Kagoshima Karukan
Quick answer
- Total time
- 50 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 10 servings
- Ingredients
- 5
About this dish
Grated Yamato yam whipped with water traps enough air to lift this white Kagoshima cake without eggs or oil.
Read more
Karukan took root where wild yam grew in the well-drained shirasu plateau and sugar arrived from Amami and Ryukyu. Sugar was costly in the Edo period, so it was served in daimyo households before spreading more widely in the Meiji era. Its name means light yokan, a nod to how the steamed crumb ends up lighter than the batter. Each of the ten small cakes hides a ball of red bean paste in the center.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Divide 110g bean paste into 10 portions of 11g, roll, and indent the centers.
Peel and finely grate 100g Yamato yam, wearing gloves if sensitive.
- 2
Whisk the yam for 3 minutes, adding 75ml water in 5 additions.
When expanded and finely foamy, add 150g sugar in 3 additions and whisk 2 minutes more.
- 3
Sift in 125g karukan flour and fold 20 to 25 times for 1 minute, only until dry flour disappears.
Divide half among 10 molds, center the bean paste, and cover with remaining batter.
- 4
Steam over strong steam for 25 minutes.
When tops spring back and a skewer has no wet batter, cool 10 minutes and unmold.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
NPO法人 霧島食育研究会 · Checked: 2026-08-11
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