For this dessert, I decided to go with a very specific drink as my flavor-inspiration, being Kir Royale. This drink comprises of cassis(currant) liquor, champagne, and fresh berries. Honestly, I was inspired by a pocket cake we were running at milkbar lab, which was a Kir Royale flavored cake, as well as the similarly flavored signature dessert at Patisserie Chantilly in Lomita, California. I have never made anything Kir Royale-flavored before, but I figured with berries and alcohol, and Valentine’s Day coming up, it just made perfect sense to do my own rendition on the classic cocktail.

For my base, I wanted to do something different. I typically do a sable or a chiffon cake, and I didn’t want to be repetitive. So I have a mixed berry crunch disk made with fruit purees and white chocolate as the medium and flavoring. In my recipe, I listed two options, one with feuilletine, and one with almond slivers, since feuilletine might be harder to come by, and with a combination of toasted nuts (you can really use any, but I used pistachios, pine nuts, and hazelnuts just to keep it classy), it would actually be gluten-free! I also have a champagne-cassis gel insert, a mixed berry mousse, and two mirror glazes. The name of my dessert is actually a loose Steven Universe reference, specifically to a character named Garnet, who actually represents self-love. She refers to herself as an experience and a conversation because she represents two entities, so that’s where the name of this came from.

Makes 8 petit gateau:
For the mixed berry crunch disk
1 tablespoon blueberry puree
1 tablespoon blackberry puree
1/4 cup white chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup feuilletine or crushed pistachios, hazelnuts, and pine nuts

Melt chocolate with butter over a double boiler. Add in the purees and salt and mix until combined. Fold in the feuilletine or the toasted nuts and pour onto a lined sheet tray. Allow to set, about 10-20 minutes, and then cut out 2 inch circles.

For the cassis-champagne insert
2 tablespoons crème di cassis
2 tablespoons champagne
2 tablespoons agar agar
1 tablespoon blackberry puree
1 tablespoon blueberry puree
a pinch of salt

Cook out the alcohol in the cassis and champagne first. Then add in your purees, agar, and salt. Stir until the agar has melted into the mixture and pour into a shallow dish. Allow that to set and then cut out 1 inch circles.

For the mixed berry mousse:
3 tablespoons blueberry puree
3 tablespoons blackberry puree
2 teaspoons gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Bloom gelatin with water. Melt gelatin and sugar into the three purees. Allow the puree mixture to cool down to room temperature before folding in your whipped cream. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe into your silicone petit gateau molds or half-sphere molds. Place the insert into the mousses, and smooth off the open sides. Gently press the feuilletine disks against that and allow the mixture to freeze solid, about 2-3 hours.

For the mirror glazes
1 cup white chocolate
1/3 cup milk
2 packets gelatin powder + 1/4 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
beetroot powder
butterfly pea powder

Melt gelatin, salt, and butter into the milk. Pour over the white chocolate and allow that to sit for 1 minute before stirring to combine. Divide into two batches and dye one red and the other blue using the two powders. Pour back together. Pour the mixed glazes over just half of the petit gateau, allowing the rest of it to be exposed.