How can a dessert made of almost 99.8% of water be so trendy? The answer…it is all in its texture… When I first saw these raindrop cake (which in my opinion it is not a cake per say, cake in my view should contain flour or its substitutes) I was fascinated by its shape and the notion of its pureness…upon reading the ingredients, I immediately could imagine its textures as I had worked with agar-agar, both in the kitchen and in the lab. The trick is to have the right ratio of water and agar-agar to achieve a very soft almost running gel. A little extra of agar-agar the “cake” will turn into a flavorless jelly, a little “too little” and the “cake” will not hold its shape. Therefore the amount of agar-agar is very critical. After searching through the internet I found that the ratio of agar-agar to water varied from 0.25% to 3% meaning that in 1 cup (250ml) of water the amount of agar-agar varied from 0.625g to 7.5g…yes, you read it right…so here is where my “experiments” started… I started with the percentage that I used to use when working in the microbiology lab, 1.5%…then went down drastically since it gave me a jelly ball so hard that I could almost throw on the floor and it would bounce back. I taper down to 0.5%, then to 0.25% (not bad) but wanted to push lower and went to 0.1% which the gel barely set…finally decided to add a bit more and went for 0.2%. Yes, it did work! My notes reminded me of my lab notebook with all the calculations since I was varying the amount of water as well. As a result of all these “experiments” I just can tell you that you have to do your own “experiment” since the consistency will depend entirely on the quality of the agar-agar you use. The nice thing is that you are literally playing with water… When I presented raindrop cake to my husband he loved it…the “cake” melt almost instantly in your mouth, the combination of the slightly sweet, rosy aroma just give you a clean, pure, light and refreshing feeling…something that it is hard to describe, somehow stir your senses…very hard to explain…now I kind of understand the hype over this particular dessert. With this said, I think that the most important thing besides achieving the correct texture the taste should match its “clean” look…then everything comes is harmony…magical! Instrument and Ingredients: Scale, a good one Water (I used filter) Agar-agar Sugar (optional) Flavoring component, I added rosewater in this particular one, and in the future I plan to add orange blossom water, cucumber infused water, mint infused water, strawberry infused water…and my list goes on and on… Method: Weigh the agar-agar and place in a small pot. Add a little water until the agar-agar is totally moist. Heat the remaining water and pour over the agar-agar. Place the water with agar-agar in the low-medium heat. Stir constantly until all the agar-agar is dissolved. Add sugar and the flavoring. Pour into the mold and let it refrigerate for 1 hour. Unmold the “cake” and serve with something sweet such a maple syrup, simple syrup… I added rosewater on the agar-agar mixture once it was all dissolved and ready to be pour into the molds . Just before serving I grated a bit of pistachio (to give some color contrast) and drizzled simple syrup made with organic crystal sugar. I hope you enjoy this fun recipe using molecular gastronomy technique...for more recipes like this please check on Honey Caviar or Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Sphere recipes. Did you know that agar-agar was discovered in Japan? Agar-agar is a derivative from seaweed and has no calories, no sugar, no carbohydrates, no fat, and packed with fiber. Agar-agar if vegetarian and a great substitute for gelatin. Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Before you ask…yes, this is another molecular gastronomy recipe. The technique I used is called “reverse spherification”, and was based on Surprise Bubbles . The fascinating thing is that this technique is so simple that these colored bubbles were mainly made by my niece and nephew, 14 and 11 years old… They had so much fun making and then eating these popping bubbles filled with grape juice…more specifically white grape juice. Initially we started with the non-color ones (original color of the white grape juice). Since it was kind of hard to see and manipulate the translucent bubbles, we decided to color them by adding a few drops of food coloring into the alginate solution. Erica chose red and Nick blue…and off we went, each one with their bowls of colored alginate bath and water…I played with the non-color ones. They first removed the frozen half sphere from the freezer and dropped in the alginate bath for 3 minutes. Then they scooped the bubbles from the alginate bath and placed them into a bowl of water to remove the excess alginate. After “collecting” lots of bubbles we just ate by “popping” one at the time in our mouth…a very fun experience, especially because these bubbles were like 0.3oz size and you sure feel the bubble exploding in your mouth and the refreshing juice. Ingredients: ½ cup white grape juice or any juice of your preference 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon calcium lactate 400 ml of filtered water 2 g sodium alginate Method: Prepare the alginate bath by mixing the sodium alginate in water, until the sodium alginate is totally dissolved. You can use an immersion blender. Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, let the solution rest in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours or until all the air bubbles disappear. A few hours (or 24 hours) before the spherification, mix the grape juice with sugar and calcium until the calcium is dissolved. Carefully spoon in a silicon mold and freeze. Drop the frozen juice in the alginate bath and let it sit for 3 minutes. Scoop the bubbles using a slotted spoon and rinse them in a bowl of water. Remove from the water and they are ready to be served. If you enjoy this Molecular Gastronomy recipe you might want to check on Spherical Yogurt or Honey Caviar . Did you know that “spherification” is simply a gelling reaction between calcium and alginate which is a gum like substance removed from brown seaweed. So by adding calcium, we just replace what the manufacturers removed from the seaweed, therefore the gelling texture. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot] Me and have a great week!

