An umi dessert for Umi no Hi.

Every summer, Japan celebrates a holiday called Umi no Hi, which is usually rendered in English as Marine Day but translates literally as “Ocean Day.” To celebrate, Japanese Twitter user Chez Mitsu‎ (@chez_mitsu) whipped up a dessert in the form of an extremely appropriate cake, one that looks like it’s made out of the ocean itself.

At first glance, and even second and third, it looks like Chez Mitsu‎ has used some form of marine magic to hold a block of ocean water together above a sandy beach. Really, though, this isn’t a sea cake, but a cheesecake. Specifically, it’s a “rare cheesecake,” as Japan calls cheesecakes of the no-bake variety, but “rare” is equally applicable to describe how hard it is to find a dessert this beautiful.

The most common rare cheesecake recipes call for yogurt and cream cheese, but Chez Mitsu‎ substituted vanilla ice cream for yogurt in making his Marine Day cake. As for the “water,” it’s gelatin, with the uneven shape and color of the block as it mixes with the lighter colored ingredients giving in a suspended-liquid look.

Chez Mitsu says he used 300 grams (10.6 ounces) each of cream cheese and ice cream and 15 grams of powdered gelatin mix (a high-cream ice cream, such as Häagen-Dazs, wil produce the best results). First he whipped the cream cheese with a whisk, then he added a small amount of water to the gelatin powder, added the mixture to the cream cheese, and mixed it again. After letting the ice cream melt down to room temperature, he added that into the cream cheese/gelatin mixture, stirred everything together one more time and poured it into a cake mold with a crust waiting at the bottom, then let it chill until it was ready to eat.

▼ “Sea and sand rare cheesecake.”

▼ Chez Mitsu was inspired by this video from Tastemade Japan from a few years back, but put his own spin on it with the addition of ice cream.

https://www.youtube.com/c/TastemadeJapan

The photos of slices being cut from Chez Mitsu‎’s cake suggest it was eaten, so we’ve missed our chance to beg for a taste, but other Twitter users have thoroughly enjoyed the feast for the eyes, with comments like:

“A cheesecake that can make you feel happy even just looking at it.”
“It’s so beautiful how see-through it is.”
“I could stare at this forever.”
“Looking at it makes me feel cool and refreshed.”
“Magical…”
“Desserts are a form of fine art.”

As Japanese sweets fans will tell you, it’s really hard to argue with that last one.

Source: Twitter/@chez_mitsu via IT Media
Images: Twitter/@chez_mitsu
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