Mini Castella
These are a great little snack: Mini Castella. “Castella” are a kind of pound cake, and sometimes you will see stalls along the street which make small balls, slightly smaller than golf-ball size versions of these, called mini castella.
In the basement of the Ikebukuro Mitsukoshi Department Store, they have a mini castella stand which produces a variety–cheese pudding filled, chocolate filled, maple flavored, and a few more, but the all-around favorite is the Caramel Flake, which is a castella filled with a good dollop of caramel cream with crunchy flakes. Yum. And not too expensive–each one is two bites, and you get 32 for about $10. (Well, not expensive for Japan, at least.)
I got these when Sachi’s friends came to visit, and they quickly disappeared.
Are these baked like bread or fried like a doughnut?
Actually, they are.. what, “ironed” like a waffle. “Grilled”? They have a cast-iron plate with indentations; batter is poured in to the depressions, filling is dropped into those, and the top closed on the grill.