BAUMKUCHEN

I made a major discovery!

Not a scientific one, but a gastronomical one.
I found a pastry and it has a history...

There is a German cake, the supposed King of Cakes, that is called Baumkuchen (Treecake). When my grandfather was still living, he ordered a Baumkuchen (3 foot tall and 1/2 foot wide) from a special bakery in Germany, every Xmas. This cake was to be 'shared' among the family.

On Xmas day my grandfather would call the whole family together to eat this cake. Unfortunately his idea of 'sharing' this cake was a little unconventional. He would sit in front of the cake with a big sharp knife and cut the tiniest of pieces (literally a half bite) to be shared among his children and grandchildren. For himself he always cut off a nice juicy piece and slowly devoured it before our eyes. Anyone who wanted to go for a bigger piece would risk losing a finger.

My grandfather was very concerned that 'we' would the cake too fast. After all it should last into the New Year. So he tortured us with this f***ing cake several times until the New Year. Meanwhile the cake got harder, drier and less enjoyable.
I don't know if this is coming across here, but everyone in my family loves this cake, and we have all suffered for it!

So yesterday I take stroll to the vending machine and what do I find?
A f***ing slice of Baumkuchen!
Baumkuchen in a vending machine (Verkaufsautomat)!
Unbelievable.
Of all things that I did not expect to see in Japan, it was Baumkuchen.

Anyway, the equivalent of 1.3 dollars bought me a whole slice of Baumkuchen. That is more than I would get in an entire Xmas season from my generous grandfather. I devoured the slice in about 1 minute and have since found several varieties of this cake in vending machines throughout our building. They even have green tea Baumkuchen. How very unDeutsch!

Upon making this discovery I called my dad. He understood and I think he agrees that life is unexpected and sweet.
This is major, and I will probably gain some weight.
mmmmmmmmh......Baumkuchen.