My Bunmeido Castella Fruit Sandwich: The Best Thing I Ate In Japan

After indulging in a Castella Fruit Sandwich at the Bunmeido Cafe in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district, I faced a culinary conundrum. Was the delicious fruit sandwich I devoured truly a sandwich, or was it a cake?

Whatever its classification, this sweet delicacy was, without a doubt, the best sandwich I have ever tasted in Japan or elsewhere.

Large, bright red, juicy, sliced strawberries were immersed in a light whipped cream and sandwiched between two slices of Castella cake. 

It reminded me of strawberry shortcake but also offered a taste of nostalgia. The flavors were reminiscent of my favorite Charlotte Russe dessert that came in a push-up round, scalloped cardboard container when I was growing up in the Bronx.

The 3 Elements of My Bunmeido Fruit Sandwich

Fruit sandwiches (furutsu sando) are a popular snack and dessert in Japan, widely available in fruit parlors, cafes, subterranean department store food halls, and even convenience stores (like Family Mart, Lawson and Seven-Eleven), which are ubiquitous in Japan. 

Bunmeido was founded in 1900, and its main store is in Nagasaki with outlets elsewhere, including the one I visited in Tokyo.

The Bunmeido Fruit Sandwich is made with Castella Cake, Strawberries and whipped cream.

Castella Cake

Castella cake (called Castilla in Portugal) has an interesting history. It was first brought to the trading post in Nagasaki by Portuguese merchants and missionaries in the 16th century.

Although it is still closely associated with Nagasaki, the cake gained popularity across Japan in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Over time, the recipe has been modified but the basic ingredients have remained the same.

This fluffy, golden-colored cake tastes somewhere between sponge and chiffon. It’s typically made with eggs, granulated sugar, flour, honey or starch syrup, and milk. A thin bottom layer of melted coarse sugar adds to its moisture. 

It’s baked in large square molds and most often is sold in slices, elegantly packaged in long boxes. There are also varieties of the cake with different flavorings, including matcha, chocolate, other fruits and layers of bean paste.

Ripe Red Strawberries

High-quality, seasonal fruit is an obsession in Japan, where perfect, gift-worthy cantaloupes can sell for hundreds of dollars. 

Japanese strawberries are plump, intensely sweet, and juicy. Growers focus more on the quality of the fruit rather than on producing large quantities. Our visit to Japan also coincided with the peak of the strawberry growing season when they were particularly tasty.

Airy Whipped Cream

Suffice it to say, but I never met a whipped cream I didn’t like but this one was delicious. I later read that it tastes lighter than traditional whipped cream because it is yogurt-infused.

While this extraordinary fruit sandwich is probably too rich for daily consumption, Castella Cake on its own pairs perfectly with coffee or tea.

When in Nagasaki…

Nagasaki was one of our favorite cities on our visit to Japan. Of course, the highlight of our city tour with InsideJapan Tours was the Nagasaki Peace Park and the Fountain of Peace.

But the proverbial “icing on the cake” was a stop at Shokando, our tour guide Kiki’s favorite castella bakery and cafe, and one of the most famous in Nagasaki, the city that is considered the home of castella. The shop is known for provisioning its castella for the Japanese Imperial Family.  

It also happened that the shop is close to another Nagasaki attraction, the stone Meganebashi bridge.

After entering the shop, we sat down in the adjacent tea room (Shokando Sabo Tamayura) to taste the freshly-baked Castella. Soon after savoring my now-favorite cake, I got up from my seat to purchase beautifully wrapped packages to take home as gifts. 

When we reached the duty-free shop at Haneda Airport, I added a few boxes of castella to my gift bag.

All Good Things Must Come To An End? Maybe

It hasn’t been as easy to find Castella Cake (or a Castella fruit sandwich) in New York as it was in Japan. I know that there must be purveyors near our home in Westchester County and I’ve been on the search for it, literally and figuratively. 

Reddit users say they have seen it at Costco (but I couldn’t find available in my zip code).

We found a Japanese grocer in White Plains, Daido, that has it frozen in the freezer. It was satisfying but not the same as it tasted in its terroir.

Based on my research and experience, I have resolved my quandary about whether my Castella Fruit Sandwich is a sandwich or a cake. It definitely fits the Western convention of a sandwich.

But with Castella as the sandwich “bookends, “you can have your cake and eat it (as a sandwich, too). They are both delicious!

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Have I whet your appetite for Castella?

Japanese-style Castella Cake is available online from Amazon.

You can also make a Japanese Fruit Sandwich at home with this recipe from Eater.

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