Tanabata, also known as the Star Festival, is once again on our doorstep and now with this “how to” video you can make your very own Raindrop Cake to celebrate!
This “How to make Star Festival Raindrop Cake” video comes with English subtitles and easy step-by-step instructions, so you’ll be swallowing down delicious raindrops in no time.
All you need is a yellow peach, pearl agar, water, edible gold powder, a bamboo leaf, toasted soybean flour, brown sugar syrup, a microwave and a fridge. Okay, so some of these ingredients may be a little challenging to get your hands on if your’re not living in Japan, but it will be well worth the effort.
▼Insert yellow peach stars
▼Sprinkle edible gold powder
▼Voila! Or should we say Dekiagari!
The significance of the raindrop cake for the Tanabata festival comes from an ancient Chinese legend. The story goes that Orihime (a beautiful princess) and Hikoboshi (a cow herder, also called Kengyu) fell deeply in love and neglected their duties. The Heaven God separated the two as punishment. They were only allowed to see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month (hence Tanabata 七夕, which means the evening of the seventh). However, if it rained, the river (representing the milky way) separating them would flood and they would not be able to see each other – so they prayed for good weather.
▼Tanabata Festival, photo by Zengame
This is why people pray for clear skies on the night of Tanabata so that the two lovers can meet. If it rains, the raindrops are said to be the tears of Orihime and Hikoboshi.
Tanabata festivals are held all over Japan in early July and August. The biggest takes place in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa and is held around July 7.
If you’ve ever thought about making Japanese cakes, or wagashi, the raindrop cake is the perfect place to start. It’s quite simple to make and, let’s face it, it looks so damn exquisite!
So pull out your yukata, start making you own raindrops, and you’ll be the star of the party.
Sources: AboutJapan, Shinjuku City Official Website, Wikipedia, JapanGuide, Youtube
Images: Youtube, Flickr/Zengame
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