This is a fun recipe using molecular gastronomy method to make little bead of honey. The main ingredients beside honey is agar-agar, which is from seaweed. Playing with “molecular gastronomy” again…this time I used agar-agar, which is a vegetarian version of gelatin. Apparently this can be done using gelatin if you have difficulty finding agar-agar. I have the feeling that if gelatin is used the texture might be more chewy…something that I will try to make in the future since I love chewy texture. I must admit that I was reluctant to use agar-agar, because the image of bacteria growing in petri dishes always come to my mind when talking about agar-agar; all this due to years and years of working in microbiology lab…I literally had to block these images from my mind when I started to make this honey caviars. This recipe is much easier than the Spherical Yogurt; most of the ingredients are commonly found in the kitchen, with the exception of the agar-agar which can be substituted with gelatin. These little honey caviar or pearls can be used with anything that you want to serve with honey, like cheese, yogurt, cake and the list goes on and on. Besides, they look very “cute”. Before I go on to the recipe, I just received over the weekend the new issue of Desserts Magazine , and the current issue is available free to non-members, so if you would like to browse the magazine please check the link here … One more thing before I share the recipe, this method is called “Gelification” and is based on a recipe featured in Cookistry . Ingredients: 1g of agar-agar 3 tablespoons of water 6 tablespoons of honey ¾ to 1 cup of canola oil or any other unflavorful cooking oil Water and ice Method: Place the vegetable oil in the refrigerator. Mix the agar-agar with the water and place in low heat. Slowly add the honey, stirring constantly until the agar-agar is totally dissolved. It might take a while and needs boiling. You will know when there are no more particles in the liquid. Let the agar-agar/honey mixture cool until start to thicken a little. If you leave it too long a big gel will form. In the meantime, remove the oil from the refrigerator and place in an ice bath, so the oil is kept icy cold. Using a dropper drawn the agar-agar/honey mixture and drip in the cold oil. As soon as the droplets of honey fall into the oil you will see little pearls forming and slowly falling to the bottom of the oil bowl. Let the caviars sit for a while in the oil so they turn firm. Gently with a slotted spoon or small strainer scoop the caviars out of the oil and rinse in cold water to remove the oil. Drain well and the honey caviars are ready for you to add to anything you wish. I served the honey caviars with plain yogurt…so good! If you enjoy this “molecular recipe”, you might want to check on the Spherical Yogurt. Did you know that gela tin is made from collagen from animal bones and skin while agar-agar is made from seaweed? Agar-agar is very popular in Asian cuisine and are sold as powder or translucent strands. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot]me...have a colorful day!

Molecular Gastronomy Archives • Color Your Recipes

Balsamic Vinegar “Caviar”
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Balsamic Vinegar “Caviar”

Molecular Gastronomy

Balsamic Vinegar “Caviar”

Juliana2018-10-30T11:14:03-07:00Molecular Gastronomy|

Your family will be impressed with these little droplets of balsamic vinegar resembling caviar… This is another fun experiment to make in your kitchen with agar-agar…and I can assure you [...]

Raindrop Cake
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Raindrop Cake

Asian Inspired Recipe, Dessert/Sweet, Molecular Gastronomy

Raindrop Cake

Juliana2018-10-30T11:14:34-07:00Asian Inspired Recipe, Dessert/Sweet, Molecular Gastronomy|

How can a dessert made of almost 99.8% of water be so trendy? The answer…it is all in its texture… When I first saw these raindrop cake (which in my opinion it [...]

Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Sphere
Gallery
Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Sphere

Dessert/Sweet, Gluten Free, Molecular Gastronomy

Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Sphere

Juliana2018-10-30T12:11:17-07:00Dessert/Sweet, Gluten Free, Molecular Gastronomy|

This is a fun recipe using molecular gastronomy. The creamy coconut panna cotta is served with a mango sphere which will spill the mango nectar on the panna cotta when [...]

Spherical Yogurt with Strawberry Coulis
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Spherical Yogurt with Strawberry Coulis

Gluten Free, Molecular Gastronomy

Spherical Yogurt with Strawberry Coulis

Juliana2018-06-18T14:17:52-07:00Gluten Free, Molecular Gastronomy|

This is a fun recipe to try using molecular gastronomy. The yogurt are made into almost spheres that pops. This is one of the most fun thing I have ever [...]

Red and Blue Bubbles
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Red and Blue Bubbles

Dessert/Sweet, Gluten Free, Holiday Wish, Molecular Gastronomy

Red and Blue Bubbles

Juliana2018-06-18T14:23:29-07:00Dessert/Sweet, Gluten Free, Holiday Wish, Molecular Gastronomy|

Before you ask…yes, this is another molecular gastronomy recipe. The technique I used is called “reverse spherification”, and was based on Surprise Bubbles. The fascinating thing is that this technique is so [...]

Tangerine Chiffon Cake
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Tangerine Chiffon Cake

Asian Inspired Recipe, Dessert/Sweet, Molecular Gastronomy

Tangerine Chiffon Cake

Juliana2018-06-18T14:23:54-07:00Asian Inspired Recipe, Dessert/Sweet, Molecular Gastronomy|

After purchasing many of the tangerines, known as cutie I found myself with too many tangerines in the fridge. So I decided to make a cake using the fresh squeezed [...]

Honey Caviar
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Honey Caviar

Gluten Free, Molecular Gastronomy

Honey Caviar

Juliana2018-06-18T14:24:40-07:00Gluten Free, Molecular Gastronomy|

This is a fun recipe using molecular gastronomy method to make little bead of honey. The main ingredients beside honey is agar-agar, which is from seaweed. Playing with “molecular gastronomy” [...]