Raindrop Cake looks beautiful, has almost no calories, and is easy to make if you follow a few simple tips. It is not too late to make this beautiful and delicious Japanese summer dessert! And I will show you how to make it really crystal clear like a giant raindrop!
What is raindrop cake?
Raindrop cake is actually called “Mizu Shingen Mochi” in Japanese. It is a jelly-like dessert made from water and agar powder and it looks just like a giant raindrop. The dessert originated in Yamanashi prefecture, which has a Japanese sweets shop that first sold this dessert.
The fairest flowers soonest fade
At the shop where the Mizu Shingen Mochi” originated, the raindrop cake only stays in its raindrop form for about 30 minutes so you can not take away, you have to eat it there. Apparently, there is always a queue at that shop because of how popular this dessert is.
3 tips to make crystal clear raindrop cake
- Use quality agar powder
. I used one called “Cool Agar which I ordered on Amazon from Japan. There are different types of agar agar powder. I shared a comparison chart in Anmitsu post.
- Use Mineral water. The brand I used is available in Australia from major supermarkets.
- Use the correct agar powder and mineral water ratio. Follow exactly the recipe. It does make a little more than I needed for the mold I have.
Difference between various coagulants
Gelatin, Kanten and Agar are used as coagulants in Japan. I have shared the comparison chart in Anmitsu post. If you are interested and would like to know more, head to that post. If you really want to impress with CRYSTAL CLEAR raindrop cake, I recommend use the same agar powder
I used.
What is the brown powder on the side?
It is kinako
, which is soybean powder. Kinako is a Japanese superfood, a superb plant-based protein. Roasted soybeans are finely grinded into powder. I try to incorporate it as much as I can, often just by sprinkling over yoghurt because it has super anti-aging power and also is high in dietary fibre. It is delicious, has a lovely nutty aroma, and is so easy to blend into cooking.
What is the dark syrup ?
It is brown sugar syrup called “Kuromitsu
” in Japanese. Kuromitsu is a brown sugar syrup made from Okinawa black sugar. Its texture is a little bit thicker than maple syrup and beautiful dark brown in colour. The raindrop cake itself is almost tasteless, so the brown sugar syrup gives a rich sweet taste to this dessert.
Where did you get the mold ?
You can also find the raindrop molds on Amazon, but I made mine in a big, Silicone Ice Ball Mold 
. So you don’t need to buy a fancy mold, you can just use a cheap one like I did or make it just in a cup or bowl. My mold was 5.5cm in diameter.
What is the serving plate made out of?
The serving plate is the same serving plate that Takoyaki is usually served in. They are made out of thin wood. Because of the shape, they are called “Funazara” in Japanese or “Bamboo Boat plate
”. They are not plastic, so they are eco friendly.
Here is my instruction for Raindrop cake and If you liked it, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
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Raindrop cake
Ingredients
- 10 g agar powder
- 300 g mineral water
- 4 tbs soy bean powder
- 4 tbs brown sugar syrup
- Instructions
Instructions
- Put the agar powder in a small saucepan.
- Add a little bit of water at a time (to avoid creating lumps) to the saucepan and continuously stir to dissolve the powder.
- Bring it to boil over heat then turn it down to simmer for 2 minutes over low heat stirring constantly.
- Turn it down and continue to stir constantly in the saucepan then transfer to a sink filled with water and continue to stir so that it cools quickly (make sure not to get any extra water in the pan).
- Pour it in an ice ball mold and fill half (semi sphere/half sphere?) place the lid on and fill the ball from the top hole. Leave it in the fridge to set for at least one hour.
- When it is set, remove from the mold and serve it with 1 tbs soy bean powder and 1 tbs brown sugar syrup
Notes
- Consume within 30 minutes, otherwise it will melt.
- The mixture makes more than you need to fill, depending on the mold size. You can put the leftover to set in a small cup.
- I bought agar agar powder from Japan. If you would like to know more about the difference of coagulant, read here. The type of agar powder I used and the ingredients of original raindrop cake "Mizu Shingen Mochi" does start to re-liquify in room temperature, therefore it needs to be consumed quickly after serving.
Sorry to bother you. Do I need to refrigerate syrup?
Hi Carmen, yes after you open the bottle 😀
P.S.
I like the feature to convert to U.S. measurements. Will that eventually be on all your recipes? I didn’t see it on some of them.
Yes, Carmen eventually. I am updating all recipes 😀
Hello Shihoko,
I tried this but with an agar agar bar and filtered water. After 3 tries, the consistency was great but the colour not as clear as yours. I will try it again with mineral water to see if that makes a difference. The kanten brand you used was just too expensive, but I bought another brand at the local Japanese store for next time.
Does the syrup have to go in the fridge?
This is so much fun to eat. Your plating is just stunning!
Thank you.
Great Carmen if there is a Japanese grocery store near you and you can get agar agar powder there. Try with mineral water and because you are using different brand powder, you may have to experiment to get the best ratio of water and powder.
Hi,
I love rain drop cake and I think it’s SO awesome that you teach us how to make it. Thanks for your recipe!
You are welcome 😀 Thank you Hungyen:D
Hi even though this is my second comment, can the raindrop cake be put in the fridge? My Friend asked me for a beautiful recipe cos’ her mothers birthday is coming, so I gave her this recipe and she asked me if the cake can be frozen or put in the fridge. Thank you so much! 😊
Hi Sophia, I am not sure if it can be frozen. At the shop where the raindrop cake originated, once they are out of fridge, you need to eat within 30 minutes because it melt in even low temperature. So keep it in the fridge 😀
Hi! I haven’t made this but it looks amazing! May I know what brand you use for the agar powder and theb brown sugar syrup? Thank you! By the way I love your recipes!
