Raindrop cake “Mizu shingen mochi”
What is raindrop cake “Mizu shingen mochi”?
Raindrop cake is a dessert made from water and agar served with brown sugar syrup (kuromitsu) and soybean flour (kinako). It seems that it got its name because it resembles a water drop. “Mizu shingen mochi” is the Japanese name for raindrop cake.
In the first place, Shingen mochi is a Japanese confectionery with kinako and kuromitsu on “Gyuhi”. Gyuhi is a sort of mochi. Kinseiken, which manufactures and sells this Shingen mochi, started selling “Mizu shingen mochi” in 2013 as a derivative of Shingen mochi and it has become very popular.
People talk about Its cute appearance, like a drop of water, and the wobbling texture. On Instagram, the number of posts with “#Raindrop cake” increased a lot and it became a well known dessert.
When you put it in your mouth, it melts quickly, and the sweetness of the kinako (soybean flour) and kuromitsu (dark brown sugar syrup) spreads gradually which has a different charm from Shingen mochi. Such a light and simple dessert is perfect for the hot and humid summers of Japan. If you like, click the link below for more information about raindrop cake.
How to enjoy at home
In fact, it’s a very simple jelly made from water, agar and a small amount of sugar and sprinkled with syrup and soybean flour. Therefore, rather than tasting it, you can enjoy the shape of raindrops with your eyes and the texture with your mouth .
Recently, it seems that you can buy a kit of raindrop cake that can make jelly into a round shape. However, at home I make it using a small cup with a round shape. I think this is cute as well.
Also, the jelly itself has almost no taste, so you need syrup. If it is difficult to obtain Japanese dark brown sugar syrup (kuromitsu), you can substitute it with another dark brown syrup. I often use palm sugar syrup, Dutch syrup (stroop) , maple syrup etc.
If you can’t get the soybean flour (kinako), I think it’s delicious enough without it. Especially for those who are not familiar with Japanese special ingredients, I think you can just use your favorite syrup.
You can also add fruit syrup to the jelly to give it a beautiful color, or put the fruit inside.
It’s fun to try various things.
Raindrop cake “Mizu Shingen Mochi”
Equipment
- 3 x 100 ml small molds & 1 pan
Ingredients
- 300 ml Water or mineral water
- 2 gram Agar powder Since the amount used varies depending on the product, make it in the amount written on the package.
- 1 teaspoon Granulated sugar
- 3~4 tablespoon Dark brown sugar syrup (kuromitsu)
- 2~3 tablespoon Soybean flour (Kinako)
Instructions
- Wet the mold with water and then drain.
- Put agar powder and water in a pan and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring slowly. When it boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes until it is completely dissolved. Add sugar to the agar solution and mix to dissolve.
- Pour the agar solution into a mold and let it cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until it cooled and set.
- Press the surface of the jelly a little with your finger, let air in and turn the mold over on a plate, shake it a little to remove the jelly cleanly from the mold.
- Sprinkle syrup and kinako (soybean flour) just before eating.
Notes
It’s light and smooth, so I think it’s a perfect dessert for hot weather. Please try making it once. I’ll put some links to dessert recipes using agar, so please click them if you like.
Thank you for reading and Bon Appetit !
