You’ve heard of it, you’ve seen it, but have you tasted it? Unfortunately, it might be hard to find a restaurant that serves raindrop cake. However, it’s not that hard to make this dessert that looks just like a giant raindrop at home. All you need is agar powder and a large silicone round ice cube tray. Follow this recipe, and you can make this unique dessert appetizing to the eyes in no time!
What is Raindrop Cake?
Raindrop cake is called Mizu Shingen Mochi in Japan. As the name suggests, it resembles a beautiful raindrop you’d find resting on the leaves in the early morning after a rainy night. It’s jiggly, elegant, and exquisite. You’d want to snap a photo before you eat it for sure.
As for the taste, it’s usually flavor-less, so you eat it with kuro mitsu (brown sugar) syrup with sprinkles of soybean flour. Once in your mouth, it melts as a snowflake melts in your mouth. A cake that looks like a raindrop but melts like a snowflake! You’d surely want to try it.
What is Shingen Mochi?
Shingen mochi is a delicacy of Yamanashi prefecture. It’s a very soft mochi you eat with plenty of sugary soybean flour and kuro mitsu syrup. Even though it’s a widely popular dessert, it’s trademarked by a restaurant called Kinsei-Ken. According to Kinsei-Ken, Shingen mochi is made based on the emergency mochi carried by samurai daimyo Shingen Takeda, hence the name. If you want to try the purest, fresh Shingen Mochi or Mizu Shingen Mochi, visit Kinsei-Ken in Yamanashi one day.
Raindrop Cake Variation
Sometimes, the best thing in life comes in the simplest form. Thus, the simple raindrop cake made only with water and agar powder is just enough to satisfy your cravings. However, if you want to try something different, you can mix a bit of matcha powder to make a matcha raindrop cake. Follow the recipe and melt agar powder in hot water. Then, mix a bit of matcha powder in a small amount of water and mix it into the agar mixture. Make sure to cool down the agar mixture before adding matcha because matcha will turn into dark green if mixed in hot water making the raindrop cake too dark and unattractive.
If you want to spike it with sake, try our cherry blossom raindrop cake recipe perfect for springtime!
Cooking Tips
- The final product looks better and sits on the plate nicely by not filling the ice cube tray to the top.
Raindrop Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup Water
- 2 tsp Agar Powder
- Large Bowl full of Ice Cubes
- Soybean Flour (Optional)
Brown Sugar Syrup
- ¼ cup Granuated Sugar
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Water
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients of brown sugar syrup in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat.
- Once boiled, reduce heat to low and cook additional 10 minutes.
- Allow syrup to cool down, and keep it in air-tight container. Set it aside.
- Pour water into a small pot. Gradually add agar powder and mix well.
- Boil over high heat. Once boiled, reduce heat to low and cook for additional 2 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Place the pot into the large bowl full of ice cubes and let it cool for about 3 minutes.
- Pour the liquid into a silicone large round ice cube tray, using a funnel. Don’t fill each cube all the way to the top. Fill each one about 60%-70%.
- Cool it down in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- Enjoy it with brown sugar syrup and/or soybean flour.