Hi Sophia this is what I used. and brown sugar syrup is
wow its amazing!
thank you! 😀
In your picture, I see it sitting on a leaf and inside of what?? I wanted to serve it exactly like you have it to my family but unsure what the name of the you have the entire dish sitting in is called.
Hi Josh, It is called “funazara” literally means boat plates. Where do you live? I bought a packet of 5 or 10 from Wheel and Barrow in Brisbane. If you live in Australia, I see them often so I am sure you can buy them from those stores. If not, you can buy them from Chopstick Chronicles’ shop page 😀 and the leaf is bamboo leaf from my back neighbour. 😉
Firstly let me say that I am a big fan of your blog, the recipes look so tasty and the photography is amazing. Thank you. I tried the raindrop cake also, and my came out white not transparent and also hard. The guests still liked it, but more as a granita than what I was trying to do from the recipe!
Hi Tasha, Thank you for trying out the recipe and sorry it did not turned out well for you. The reason it did not turned out like mine that I can think of is that you probably used different agar agar powder. I have tried many times and different types of agar agar powder to get crystal clear like the photo. The best one is the powder I bought online from Japan, and it may not be available where you live. I have listed though, a similar powder on my shop page. Also if you used the different powder, the water to the powder ratio will be different that’s why you had hard rain drop cake. Did you use mineral water too?
I’m not sure what went wrong. I follow the exact same amount of ingredients and also instruction. The thing came out as hard as rubber and the color wasn’t transparent.
Hi Sopitth Thank you for trying out the recipe. I am not 100% sure what went wrong. May be used different powder and that powder’s ratio to water is different from what I used? or did you use mineral water? I added the agar powder and mold in the shop page. The powder in the shop is not exactly what I used but it is similar 😀
Clearly I am missing something. I went to the “Fish and Soy” website to order. I could find the soy bean powder, but not the brown sugar syrup. Is it the Japanese Sugar Syrup? The shape of the bottle looks similar to what you are showing on your picture. Thanks!
Hi Patty, yes you are right brown sugar syrup is the Japanese sugar syrup 😀 This is what I used. http://fishandsoy.com.au/japanese-sugar-syrup-kuromitsu-200gm/
Thanks! I just sent in another comment, as I totally spaced out that I had already posted the same comment. Sorry!
You are welcome Patty 😀
I saw this on Facebook!!!! It is just amazing. I am in total awe!!!
I can’t get over how pretty it is. I wouldn’t want to eat it! It is like a work of art.
Thank you, I am inspired!!!
Thank you Claire 😀
Omg! This is seriously the coolest thing I’ve ever seen… and beautiful too! I know you said it’s popular nowadays in Japan, but is it a relatively new dessert? My parents are visiting and I showed it to my dad who’s Japanese, and he just had a puzzled look on his face, lol 😉 Pinning, pinning, and drooling with wide eyes!
Hi Kathleen, yes it is new thing. I did not know either until my friend in Brisbane invited me to taste rain drop cake at a Japanese restaurant. I said “What?” Rain drop cake? I have never heard of it and am Japanese?? It just landed to Australia too. It is very similar to Warabimochi with kinako and kuromitsu 😀
I saw your photo on on foodgawker IG , hence me landing on your beautiful page 😀
Cant wait to see the look on my daughter’s face (who happened to be everything Japanese/ Korean fan ;p) when I make this for her high-tea theme birthday party 🙂
Hi Lisa, OMG your daughter will be so happy to see this surprise cake!! Go Mom 😀
I am not a sweet person but great photos of the cake, Shihoko. I like the photo with the spoon best. I think it is amazing.
こんにちは 由美子さん、ご無沙汰しております。お元気ですか。Elizabeth keep asking me to make more everyday. 味は、きな粉と黒蜜でたべるので、ちょっとわらび餅 みたいな感じですが、食感がすこしちがいます。クールアガー というのを、Amazonで 日本から 送ってもらいました。agar agar というので つくるんですが、少し濁りました。日本の パウダー方が 綺麗に できます。
I’ve never heard of this “cake” but it’s absolutely beautiful! It’s a jelled consistency? Gorgeous photos!
Thank you Lisa, yes the texture is like jelly and does not have much taste so that’s why Japanese people eat it with soybean powder and brown sugar syrup 😀
How beautiful and exotic! This sounds like such a wonderful dessert…I know this would be a showstopper!
Thank you Catherine 😀
This is one of the most beautiful desserts I’ve ever seen! I haven’t tried this cake before, but it sounds amazing! I might have to use the husbands ice cube molds from his bar and try this. I might order the other ingredients- it looks so good!
Thank you Sarah, you will like it 😀
Looking forward to try this! Have you ever tried to put anything inside the mold? Was thinking of putting conserved cherry inside for Christmas version, but wondering if it’s too delicate…
Hi Kate, Yes I put fruit in and look beautiful and delicious 😀 https://www.chopstickchronicles.com/fruit-kanten-jelly/
Oh Yum! I’ve never seen rain drop cake before and never tried it. I had to scroll and see your photos multiple times. Very pretty!
Thank you Ilona 😀
I love rain drop cake and I think it’s SO awesome that you teach us how to make it. Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome Thalia 😀 Making it is not difficult but finding right agar powder could be tricky.