I really just made this dessert because I wanted to. It was such a perfect dessert for Halloween too, just because of the color scheme, but it can also represent the fall as well, I guess? I went with black sesame jaconde sponge, Thai tea syrup, black sesame mousse, Thai tea Bavarian cream, and black sesame biscotti to garnish with. I really wanted to tackle a different kind of spongecake from the usual chiffons or genoise I do, so I decided to tackle a joconde spongecake, which uses a combination of chiffon and genoise-styled leavening with whipped whole eggs coupled with whipped egg whites, and it also uses sesame powder instead of quite a bit of the normal flour to make the crumb.

Black sesame joconde:
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons oil
3/4 cups black sesame powder
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Whip eggs with half of the granulated sugar and the oil until stiff. Whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar and salt until stiff. Sift flour and powder. Fold everything together and pour into a lined sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes. Cool completely. Cut out 2 6-inch rings and then chop up the rest of the cake pieces.

Thai tea syrup:
2 Thai tea bags
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
a pinch of salt

Steep tea in warm water. Strain and squeeze out the tea as much as possible. Season and bring to a simmer, reducing by half.

Thai tea bavarian:
1 Thai tea bag
1/4 cup water
2 egg yolks
2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

Steep tea into water. Strain out the solids then season with salt. Melt gelatin into water. Bring to a simmer. Whip egg yolks with granulated sugar. Temper with the water and then whisk over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Strain. Whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold into room temperature egg mixture.

Black sesame mousse:
2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup black sesame powder
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
a pinch of salt

Melt gelatin and sugar into water. Mix in black sesame powder and reduce into a paste, stirring constantly. Allow to cool down before folding into heavy cream that has been whipped into stiff peaks.

For assembly:
Place one 6 inch round in the bottom of a lined 6 inch ring mold. Pour on 3 tablespoons of the syrup. Pour in 75% of the Bavarian. Then pour in 50% of the black sesame mousse. Press in the other round. Pour on 3 more tablespoons of syrup. Swirl the remainder of the mousses on top. Freeze solid.

Black sesame biscotti:
Leftover cake pieces

Bake the leftover cake pieces at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool before garnishing the cake with them.