This recipe was one of several parts of a blue and white-themed dessert tea tower I have been meaning to make. I had purchased a cute blue and white tea tower from the Pokemon Center in Japan, and it inspired me to make high tea-friendly desserts. However, I wanted to embrace the color of the tower, and make sure that all of the desserts carried the same color scheme as well. When I think of tea party desserts, I immediately thought of tartlets, cakes, scones, verrines, choux, and macarons. I had to narrow it down, because a. the tower was only so big, and b. the idea of making six different desserts was white hair-inducing, so I narrowed it down to four, this cake being one of them. When it came to blue cakes, I wanted to keep it naturally colored, so I used a little blue spirulina powder to bring out a natural blue color in the sponge itself. I wanted to give the cake a little bit of flavor to it, so I went with blackberries, and since I wanted a cream component, I decided to go with a tofu rare cheesecake. I personally love the idea of making a cheesecake with tofu, and that creamy tanginess would pair beautifully with berries. I adorned the tops of my cakes with some butterfly tuiles, just to bring everything together quite nicely.

For the components, I would say the most challenging would be the cake, being a chiffon cake. Without an electronic mixer, making chiffon cake can be difficult, because it requires egg whites that are whipped to stiff peaks. However, that issue can be immediately alleviated with either a stand mixer, an electronic hand mixer, or not skipping out on arm day and owning a whisk. So long as you have one of those three options, you’re golden. The compote, I did add cooking sake to it, because the sake helps tone down the sweetness in the blackberries, but this can be omitted as well if you either don’t have any on hand, or can’t purchase any. The cheesecake is surprisingly simple to make, so long as your have a blender. Just note, never ever freeze a tofu-based mousse, or anything that requires tofu and gelatin/agar. Because of its high water content, tofu expands in the freezer, releasing all of that water, which turns into ice, and then when it thaws, the tofu water-turned-ice will melt out of the tofu, creating a grainy texture in the tofu, and a giant puddle. This happens with yogurt too, so keep that in mind if you are ever making a tofu or yogurt-based mousse or cheesecake. You can refrigerate the mousse to set it, and while it may be a little more finnicky to unmold the mousse, at least it won’t turn into a grainy, sopping wet mess. The tuiles were a fun little touch to add to the top, but if you don’t want to purchase Pavoni molds, just use some fresh blackberries instead! That’ll do just the trick in a pinch!

For the blackberry compote:
1 pint fresh blackberries
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp cooking sake
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat up everything together on low until the blackberries are completely soft and the majority of the liquid has been cooked out. The blackberries should be coated in a thick syrup made from their own juices. Allow the compote to cool before using.

For the chiffon cake:
4 egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1.5oz canola oil
1 tsp blue spirulina powder
2/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a bowl, whip the egg whites with sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. In another bowl, whip the egg yolks with canola oil and blue spirulina powder. Sift into the egg yolks the flour. Fold into the egg yolks your egg whites to form your batter. Spread the batter in a lined quarter sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes. Cut out two 9-inch squares out of the cake.

For the rare cheesecake:
8oz cream cheese
12oz silken tofu, water drained
2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a blender or food processor, puree the cream cheese and silken tofu together. In a pot, melt down the gelatin, sugar, water, and salt into a syrup and pour that into the cream cheese. Continue to blend, along with the vanilla, until combined.

For initial assembly:
Line a 9-inch square mold with oil. Lay down one of your squares of cake first, then spread on in an even layer the blackberry compote. Then pour on 2/3 of the rare cheesecake mixture. Place on the next square of cake, and spread on the rest of the rare cheesecake in an even layer on top. Refrigerate for 2 hours before running an offset spatula along the sides of the mold that are touching the cake, and gently pull the mold off of the sides of the cake. Cut into smaller squares or rectangles using a warmed knife.

For the butterfly tuiles:
1/4 tsp egg white powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp confectioner’s sugar
.25oz canola oil
.25oz water
a pinch of salt
1g butterfly pea powder

Mix everything together to form your batter. Spread the batter onto Pavoni butterfly tuile molds and bake at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the tuiles from the molds and transfer to an airtight container. When ready to serve the cakes, garnish the tops with the tuiles.