Baumkuchen

The Japanese love new dessert fads, be it Mister Donut, Krispy Kreme, macarons, or Coldstone Creamery.  One of the biggest fads is baumkuchen, these many-layered cakes.  I've seen people wait in line forever in front of one of the giant department stores.  That store sells really expensive baumkuchen -- a small slice of the cylindrical cake can run you $40!  I guess it's so expensive because it takes a while to make layer after layer?  You can get really cheap ones at the convenience stores as well, so the quality varies greatly.

Anyway, one particular baumkuchen brand was having a sample expo at the Kyoto train station.  We saw people lining up, so we had to get in line as well.  (The Japanese love to queue up!)  

 

The cakes are made on these long metal rods.  This is the end stage, where she puts on some green tea frosting.

 

Sampling time!

 

This particular cake is green tea flavored!