Sep 14 2011

Jap Cake turns into a Macaroon Disaster

Today I was trying to re-create a delight from my childhood – “Japs”. These were sold in the local bakery when I was a kid and were almond (I think?) flavoured macaroons with a buttercream filling finished off with chocolate sprinkles around the edge. They were about 6cm tall and 7cm in diameter.

I searched the internet (as you do!) and found a few references to them, apparently they are often known as “Jap cakes” or “Japonaise cakes” and are still sold in Scotland and a few places around here in Yorkshire. I found a recipe that looked promising, but as you can see from the photo they turned out a bit of a disaster – they were supposed to be much higher!

I’ve never made macaroons before so maybe my technique wasn’t up to scratch. I may have to try making some “normal” macaroons first.

So if anyone out there has a recipe that works I’d love to hear from you.