Hilariously enough, the three main ingredients in this entremet(French set mousse cake) form the acronym P.O.G., which is also used in Hawaiian cuisine to reference passionfruit-orange-guava juice. In this case, this P.O.G. refers to peach, osmanthus, and ginger, which happen to be three of my mom’s favorite ingredients. Growing up, we had a white peach tree in the backyard, and whenever summer rolled around, we were always excited about peach season! I grew up on white peaches, so they hold a lot of nostalgic value to me. For this recipe, I wanted to combine those with osmanthus and ginger to create a dessert that is an homage to my mother, who would go out of her way to pick those white peaches for us as kids, who loves osmanthus tea, and who loves using ginger in virtually everything she cooked with. In this case, I wanted to make a mousse cake that encapsulated all of those ingredients, but in a light, balanced way. With osmanthus and white peach, the two play off of each other quite nicely, resulting in a pleasant, fragrance – if you think about it, it basically is sweet peach tea, but Chinese. With the ginger, which adds heat and actually works well with sugar, you have a dessert that is balanced, since the ginger tones down any overt sweetness, while adding this warming quality to the entire dessert.

For the components, we have an osmanthus-peach mousse and gelee, an almond jaconde that is soaked with a ginger-osmanthus soak, a ginger-osmanthus glaze, and fresh white peaches on top to tie back in with the ingredient being used throughout. A good portion of this recipe hinges on making an osmanthus peach puree – this puree is being used in both the gelee filling inside of the cake as well as the peach mousse that is the body of the entire dessert. The jaconde is a relatively easy sponge to make if you have a stand mixer – there is a lot of whipped eggs involved, but the end result is this soft, pillowy cake, perfect to soak up the ginger-osmanthus syrup and take on those flavors. Also, please be sure to have a blender or a juicer ready, as you will be extracting a lot of fresh ginger instead of using powdered – fresh ginger has a more spicy flavor, which is important here, since that spice will temper the overt sweetness in the dessert, keeping everything in balance. While you can try to use powdered ginger, it will not have the same fragrance as the fresh juice would. Like with any mirror glaze or mousse cake, temperature and waiting is key – make sure that the gelee is frozen before assembling the mousse cake, and then make sure that the mousse cake is frozen solid before glazing it. So long as you do both of those steps correctly, you should have a gorgeous mousse cake on your hands!

Makes 1 6-inch cake or 6-8 servings:
For the osmanthus-peach puree:
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 loose tbsp osmanthus tea leaves
a pinch of salt
2 white peaches, pitted and cut in medium dice
1/4 cup water

In a blender, puree everything together, and pass through a sieve. Store in an airtight container until time to use.

For the osmanthus-peach gelee:
4oz osmanthus-peach puree
1 tsp agar agar

In a pot, bring everything to a simmer, allowing the agar to dissolve into the puree. Pour the gelee base into a 4-inch ring mold that is lined with cling wrap and cooking spray. Freeze the gelee for at least 2 hours before attempting to unmold, keeping the gelee frozen solid for assembly.

For the jaconde:
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp granulated sugar
.5oz canola oil
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

In a bowl, whip the egg white with sugar to form stiff peaks. In another bowl, mix the egg yolk with oil, salt, and vanilla. Sift into the egg yolk mixture the almond and all-purpose flours. Then fold into that the whipped egg white to form your cake batter. Spread the batter onto a parchment-lined sheet tray and bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes. Allow the cake batter to cool before cutting out a 4-inch ring mold.

For the ginger-osmathus soak:
1 tsp osmanthus tea
.1oz peeled ginger
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

In a blender, puree everything together. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps.

For the osmanthus-peach mousse:
6oz osmanthus-peach puree
2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
4oz heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, heat up the peach puree with the gelatin, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved into the liquid. Allow the puree to cool to room temperature before folding in the heavy cream through that to form your mousse.

For initial assembly:
In a 6-inch ring mold lined with cling wrap and cooking spray. start by pouring in half of your peach mousse. Press into that the frozen solid disk of peach gelee, then pour over that the rest of the mousse. Brush the soak onto your jaconde and press that into the mousse as well. Freeze the mousse cake solid before attempting to unmold and glaze.

For the ginger mirror glaze:
2oz fresh ginger, peeled
4oz soy milk
2 tbsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp water
1 cup white chocolate

In a blender, puree the ginger with soy milk first. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Add the soy milk and gelatin into a pot and bring up to a simmer. Once the gelatin is dissolved, add to that the white chocolate. Allow everything to sit in the pot, off heat, for 2 minutes before stirring to combine. Pass the glaze through a sieve to remove any lumps.

For final assembly:
Sliced peaches
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp warm water

Place the still-frozen mousse cake on an icing rack. Bring your glaze to 90 degrees F and pour over the cake, allowing the excess to drip off before transferring the cake to a serving surface. Toss your peach slices with the sugar and water and garnish on top of the cake to finish.