Saturday, July 09, 2011

Fuwawa Baumkuchen by Bowcake (Bon Marché)

After having lunch at Red Basket; we had one more walk around Bon Marché and discovered that they had a Fuwawa Baumkuchen cake shop...ooooohh, I was very excited to try it since I never had the chance to. I thought the packaging design & colour were great. Very Japanese...simple, serene and pretty.


My friend told me that Baumkuchen is a kind of layered cake. It is a traditional dessert in many countries throughout Europe. But, I am also assuming with the name like 'Fuwawa'; the Baumkuchen is also a popular cake in Japan. The characteristic rings that appear when sliced resemble tree rings, and give the cake its German name, Baumkuchen, which literally translates to "tree cake" or "log cake.


Traditionally, Baumkuchen is made on a spit by brushing on even layers of batter and then rotating the spit around a heat source (the spit in the photo was a mock-up...which was too bad, it would have been really cool to see a Baumkuchen actually being made).

Each layer is allowed to brown before a new layer of batter is poured. When the cake is removed and sliced, each layer is divided from the next by a golden line, resembling the growth rings on a crosscut tree. A typical Baumkuchen is made up of 15 to 20 layers of batter. However, the layering process for making Baumkuchen can continue until the cakes are quite large [I took the liberty to look at wikipedia for a better description of a Baumkuchen].


Like any Japanese establishment in Bangkok that serves food; there is a plastic mock-up of the food being sold or served. In the glass case/counter; there were plastic mock-ups of the round yellow Baumkuchen (in the middle), a chocolate Baumkuchen (on the left; but for some reason its not round but shaped like a bamboo) and a vanilla Baumkuchen (on the right).


Yummmm; we could not resist! We ended up buying the large gift box; which contained one round yellow Baumkuchen as well as one chocolate & vanilla bamboo shaped Baumkuchen (540 baht).


As the sign showed; Fuwawa Baumkuchen was brought to Thailand by Bowcake. Bowcake is a Thai pastry shop/chain as well in Thailand. They are famous for all types of pastries (the menu in the photo).


The red colour & design of Bowcake and the aqua colour & design of Fuwawa in one shop was confusing at first. But; once we got over the initial confusion; we understood that Bowcake was the distributor or franchisee of Fuwawa Baumkuchen.

Sorry to say; that I did not buy any of Bowcake's offerings. But there is always a next time.

Prachaniwet 1 Rd, Lat Yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900
www.bonmarche.co.th

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