New York – Chef Darren Wong is introducing New Yorkers to one of Japan’s culinary oddities, the water cake.
Inspired by mizu shingen mochi, a traditional Japanese water-based cake, Wong’s Raindrop Cake is calorie-free, and sweetened by an accompaniment of molasses-like sugar and kinako, a roasted soybean flour.
The giant droplet is held together with a mix of mineral water and agar. Specially designed containers protect each dewy morsel from sudden movements and fluctuations in temperature until they are ready to be served.
‘The cake has to maintain its shape but still have the texture of water,’ says Wong. ‘It's not about flavour or nutrients, it’s about the texture.’
Western diets are increasingly influenced by Japanese culture. London’s Twig Teas has launched a range of cold brew teas inspired by a brewing method used in Kanazawa.