Skanky Vamp
Sniffin' the Slayer
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(CNN)
Imagine biting into a beautiful cake, but instead of a sugary rush you get the fresh flavors of celery, carrot and red cabbage.
"Salad cakes" -- a new craze in Japan -- offer exactly that experience.
Nagoya native Mitsuki Moriyasu, a cafe owner and food stylist, in 2015 invented what she calls the "Vegedeco Salad" (decorated vegetables) as a guilt-free alternative to traditional baked goods.
These sinless sweets substitute cream "frosting" for that made out of tofu, a "sponge" base for one of soy powder, eggs and vegetable oil, while the rainbow hues that decorate the "icing" come from natural vegetable colorings such as red beetroot juice.
Marinated, diced and cooked vegetables such as radish and daikon replace the sponge, while this wheat-free creation uses a traditional Japanese yeast to achieve a subtly sweet flavor.
"It looks like a normal cake -- but it's made of only veggies. You can have it for breakfast, lunch -- and it's very suitable for dinner with wine," Moriyasu tells CNN.
"Each cake tastes different, depending which vegetables we use -- but I would say it tastes like something you've never had before."
