I was finally able to make Taiwanese sponge cake to my satisfaction.

I have made Taiwanese sponge cake in the hot cooker many times in the past.

There were many times when I failed to make the meringue, or the baking didn’t turn out well, or the flavor was “sort of in the right direction, but I wonder if I can do something more about it.

I don’t know how many times this has happened, but I finally got it to bake properly.

I had always not disliked baking, but I had no intention of getting serious about it. However, because of Taiwan sponge cake, I couldn’t pull myself away and ended up buying an electric hand mixer.

This hand mixer was revolutionary.

I had been wondering if all the hard work I had put into making meringue was some kind of punishment from a previous life, but now it is so much easier. I am probably most grateful for this product out of all the home appliances I have bought recently out of my greed.

Whether it’s a robot vacuum cleaner or an electric elevating desk, it’s nothing compared to the joy of such things. Ah, it’s easy. Easy is wonderful.

Good grilling.

Taiwanese sponge cake baked without baking powder is made by whipping the egg whites to make a meringue, which gives the sponge cake a soft and fluffy texture. If the meringue is satisfactory, the quality will be much better.

By the way, what is Taiwanese sponge cake?

Recently, for the first time in several years, I had the opportunity to correspond with an old friend, Fish, who is from Taiwan.

“Do you know what Taiwanese sponge cake is?”
“No.”
“Do you know what Taiwanese sponge cake is?”
“No.”

It was a one-two punch. If a foreigner had suddenly asked me, “Do you know what Japanese sponge cake is? I would have answered, “I don’t know.

I looked it up on the Internet and said, “I heard that in Taiwan it’s a dish called ‘古早味蛋糕’?” He replied, “Oh, I know that one.

We’ve grown apart so much that our conversation stopped there, but I’m still curious about how it’s eaten in Taiwan.

I was thinking this when I read an article about Taiwanese sponge cake on Toyo Keizai Online. When I read it, I was impressed and wondered if that was the case.

https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/662591

In Taiwan, “蛋糕” is pronounced “dang-gao,” and “gao” is pronounced the same as the Chinese character for “高. Gao” is also a good word for success in life, and people buy and eat “蛋糕” as an offering to the gods.

(2023.01.09)