New Japanese Kit Kat features flavour of traditional shingen mochi dessert

https://ift.tt/2CrUTo7 Oona McGee

If you love the Japanese raindrop water cake that’s been taking the world by storm, you’ll love this new Kit Kat variety.

Back in 2014, we introduced the world to the wonders of the Japanese water cake, a sweet so delicate it disappears after 30 minutes. Called Mizu Shingen Mochi (Water Shingen Mochi), the clear dessert now goes by a variety of names overseas, including “Raindrop Cake”, but it’s originally a take on a traditional Japanese sweet called shingen mochi, which is a famous specialty of Yamanashi Prefecture.

▼ Mizu Shingen Mochi

Image © SoraNews24 

While the Raindrop Cake is made from solidified water, traditional shingen mochi is made from gyuhi, a soft form of mochi rice cake. However, both the Water Cake and the shingen mochi dessert are served with a generous serving of kinako soybean powder and topped off with brown sugar syrup.

This delicious combination of flavours is incredibly popular with people around Japan, and visitors to Yamanashi always keep an eye out for a brand called Bellflower Shingen Mochi, made by Kikyouya, which was founded in 1889. Easily identified by its red-and-white bellflower packaging, the beloved Bellflower brand is so popular it’s even collaborated with 7-Eleven in the past for a limited-edition ice cream.

Image © SoraNews24

Now the famous sweet is teaming up with another famous name in the confectionery world, as Nestlé Japan has just revealed that their next Kit Kat will feature the flavour of Bellflower Shingen Mochi.

According to Nestlé, the new Kit Kat contains Bellflower’s glutinous rice flour, kinako soybean flour and brown sugar syrup kneaded into the wafers, while the flavour of the shingen mochi itself is blended in with the chocolate as well, to create a unique tasting Kit Kat.

While Nestlé is known for making exclusive local Kit Kats only available in certain prefectures around Japan, this new variety is the first local Kit Kat flavour exclusive to Yamanashi Prefecture. Available at the Kikyou online store, and at highway rest stop retail areas along Yamanashi’s Chuo Highway, each nine-piece pack is set to retail for 780 yen (US$6.85).

Source, images: Nestlé Japan