olltta on March 29th, 2006 at 3:29 pm

5. WOW! I’m impressed! They’re all so cool

   Posted by: Shay on March 29th, 2006 at 3:50 pm

6. It looks like Mooncake.

   Posted by: Ray on April 13th, 2006 at 4:26 pm

7. wow i see and i like

   Posted by: wanahugaloogi on June 5th, 2006 at 3:14 pm

8. would u happen to have a recipie of how to make wagashi? For a Japanese assignmnet.

   Posted by: maddyj on June 19th, 2006 at 7:22 pm

9. Can you tell me where you found the molds in Japan?

   Posted by: MWong on November 30th, 2006 at 3:27 am

10. Nice one.

    Posted by: comerjapones.com on March 31st, 2007 at 2:44 am

11. [...] http://www.pingmag.jp/2006/03/28/japanese-cake-mold/ [...]

    Posted by: Mochi Fantasy « Gluten-free Gourmet on June 16th, 2007 at 10:38 pm

12. Posted by: Alexitt on November 15th, 2007 at 7:43 am

13. [...] via Ping Magazine [...]

    Posted by: Arctic Oak » Blog Archive » Japanese Sweets on March 4th, 2008 at 5:02 am

14. Do you guys know where I can purchase the 4 metal stamp type of mold where u stamp it on top of a cupcake like the one shown in this picture http://images.jbox.com/e8/ouchi_26.jpg

    Posted by: FuiChien on March 6th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

15. Wow! I’m impressed ! Do you know where I can get some of these beautiful cake molds?

    Posted by: Loon on April 25th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

16. [...] taste great but also look beautiful. Ping Mag has a great article on the technique and style of Japanese cakes. If anyone knows where I might find some of these mold styles in Vancouver let me [...]

    Posted by: Japanese cake molds » Foodists on February 6th, 2009 at 4:16 am

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