Excelsior Bakery: A History of the Japanese Cake

Shivajinagar never ceases to amaze me. To me, it is a part of town that almost breathes; heaving and gasping at seams of undiscovered corner shops and newly opened kebab carts, almost prosaic in its simplicity, yet a beautiful, pulsating, living analogy of a slowly withering Bangalorean culture. To the uninitiated, it is a cruel lesson in understanding Bangalore roads, for much like the City (Pete) area, no one ever comes here in their cars. Shivajinagar will swallow you whole and spit you out sans mental stability after toying with your patience for a couple of hours. Nevertheless, it is truly a special part of town. I have spent countless hours traversing its narrow alleyways, bustling markets and slaughterhouses, realizing on each visit that no two visits to Shivajinagar can ever be the same, each one punctuated with a new discovery from a completely unexpected space. This particular visit was no different.

The Excelsior Bakery opposite the Evening Market on Seppings Road in Shivaji Nagar was once a household name amongst Bangalorean elite. Famous still for their Christmas Cakes closer to December and still more for being the bakers of the cake during Bangalore’s famous St. Mary’s Feast, the Bakery has been around since 1930. Run by the same family into its third generation, Excelsior Bakery doesn’t really need an introduction. It is an institution in the same vein as Koshy’s, Albert or Fatima and honestly, I really am not worthy to expound its virtues any more than has already been said or written. I will however, explore an intriguing piece of rumour-mongery that I happened to come across recently. A rumour relating to a much debated claim of invention of an even more enigmatic piece of baked goodness. The Japanese Cake.

 

 

First of all, I would like to say, the first time I had a Japanese Cake I didn’t really think much of it. It isn’t even really a cake. It’s basically two pieces of crumbly biscuits with a thick layer of cream in the center and, for decorative reasons, has a hardened liquid chocolate button on the top. The whole thing is then rolled in crunchy brown butterscotch crumbs. There is absolutely nothing about this cake to warrant it being called a Japanese Cake. Heck, there isn’t even anything Asian about it. Until recently, there wasn’t a soul that could explain to me what this fucking monstrosity was and why it was called a Japanese Cake. For a cake that has found its way into every single bakery in Bangalore, there were only a few who could actually explain to me the origin of this cake, while staking claim over its supposed invention at the same time.

Excelsior is apparently, the oldest surviving maker of the Japanese Cake in Bangalore. While they have not explicitly staked claim as inventors of the Japanese Cake, as I will explain shortly, there is little doubt that they sell the best Japanese Cake in the city. I’ve had Japanese Cakes in Fatima, Nilgiri’s and Koshy’s and let me tell you, the Japanese Cake in Excelsior is by far more delicious than any of them. Now that’s saying something. Now, on this particular visit, I did ask the folks at Excelsior as to why the cake was called such and they initially looked around for clarity before one of the salesmen pointed to its shape, claiming it looked like a “Japanese Pagoda”. The truth however, is not as interesting as I thought it would be.

The Japanese Cake is actually a Bangalorean bastardized version of the classic French pastry, the Japonaise Almond Meringue Torte. Now let me tell you this, I have had a Japonaise Almond Meringue Torte at a famous Patisserie a few years ago and must remark that this Japanese Cake is not a fucking Japonaise Almond Meringue Torte. This Japanese Cake has no bloody meringue and no bloody torte. It is an imposter, made famous in the city by the Anglo-Indian community whose continued love for this pastry is the stuff of legend. This then would be my version of the events of how the Japanese Cake came to be what it is today.

British Military Officer / Railways Officer, on a recent visit to France with his wife tastes the Japonaise Almond Meringue Torte. Officer now finds himself posted to Bangalore living in a nice green bungalow on Cline Road. On a particularly sprightly afternoon in November, Officer’s wife decides to throw a tea party and dazzle her friends with her rendition of the Japonaise Almond Meringue Torte. The Official Barracks Baker, a Tamil Cantonment worker, is explained the structure of the cake and realizes he does not know how to make a meringue. Instead, he makes flour butter biscuits and puts in a layer of cream in the center, sprinkling it with tasty crumbs. The cake finds its way to the high tea table. Other ladies, fascinated by this new party request its name. Officer’s wife does not want to call it by its true name in the fear that maybe other wimmen have been to Paris, looks to Tamil Baker for support.

Tamil Baker christens it “Japanese Cake”.