When I hear the word “dandelion”, the first thing I think about, being the weebu hipster baker that I am, is Kingdom Hearts Union Cross. I’m not even going to bother talking more about what the term means in that context because I’m a lazy betch, and also, because this is a food blog, not a gaming blog. Anyways, I also purchased these really cool Silikomart(I swear to god, this is not product placement, I am not a sellout, I just genuinely like their products… can I have my money now, Silikomart? JK) molds to make petit gateaus and I noticed that they almost look like really smooth stones or cute flower vases. And from there, I got the inspiration to make a petit gateau that resembled a dandelion, sprouting out of a green rock or a green vase!

For the different layers, we have an almond-lemon chiffon base, a lemon mousse, a basil gelee center, a basil mirror glaze, green chocolate leaves, and a ri-cotton ball cheesecake on top. Fun fact about this dessert, I dyed the chocolate green using spirulina and turmeric powders. A side note, for mine, I used two half spheres(in an attempt to make a whole ball) of the gelee, but that looked like shit, so I am only going to suggest doing one half sphere, so that it won’t separate inside of the mousse like how mine did. I also used agar agar in my mirror glaze, and I can say confidently that it is a lot easier to clean up an agar based glaze than a gelatin, and they set faster, and if you mess them up, you can remove them more easily and without needing to re-freeze your entire dessert!

For the chiffon cake:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons almond meal
1 egg yolk
2 egg white
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Whip egg yolk with half of the sugar, the zest, and the oil. Whip egg whites with the remaining sugar, salt, and baking powder. Fold ingredients together and pour onto a lined baking sheet, spreading out to about 1/8th an inch thickness. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 minutes. Cool completely before removing. Cut out 2 inch circles, and dice up the scraps to small cubes.

For the gelee:
1 cup blanched basil leaves
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon spirulina powder
3 tablespoons agar gar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine water, salt, sugar, and agar and bring to a simmer. Pour into a blender with the basil and puree. Pass through a strainer and pour into 1 inch silicone half dome molds. Freeze until set.

For the mousse:
1 egg yolk
zest and juice from 3 lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder + 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream; whipped stiff

Melt bloomed gelatin into lemon juice. Simmer with salt and zest. Whip eggs with sugar. Temper with the lemon juice then continue whisking on medium-low heat until thickened. Take off heat, whisk in your butter, then pass through a sieve. Once at room temperature, combine the lemon curd with the heavy cream, then pipe into the silicone petit gateau molds. Press in your set half domes of gelee, then top with your rounds of chiffon cake. Freeze solid. If you do have leftover gelee, puree with 1/2 teaspoon water per half sphere and transfer to a piping bag.

For the glaze:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup blanched basil leaves
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons agar agar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon spirulina powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Puree basil into water. Strain and heat up with the agar. Pour over the white chocolate. Stir in the other powders. Pour the glaze over the set mousses. Should the glaze need to sit for longer than 5 minutes, microwave for 1 minute to melt down again.

For the cheesecake:
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream; whipped stiff
1/4 teaspoon gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt down gelatin with the sugar, water, and salt. Pour into the ricotta and fold with the vanilla. Fold in the heavy cream. Pour into 2-inch silicone half dome molds and freeze until set. Press the two flat sides together to form balls, not worrying about your fingers fuzzing up the exterior(it’s supposed to look that way, which is the fun of making these!).

For the chocolate:
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
a pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon spirulina powder

Temper white chocolate with powders and salt over a double boiler by bringing up all of the ingredients, except 1 tablespoon of the chocolate, to 95 degrees F. Take off the double boiler, and then add in the rest of your chocolate, stirring it until it goes down to about 85 degrees F. I made stencils for the leaves by hand-cutting card-stock. Pour onto either acetate or parchment lined with your stencils, and spread as thin as possible using an offset spatula. To achieve the curl effect, place the sheet inside of a ring mold. Chill down until the chocolate is set before unmolding carefully.

To assemble:
Pour the warm glaze over the frozen solid petit gateau and then garnish with the cake cubes. Carefully place the leaves on, and place the ball in between them: the ball should help keep the leaves inside of the ring of cake. You can also use the basil fluid gel made from pureeing the leftover gelees to help glue the leaves on if necessary.