Nothing Beats a Classic: Royal Shortcake.
RIHGA Royal Hotel’s Special “Souvenir” Royal Shortcake.
“Ah… Strawberries.”
When I saw this cake, I remembered a poster from the Hyogo Prefecture Agricultural Cooperative. More than 20 years ago (before the organization was called JA), I happened to spot the poster in the basement fresh food section of a Kobe department store. It was displayed at a counter selling locally-grown Hyogo strawberries. The poster showed a giant, enlarged, cut-out photo of a vivid red strawberry on a white background, with just one phrase of copy: “Ah… Strawberries.” It really had an impact.
The RIHGA Royal Hotel’s Strawberry Shortcake is bursting with that same strawberry feeling. Of course, it tastes every bit as good as it looks—absolutely delectable.
“If the strawberries aren’t good, the cake isn’t any good,” says pastry chef Tatsuhiko Kawano. That’s why, instead of limiting themselves to one producing region, the chefs choose strawberries based on factors like the season and weather to always order and use the very best.
You can probably tell from the cross-section in the photo, but the top layer of the cake is studded with quartered strawberries, while the bottom layer is packed with strawberry slices.
It makes you wonder things like: Wow! How many strawberries go into one of these cakes? Each slice on display at Melissa comes from a roughly 18-cm whole cake, cut into eight slices. Each piece has a radius of about 9 cm and stands 6.5 cm tall. The strawberries are arranged so that every slice, no matter where it’s cut, shows the same cross-section. That’s the craftsmanship of true professionals.
The whipped cream which defines the flavor is based on a tradition handed down from a French pastry chef who worked at the hotel about 50 years ago. The recipe has been further refined through repeated testing and tasting, resulting in a perfectly-crafted blend of three types of cream. The melt-in-your-mouth texture is the epitome of freshness. The classic sponge cake, another tradition of the hotel, is brushed with syrup mixed with strawberry liqueur to keep it moist. They’ve truly perfected their presentation of the “strawberry experience.”
Strawberry shortcake is a staple you always see at the shop when picking out a cake for someone, but the RIHGA Royal Hotel version takes it a step further. It’s a true classic, but also a special treat for anyone who really wants to savor strawberries.
This cake is perfect with straight tea or black coffee, but you might also want to try it with champagne or other possibilities. It’s the kind of treat that will inspire gourmet conversation when you open the box in front of the person you’ve bought it for and they say “Ah… strawberries!”
Souvenir
Gourmet Boutique Melissa’s “Royal Shortcake”
¥950 (1 piece)
Reporting and text by Hiroki Ko
Ko Hiroki
Ko Hiroki is an editor and professor at Kobe Shoin Women’s University. He is known for his unique perspective on food cultures and has written numerous articles for newspapers and magazines. He is the author of “Ittokanaakan-mise Osaka.” “Kobe-to Yoshoku” “Toinaoshi Fashion-ko”.
RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka,
Vignette Collection
Gourmet Boutique Melissa
Phone: +81(0)6-6448-2412 (direct)
1st Floor, 5-3-68 Nakanoshima,Kita-ku,Osaka 530-0005 Japan
10:00 〜19:00
Open all year round
*All prices include tax.
*All pictures shown are for illustration purposes only.
*Menu items are subject to change depending on the season and availability of ingredients.
*Opening Hours may be subject to change without notice. Please check the Opening Hours before visiting.
