On any given Sunday, yes, without Filomenas or other atmospheric phenomena involved,

Sufu Cake

becomes a crowded corner of Madrid's Las Letras neighborhood.

But, what do they offer in that small place that a young couple opened last year, she Chinese and the British?

Well,

Japanese sweets

: inflated

pancakes

(

soufflé pancakes

) and

cotton cake

, the famous

hyper-responsive

Japanese "cotton" cake

that has been a hit in Japan for years ... and now in Madrid as well.

At first, his clientele was

"only Asian

, few Madrilenians knew what these desserts were, but today, most of our customers are Spanish," explains

Jing Zhou

, the young co-owner of Sufu Cake (Lope de Vega, 3).

It is said that

cotton cake

, of Japanese origin, began to be made at the end of the

40s

of the last century.

However, it was in the

90s

and, above all, from the 21st century on when it became a

boom

in Japan - nowadays,

long lines

are formed in

front of pastry shops to buy it - by the hand of a couple of

guys

and their stores:

Uncle Tetsu

(present in 14 countries, from Australia to Canada, through Pakistan and Saudi Arabia) and

Uncle Rikuro

, in Osaka.

A couple of years ago, the

fever

for cotton cake and Japanese pancakes became

international

and "now they are fashionable in much of Asia, the United States, London ...", explains Jing Zhou.

In Sufu Cake they serve the cotton Cake whole and in portions.

And, taking advantage of that fever,

in February 2020

, Jing -who came to Spain six years ago to work in a large textile company- and Sam -her boyfriend- decided to open a store specializing in these sweets.

Without a hotelier past behind, Jing has always felt a

little worm

business

gourmand

.

"Five years ago, when in Spain there was no room

waffles with bubbles

(

bubble waffle

), and wanted to

open one, but could not. Then they became fashionable and regretted for not having done" he says

.

Now, Jing and Sam are focused on the pancakes and cotton cake that they

prepare

themselves

.

"We travel through various countries to learn the techniques."

The one with the

cake / souffle

is somewhat more complex.

It is made with cheese, butter, milk, sugar and free-range eggs and "we make it in the oven,

in a bain-marie

, and at a very low temperature, for 80 minutes. Once it rises, it is ready.

It seems easy, but not it is

, because the key is to prevent it from sinking once out of the oven ", adds Zhou.

The secret to that high bun?

"Control the temperature and find the

snow point

when mounting the egg white".

However, Jing has a secret.

"The ingredients are the same, but each one has its tricks."

Sufu Cake, in Madrid.

Very fluffy, it is like

eating a cloud

that melts in your mouth without even chewing it.

"It has less sugar than other cheesecakes. Compared to a

traditional

cheesecake

, it has a

quarter of sugar

. Thus, it adapts better to Asian taste, since we prefer less sweet things. It is eaten alone, without adding

any cream or salsa

", details the young woman.

Although cotton cake has many followers in this store, its great specialty is pancakes, for which its customers wait for whatever it takes, that is,

the 20 minutes

it takes to make them.

"They are very

delicate

, you have to make them at the moment and eat them right away", adds Jing.

What is the difference between a normal and a souffle?

Well, again, the white (a lot) of egg.

The pancakes are accompanied by

different toppings

-they offer up to 10-, such as

cream cheese, yuzu & blueberry sauce

(the most popular);

banana, strawberry and chocolate syrup or matcha & azuki (

Japanese red beans

, those with which the traditional filling of the famous dorayakis is made).

Prices: cotton cake, 15 euros, 4.50 the portion;

pancakes, from 4.90 to 5.90 euros.

Japanese tortillas are the great specialty of this store in the Barrio de las Letras.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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