Internet-famous raindrop cake arrives down under

The raindrop cake inspired by Japan and created by a New York chef has arrived in Australia, and people can't wait to taste the translucent dessert.

Raindrop cake

Raindrop cakes are translucent, jiggle and taste like water. Source: Harajuku Gyoza

Move over doughnuts, there is a new dessert craze, but this time, there's zero calories involved.

The raindrop cake (which isn't quite a cake, think more of a stylish jelly blob) has arrived down under, being served up by  dumpling restaurant in Brisbane.

The cake was originally created by New York chef Darren Wong and is made of water and a vegan gelatine. The cake itself has zero calories, but Wong accompanies it with sugar syrup and soy flour for texture and sweetness.

Hundreds of people have been lining up to buy Wong's cakes, as he only produces around 50-100 of them a day.

Over 500 people Instagrammed their raindrop cakes in the first week after they were debuted at New York food markets Smorgasburg.

They are very delicate and have to be eaten quickly before they melt.


Videos for similar versions of the Japanese dessert with different toppings are popular on YouTube. The Australian version is served with kinako and sesame powder and brown sugar syrup.

Harajuku Gyoza general manager Andrew Jeffries told SBS Food their chefs worked quickly to be the first restaurant in Australia to debut the dessert.

"We only debuted them yesterday, so it's the first 24 hours, and people are already excited to order them," he said.

"A lot of people are starting to see the raindrop cakes on social media from overseas, I don't think anyone else in Australia is doing it, so instantly people knew what they were looking forward to.

"The recipe was a lot of trial and error as well, and we're experimenting with some different flavour options, and we're doing one now with strawberries and condensed milk and peanuts... there's a lot we can do with them."
The beautiful cakes have a clear, glassy appearance which Wong has said was inspired by raindrops in the animated film A Bug's Life.

So far it seems that Harajuku Gyoza's South Brisbane restaurant is the only place in Australia serving up this unusual dish, but if it is like food trends before it, others are surely soon to follow.
In the mood for something sweet? Explore our here. 


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2 min read
Published 11 April 2016 1:46pm
Updated 12 April 2016 11:54am
By Lucinda Kent
Source: SBS


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