The 'Raindrop Cake' is an unusual Japanese dessert that is set to make its debut at Brooklyn's SMORGASBURG food festival. While the ultra-delicate cake has become a widely popular treat in Japan, the dish is only just gaining the attention of discerning foodies in North America.
The Raindrop Cake is a dessert inspired by traditional mizu shingen mochi from Japan. The dish was brought stateside by New Yorker Darren Wong, who has managed to recreate the complicated confection. As the name suggests, the Raindrop Cake boasts the same appearance and texture of water. Wong managed to achieve this feat by mixing mineral water with agar and packaging the cake in individual containers that protect it from both movement and temperature. Once finished, the cake is served with a special type of molasses-like sugar and a roasted soybean flour called kinako.
The popularity of the water-based cake demonstrates the growing demand for new and exotic international dishes.
Water-Based Japanese Cakes
The Raindrop Cake is a Dessert Made from Mineral Water and Agar
Trend Themes
1. International Desserts - The popularity of the Raindrop Cake highlights a growing trend in the food industry for uniquely international desserts.
2. Innovative Textures - The success of the Raindrop Cake illustrates a trend towards innovative textures and appearances in desserts.
3. Sustainable Ingredients - The use of mineral water and agar to create the Raindrop Cake underscores a trend towards incorporating sustainable ingredients in food products.
Industry Implications
1. Food and Beverage - The popularity of the Raindrop Cake presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for the food and beverage industry to introduce unique and exotic international desserts to customers.
2. Packaging - The Raindrop Cake's unique individual packaging provides a disruptive innovation opportunity for the packaging industry to develop new methods of protecting delicate foods.
3. Sustainability - The use of sustainable ingredients to create the Raindrop Cake presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for the sustainability industry to expand into the food and beverage sector.