Is this “cake” the next cronut?

April 11, 2016 by
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Raindrop cake 

You may have seen a very strange “cake” passing through your social media news feeds. It’s not a cake in the traditional sense, it’s more like Jell-O than any baked good. Known as The Raindrop Cake, it” is inspired by traditional Mizu Shingen Mochi from Japan. It’s a light, delicate and refreshing raindrop made for your mouth,” according to the cake’s website. Some people are claiming this will be the next cronut (which apparently is now what every new dessert will be measured against).

The “cake” itself is composed of agar and mineral water. That appears to be the extent of the drop’s ingredient list. The powder that accompanies the dessert is not described, nor is another substance in the photos that looks a lot like caramel.

Perhaps the texture of the gelatin-like substance dissolving in one’s mouth is an ethereal delight, but it remains to be seen if people will stand in a queue for hours to buy this dish. If you’re interested in trying a Raindrop Cake, it will be coming to the Brooklyn market known as Smourgasburg sometime this spring.

Photo of Raindrop cake used with permission

Category: Antipasto

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4 Comments

  • annmartina  on  April 12, 2016

    Sounds like unflavored gelatin, which in no way would approach the technical difficulty of Dominique Ansel's pastries. And definitely not the flavor profile. Add "the next Cronut" to that list of phrases that needs to go away.

  • Rinshin  on  April 12, 2016

    Japanese has been using agar to make many variations of light sweets or snacks. The yellow powder is kinako made from toasted soy beans and black sauce is called kuromitsu made from dark brown sugar and water. This particular dish is definitely based on warabi mochi which includes all the same ingredients but the mochi part is bit more solid but still soft. It's one of my favorites.

  • darcie_b  on  April 13, 2016

    What is the texture like in warabi mochi?

  • Rinshin  on  April 14, 2016

    The texture is soft but it keeps it's form. After cooking the warabi mochi powder with water over stovetop, the mixture just pours out and it's normally put into a rectangular form for cutting later when cooled or in individual molds. It is then dusted or dipped in yellow kinako powder and kuromitsu is drizzled on before eating. Eaten normally with short bamboo sticks or toothpicks. You can easily sub maple syrup for kuromitsu. Nice thing about agar is that it does not need refrigeration to set and vegan. One of my favorite
    one is also made from agar but made into noodle like shape by pushing the cut pieces through a device that pushes the set agar through holes. It is topped with soy sauce/vinegar based sauce then lightly sprinkled with cut nori pieces and hot yellow mustard. It's one of the favorite dish during summer months in more traditional Japanese tea houses. It's called tokoroten.

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