This is definitely one of those recipes where if you do not have patience, it will not come together. Some of my recipes employ processes that may take hours, even days to do. That applies in this case too. For starters, let’s talk about persimmon. Persimmon is an autumnal to winter fruit that comes in two varieties – hachiya and fuyu. Hachiya have this gorgeous, bulbous shape to them, while fuyu are a little flatter and stockier. I would say that hachiya are beautiful, but fuyu(which fun fact, we had a fuyu persimmon tree growign up) are cuter. I personally prefer fuyu, just because unlike hachiya persimmons, fuyu persimmons can be eaten in an unripe state. Now for the ripeness. Persimmon are one of those fruit were ripeness plays a major role in their flavor and texture. Unripe persimmon, at least the fuyu, have this pear-like flavor and texture to them, but with a dry finish. However, and this applies to both varieties, ripe persimmon has this naturally translucent, jammy consistency, and it tastes like pudding. This recipe unfortunately calls for both unripe and ripe persimmons. Ripe, which are naturally more flavorful and sweeter, are being used in both a gelee and a mousse. The unripe is being used to make these delicate little chips with. There are a few ways to make approach this quandary. Option a. is to buy a bunch of unripe persimmons, make the chips in advanced, and wait two weeks for the other persimmon to be ripe. That is what I recommend for those with patience. Option b. is to buy a combination of unripe persimmon for the chips and ripe persimmons for the mousse/gelee at the same time. This might be a lot harder to manage/guarantee, since that depends on what is being sold at your local grocery store(s), but it would definitely cut down the waiting time. It is worth noting that you only really need one unripe persimmon for the chips, so if that sways either option more your way, let it be known now!

That large persimmon tangent out of the way, this recipe was designed to embrace autumn and winter, all in one! My dear friend, Jason Wang(from Masterchef season 8), gifted me with osmanthus tea flowers from Taiwan. So I felt that the only appropriate way to honor that gift was to make something especially gorgeous with them. I knew I could steep the tea into a soak, but I could also grind it finely into a powder, and use that for a cake batter. Osmanthus is a very fun, dessert-friendly ingredient, in that it adds a perfume-y quality that gives the otherwise blandly sweet persimmon a bit more of a personality. I also used sesame for nuttiness, using it in a few different components to highlight the flavor! There is sesame finely ground into a powder that is being used in a gluten-free sponge cake, also called a jaconde, and tahini(sesame paste) used in a mousse, ganache, and cream to finish the entire thing with. The persimmon is being used in a mousse, which forms the entire body of the dessert, a gelee, and chips. In terms of difficulty, I would give this an 8.5/10. There are a lot of steps that need to be done correctly, in terms of making sure that the gelee is frozen solid, the cake is baked properly, and that the mousse base is just at room temperature before folding in the cream, that the cake is frozen solid before you apply on the ganache layer, and that the ganache is fully solidified before you unmold the entire cake. I would definitely say that making this cake could be considered a flex from a technical standpoint, because of how difficult it is, but the added difficulty would come in making sure that the ripeness on the persimmon is appropriate for each component that uses them.

Makes 1 6-inch square cake:
For the persimmon chips:
1 relatively unripe fuyu persimmon, shaved on the thinnest setting on your mandolin
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
a pinch of salt

In a pot, bring sugar, water, and salt to a simmer. Once everything is dissolved together, take the pot off heat and place in the persimmon slices, allowing those to sit in the liquid, off heat, for 10 minutes. Carefully strain out the slices, patting them dry gently with a towel, reserving the liquid for your soak. Arrange the slices onto a parchment and cooking spray-lined sheet tray. Place another layer of parchment and another sheet tray on top of the slices and bake at 200 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove the top sheet tray and parchment and continue baking for another 2 hours. Store in an airtight container until time to garnish.

For the persimmon gelee:
1 ripe fuyu persimmon
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp agar

In a blender, puree everything together until combined. Pass through a sieve into a pot and heat on low until everything is dissolved together. Line a 6-inch square cake mold with cling wrap and cooking spray. Pour the liquid into the lined mold and freeze solid for 4 hours.

For the sesame-osmanthus jaconde:
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp finely ground osmanthus tea
1oz canola oil
1/4 cup finely ground sesame seeds
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whip the egg whites with sugar to stiff peaks. In another bowl, whip the egg yolks with the tea powder and oil until combined. Sift into the egg yolks your sesame seed powder, almond flour, xanthan gum, and salt. Fold into that the whipped egg whites to form your batter. Spread the batter onto a lined quarter sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before cutting out 2 squares using a 6-inch square cake mold.

For the persimmon-tahini mousse:
2 ripe fuyu persimmons
2oz tahini paste
2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
8oz heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a blender, puree everything besides the cream together. Pour into a pot and stir on medium heat until the mixture resembles a loose paste. Pour through a sieve to remove any lumps. Allow that strained mousse base to cool down fully before folding the whipped cream into it to form your mousse for the cake.

For the osmanthus soak:
reserved persimmon liquid
1 tsp osmanthus tea

In a pot, heat up the persimmon poaching liquid from the chips with the tea. Let that sit at room temperature until fully cooled and then strain out the tea solids. Refrigerate until time to use.

For initial assembly:
Start by placing down one square of the cake into a lined 6-inch square cake mold. Brush in about 2 tbsp of the soak. Pour in 1/3 of the mousse. Then press in the gelee, another 1/3 of the mousse, and then the next square of cake. Apply the 2 more tbsp of your soak onto that second layer. Pour in the remaining mousse and level it off to be an even layer. Freeze this solid first.

For the dulce-tahini ganache:
1oz tahini paste
3oz dulce(blonde chocolate)
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat everything together on low heat until melted and combined. Pour the ganache onto the still-molded and still frozen solid cake, spreading it on as an even layer. Return the cake to the freezer for another hour.

For the tahini cream:
.5oz tahini paste
1oz heavy cream
a pinch of salt
.1oz vanilla extract

Whip everything to stiff peaks. Keep the cream cold for the final assembly.

For final assembly:
Carefully unmold the cake while it is still frozen solid. Garnish the two of the cake with two quenelles of the tahini cream and the persimmon chips to finish.