How to Make Siberia Cake from The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli Food Recipe)

I know it might be confusing, but when I say “Siberia” here, I’m referring to a classic Japanese sweet, not a place. This dessert is a fusion of Japanese and Western flavors, made with smooth yokan (traditional Japanese azuki red bean jelly candy) sandwiched with fluffy castella-like cakes.  

Although, once Siberia was said to be the number one sweet that every bakery baked for their line-ups, its appeal declined as time went on. However, its popularity has surged again after being futured in Studio Ghibli’s film, The Wind Rises.

It’s quite difficult, even in Japan, to find Siberia in bakeries or supermarkets. Personally, I’ve only had a few chances to try it in my life, so if you want to experience Siberia, I recommend making it at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

This Siberia recipe recreates the authentic retro Japanese sweet featured in The Wind Rises while still being approachable for home bakers. If you want to make a Siberia-like treat at home with an easy-quick recipe, you can use store-bought castella or sponge cake and sandwich it with store-bought yokan.

However, the authentic Siberia is not just a sandwich of yokan and castella or sponge cake. The yokan filling is poured onto the sponge cake before forming it, acting as a glue that binds the layers and creates a unified texture. Check out my recipe on how to make yokan from scratch. 

Ingredients Overview 

Anko (Azuki red bean paste): Anko is a traditional Japanese ingredient and it’s largely divided into two types, Koshi-An (smooth type Anko) and Tsubu-An (chunky type Anko). For Siberia, we’ll use Koshi-An.

Kanten (agar) powder: To make yokan, we need to firm up the liquid anko. To achieve this process, kanten (agar) is used. Kanten is a Japanese gelatin made from algae. It’s not same as gelatin powder and the finish texture is also different.  

Helpful Tools 

Baking tool: To achieve the traditional triangular shape of Siberia, we use a square baking tin. I’m using a 18cm square baking tin in my recipe.  

Electric hand mixer: Electric hand mixer will make the mixing step much easier, but if you don’t have one, regular whisk is fine. 

Tips to Know Before You Start 

Powdered kanten needs to be thoroughly heated for it to work properly. If the heating process is not enough, it gets difficult to harden the yokan.

Kanten has a characteristic that quickly thickens the liquid at room temperature. Therefore, you need to pour the Kanten mixture into the mold quickly while it is still warm.

When heating the anko mixture, keep stirring thoroughly to avoid burning the bottom of the pot.

Variations, Serving Ideas, & Storage

I think Siberia has a potential to be a viral food, because it can transform in various ways, such as swapping the regular yokan part to other flavors such as matcha, sakura and yuzu. You can also alter the castella or sponge cake layers by mixing in flavor powders like cocoa or strawberry. 

Just changing the cutting size and shape makes Siberia a different food. Try cutting them into cube shapes or rectangular shapes.  

For recreating the Siberia in The Wind Rises, I recommend placing it on a newspaper sheet, as it is in the film. 

After cutting Siberia, wrap each piece tightly with plastic wrap preventing them from drying out. You can store them at room temperature for one day, or in the fridge during hot seasons. 

If you can’t eat them within 1-2 days, freeze them in a freezer bag. Defrost them fully or partially before eating. Siberia is also delicious served chilled. 

Like this recipe? You may also like:

Ogura Toast: A regular buttered toast topped with sweet Anko spread.

Anpan: A Japanese-style bread filled with sweet red bean paste.

Matcha Dorayaki: A traditional Japanese confectionery featuring two fluffy pancakes sandwiched with sweet red bean paste.