A new vegetable dish invented by a restaurant in Nagoya is whipping up a media frenzy overseas, where it is being marketed as a sponge cake.

The Vegedeco Salad, a concoction of vegetables and tofu aimed at people on diets, has been billed on U.S. TV as the Vegetable Decoration Cake, a dessert one can eat without feeling guilty.

The cakes are catching on with weight-conscious diners who believe they embody the healthier traditions of Japanese food, such as dietary and beauty benefits.