I’ve made so many galaxy cakes over the years. I just love the aesthetic of stars and constellations! For this specific recipe, I wanted to decorate it with konpeitou, which are these really pretty rock candies that come in different colors. They look like the star bits from Super Mario Galaxy and they are just fun to look at, making them ideal cake decorations. For the cake itself, I went with three flavors, being yuzu, black sesame, and blueberry. The base is a gluten-free black sesame chiffon cake. On top of that, we have a blueberry mousse swirled with a yuzu mousse. Glazing that is a combination of a black mirror glaze, and a yellow yuzu glaze. And to finish, some star shaped glitter and the konpeitou candies. All in all, this was a super fun cake to make! My personal favorite part was assembling the mousses, since it was fun to swirl them together! I also love using the konpeitou, as they give the cake such a vivid pop of color against the black and yellow glaze!

For the yuzu mousse:
2 tbsp yuzu juice
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, heat up the yuzu juice with water, sugar, and cornstarch until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of pudding. Take off heat and whisk in the vanilla and salt. Once the mixture is cool to the touch, fold in the whipped cream as well.

For the black sesame cake:
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup finely ground black sesame powder
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whip the egg white with sugar to stiff peaks. Mix the other ingredients together and fold into them the whipped egg whites to form your batter. Pour the batter into a lined 6-inch cake pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before unmolding.

For the blueberry mousse:
1/2 cup blueberry puree
2 tsp gelatin powder + 1 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
1 tsp activated charcoal
1/4 cup heavy cream, in two parts

Reduce the blueberry puree with the gelatin and salt until the gelatin is dissolved into the puree. Split the puree in half and mix charcoal into one of the two parts. Allow the puree to cool down to just above room temperature. Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold each part into each part of the blueberry purees to form your mousses.

For initial assembly:
Line a 6-inch ring mold with acetate and wrap the bottom of the mold with cling wrap. Alternate between pouring in the yuzu mousse and blueberry mousses first. Then press in the chiffon cake. Freeze the cake solid before attempting to unmold(at least 2 hours in the freezer).

For the mirror glazes:
3 tbsp yuzu juice + 2 tbsp gelatin powder
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
2/3 cups white chocolate chips
a pinch of salt
Activated charcoal
a pinch of turmeric powder

Mix gelatin and milk together and bring to a simmer on low heat. Add in the chocolate and salt and allow that to sit together for 2 minutes before stirring to combine. Divide the glaze into two bowls and mix in charcoal into one and turmeric into the other to form a black glaze and a yellow one. Get the glazes to 90 degrees F before attempting to pour over the frozen-solid mousse cake. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature for at least 5 minutes before attempting to transfer the cake to a serving surface.

To garnish:
Star shaped glitter
Konpeitou

Sprinkle glitter onto the glazed cake and finish with the konpeitou.