Christmas Cakes Abound

Posted by ZenKimchi in Christmas Chronicles | 4 comments

As the Feetman Seoul states, Christmas is a romantic holiday in Korea and Japan. The music you hear everywhere is not Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” It’s more likely “Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)” and other post-1980 Christmas pop songs that have love themes to them.

I remember hearing that KFC had successfully promoted itself as a holiday tradition in Japan years ago.

In Korea, the food everyone has to buy is the Christmas cake.

There’s no special ingredient in a Christmas cake. It’s like any of the other cakes bakeries sell. It’s all in the design.

And you know, this is one Christmas tradition that I think would be nice back in the West. We do have a special desserts, usually involving a mess o’ cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. Yet the presentation side is a bit spare. A bundt pan is as fancy as you’re going to get.

The killer app for an East-meets-West Christmas would be the flavors of an Olde World European spice cake using the over-the-top decoration techniques of Korea and Japan.

That bear would really taste good.

Joe McPherson is the founding editor of ZenKimchi. He is also dining editor for 10 Magazine and writes and consults for multiple publications. He is the only non-Korean judge for the Korean section of the Miele Guide--but don't ever call him a food critic.

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