A while ago, I went to Tokyo for fun – we only had two full days in the city since flying to and from took a day each way, but we made the most of our two days, seeing Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo Skytree, several Pokemon Centers, Harajuku(my personal favorite), and we also visited Teamlab Planets. Teamlab is a series of interactive art museums scattered throughout Asian, but they have a few locations throughout Japan, and each location features different exhibits! In Planets, there was a room that was filled with pleasantly warm water, and they projected images of colorful koi fish, swimming through the water, along with gorgeous shades and lights. It was an image that really stuck with me, and I wanted to use that as a visual inspiration for this dessert. Another thing that drove the specific ingredients I used for this was a pomelo parfait I had at The Parlor Cafe in Ginza. It was a seasonal item at the cafe, featuring pomelo gelee, cream, and crunchy white sesame feuilletine, and was topped with fresh pomelo. What I loved about that parfait was the different textures, and how well-balanced the flavor was, since the pomelo, which is a naturally sour and bitter citrus, really tempered any excessive sweetness. So as an homage to that Japan trip, I wanted to use pomelo and sesame in reference to that, while trying to capture the water-themed visuals of Teamlab Planets through doing a mirror glaze that is swirled with vivid blues, purples, and lilacs. As another nod to Japanese desserts, where fresh produce is often used as a garnish(in Japan, fruit is extremely expensive, so it is used as a garnish to honor the effort and labor that was put into growing it), I went ahead and garnished the top of my mirror glaze cake with segments of pomelo, fresh blueberry, and pomelo peel as well.

For the components, we have a pomelo curd, a blueberry gelee, a white sesame mousse, a black sesame chiffon cake, and a swirled mirror glaze. The main key with this dessert is timing, and order of operations: the pomelo curd and the blueberry gelee both need to be prepped and frozen solid first, as they need to stay frozen for the assembly process so that you can have clean, distinct layers in the final cake. Once those are made and frozen solid, then I would recommend making the black sesame chiffon cake next, just to have that cooled and ready for the assembly. The white sesame mousse comes together really quickly, and that would be the third to last component I would work on in this cake – the second to last being the mirror glazes, and the last being any prep you want to do for the fresh fruit garnishes on top. The mirror glazes, since there are multiple that are being swirled together, I like to make one large batch, and then dye them in smaller batches just to save time on that. I used butterfly pea, freeze-dried blueberry, and pitaya powders to give my glazes these vivid, distinct colors of blue, purple, and pink, just to better resemble the colors that I saw at Teamlab. Truthfully, this dessert has me missingJapan, and excited about the next time I get to fly overseas for another visit!

For the pomelo curd:
2 tsp pomelo zest, finely grated
2oz pomelo juice
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk everything in a pot, besides the vanilla extract, on medium heat until the butter fully melts into the liquid and everything thickens to the point of clinging onto your whisk. Take the pot off heat and whisk in the vanilla. Pour the curd into a lined 4-inch ring mold. Freeze the curd solid, at least 2 hours, before attempting to use in assembly.

For the blueberry gelee:
4oz fresh blueberries
1 tbsp agar agar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp pomelo juice
2 tbsp granulated sugar

In a blender, puree everything together. Pour the liquid into a pot and stir together on low heat until everything comes up to a simmer. Pour the mixture into a lined 4-inch ring mold and freeze solid, at least 10 minutes.

For the black sesame chiffon:
1/2 tsp egg white powder
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp black sesame powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whisk the egg white powder, water, and sugar until stiff peaks form. Add to that the canola oil and sift in the remaining ingredients. Fold everything together to form your batter. Pour the batter into a lined 4-inch cake mold and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before attempting to use.

For the white sesame mousse:
2oz milk
2oz granulated sugar
1 tsp gelatin powder + 1 tbsp cold water
2oz tahini paste
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, heat up the milk, sugar, gelatin, tahini, and salt, stirring everything together until fully dissolved. Allow the tahini-milk to cool fully before stirring in the vanilla and then folding in the heavy cream to form your mousse.

For initial assembly:
Line a 6-inch ring mold with cling wrap and cooking spray and place it onto a sheet tray that can fit into your freezer. Pour 1/3 of the mousse into the ring mold. Press into that the curd disk. Then pour in another 1/3 of the mousse and then press in the blueberry gelee. Then pour in the remaining mousse and press into that the chiffon cake. Freeze solid, at least 4 hours, before attempting to unmold.

For the mirror glaze:
1oz heavy cream
3oz milk
2 tbsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 tsp butterfly pea powder
1 tsp freeze-dried blueberry powder
1 tsp pitaya powder

In a pot, heat up the cream, milk, gelatin mixed with water, and salt. Bring to a simmer, and then once the gelatin is melted, take the pot off heat and pour in the white chocolate. Allow everything to sit for 1 minute before stirring until combined, passing it through a sieve if needed. Dye 3/4 of the glaze with the charcoal powder. With the remaining glaze, split into 3 portions and dye with the different powders. Keep the glazes at 90 degrees F, storing them in containers in warm water, for optimal glazing.

For garnish:
1 tsp gelatin powder + 1 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp cold water
Fresh blueberries
Pomelo segments(roughly 4)
Julienned pomelo peel

Heat the gelatin, sugar, and cold water in a shallow pot until the gelatin and sugar are melted into the water. Allow the glaze to cool before dipping your blueberries, pomelo segments, and pomelo peels into it.

For assembly:
On a raised platform, pour the other glazes into the darkest glaze, and then pour the glaze onto the still-frozen mousse cake to form a rippled effect. Allow the glaze to drip off and set, roughly 5 minutes, before transferring to a desired serving surface. Garnish the top with the pomelo segments, blueberries, and pomelo peels to finish.