A raging god to make your stomach rumble.
Along with whimsical settings and dynamic flight sequences, anime production house Studio Ghibli is known for their memorable, mouthwatering depictions of food. Ghibli anime meals regularly serve as inspiration for home chefs in Japan (including the cooks in our very own SoraKitchen), and sure enough, recently Japanese Twitter user @yuyu_melancholy made a birthday cake that instantly brings to mind director Hayao Miyazaki iconic film Princess Mononoke.
“But wait a second,” you might be thinking. “Princess Mononoke takes place in feudal Japan, before the introduction of the Western birthday cake custom!” If so, full marks for your cinematic and culinary history knowledge, but @yuyu_melancholy’s cake doesn’t look like any of the meals from Mononoke, but the Tatarigami, the fearsome monster that curses the film’s male protagonist in the movie’s opening scene.
▼ @yuyu_melancholy’s cake
▼ Tatarigami
So how exactly did @yuyu_melancholy create this fiendish food? The writhing tentacles seen in the photo above are actually a Mont Blanc. A French dessert, also popular in Japan, Mont Blanc is traditionally made with pureed chestnut paste, but @yuyu_melancholy has used purple sweet potato to give the edible Tatarigami its ominously intriguing color and legs.
▼ Ordinary, non-anime monster Mont Blanc
As mentioned above, @yuyu_melancholy was making a birthday cake, but don’t assume the addition of candles makes it look any less terrifying.
▼ “It’s like I’m carrying out some dangerous ritual,” tweets @yuyu_melancholy.
It’s not how you look on the outside, though, but what’s inside that really counts, and the inside of @yuyu_melancholy’s Tatarigami looks delicious, with a core that’s a shortcake placed in a tart crust.
So how does it taste? According to the chef:
“It’s soooooo good! I wasn’t sure if it was going to taste all right, what with how it looks, but I’m surprised I could make something this delicious.”
@yuyu_melancholy is quick to point out that this isn’t the first time for someone to make a Tatarigami Mont Blanc, as seeing photos from others is what made @yuyu_melancholy to make the cake.
▼ A reference photo from another chef
So feel free to give this anime cooking project a try yourself, and don’t worry, the only curse you’ll have to deal with is the soul-clutching temptation of leftovers if you don’t finish it in one sitting.
Source: Twitter/@yuyu_melancholy via IT Media
Top image: Twitter/@yuyu_melancholy
Insert image: Wikipedia/Honio
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