I had these red delicious apples laying around in my fridge that I wanted to use up, so I started making kohakutou with them. Kohakutou is a Japanese crystal-like candy, made by creating a sugary gelee, then allowing it to slowly dry out over time(anywhere from 3 days to even 3 weeks) so that the sugar begins to harden around the gelee and create a gemstone-like texture. So I figured why not make kohakutou with these apples? And the end result(after about 3 weeks of waiting around), were these gorgeous, orange-red edible crystals. I did this fun technique where I made a simple syrup using the apple peels first, just to help tint the kohakutou mixture more red(and I cheated and used a tiny bit of beetroot powder to help make that color more vivid). However, kohakutou, as gorgeous as they are, felt more like a garnish to something else. And that was when I started to conceptualize an entire dessert that would play off of the kohakutou perfectly. From a visual standpoint, these orange-red apple crystals randomly reminded me of Final Fantasy XIII. Specifically, there was a character named Vanille, who had an Eidolith(a magical crystal) that resembled an orange apple-heart thing. Since “Vanille” is French for “Vanilla” and her Japanese name was quite literally “Vanilla”, it just felt like a perfect opportunity to go the route of apple and vanilla for this dessert and make the entire recipe a loose homage to Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII. I will be honest, Vanille is a chaotic character. She is highly despised for her overtly chipper personality, squeaky sounds she would make, and highly confusing behaviors. Personally, I did not mind her, because I found her animated antics to be a hilarious break from the generally serious undertones of the game(which she would later play a major part of), but to each their own on that one.

Like I mentioned, Vanille’s name is French for “vanilla”. So French vanilla as a flavor profile was perfect. French vanilla, unlike normal vanilla, takes on a yellow-ish hue because of egg yolks, which are included to add a richer, custardy flavor. I used egg yolks to make a French vanilla mousse, along with heavy cream, Vanilla bean paste, and gelatin. The mousse is feathery and light, meant to be a contrast to the apple, which can have tart notes and a meaty texture. In addition to the kohakutou, I also made an apple gelee with brown butter-roasted apples, just to really capture more of that apple flavor somewhere in this cake. Because of the egg yolks I used for the mousse, I had some spare egg whites lying around. So my mind went to another French cake, financier. Financier is a brown butter-almond spongecake that uses egg whites as well. I love the flavor of it, and that plays off of the apples and vanilla perfectly to great a really well-rounded cake. I also wanted to introduce spice to the dessert, since the financier and apple both can handle a little bit more seasoning, so I opted to use cinnamon, which is a no-brainer, but also cardamom. Cardamom adds a smoky floral note, and I personally LOVE using cardamom with apples and vanilla. So the flavors that this entremet(set mousse cake) features are primarily almond, apple, and vanilla, but with a light scent of cinnamon and cardamom sprinkled throughout. In my opinion, it really is a perfect dessert that captures the flavors of fall, being apples, spice, and brown butter, but with the vanilla bringing in a pastry-friendly sweet aftertaste.

When it comes to technical difficulty, I’m giving this cake a 10/10. Mostly because your patience will be tested. If you make the kohakutou, this will be a 1-2 week recipe. If you nix that, I will say that this recipe goes from a 10/10 difficulty to maybe about a 6/10. The financier still requires some precision, namely in making sure that it is baked properly, but the mousse and the apple gelee are probably where you will need to put a lot more technical focus. The mousse, being made with egg yolks and whipped cream, you run the risk of scrambling the egg yolks, so being delicate during the cooking of the egg yolks is important. Then with the cream, overwhipping that will mean sweet butter and a ruined mousse. So making sure that the components going into the mousse base is important, since the mousse is the body of the entire cake. With the apple gelee, knife cuts, to a decent degree, play a factor in here, since you need to dice the apple finely enough so that the apples can cook properly prior to setting them in the gelee itself. You will also need to prep the gelee and freeze it solid prior to the initial assembly of the cake, otherwise you will be trying to push pieces of apple into the mousse and it will not be a distinct layer from the financier and mousse. So long as the cake is frozen solid, pouring the mirror glaze over that will almost feel like an afterthought. The main thing here is making sure that the glaze is 90 degrees F prior to pouring it on top of the cake, just so that it sets properly and in a clean layer around the mousse. Overall, the flavors of this entremet are a reminder that fall is here, and I am here for that!

For the apple kohakutou:
2 red delicious apples, peeled and cored, peels reserved
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp agar agar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp red beet powder
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

Store the apple pieces in salted water. In a pot, heat up the apple peels with water and sugar, reducing the liquid by half, before fishing out the peels. Transfer the syrup to a blender with the apple pieces and puree everything together. Then transfer the mixture into a pan with agar and salt and cook on low heat until the agar is dissolved into the puree and the puree itself begins to take on a translucent color. Take the pan off heat and stir in the red beet powder and vanilla to form your kohakutou mixture. Pour the mixture into silicone bar molds and freeze for 10 minutes, just to allow the gelee to set up. Then cut the gelee into smaller pieces, allowing the gelee to sit on a parchment-lined sheet tray for anywhere between 7-14 days, turning the pieces every day or so just to that each side has a chance to dry out.

For the apple gelee:
1 tbsp brown butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and small diced
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground cardamom
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp agar agar

In a pan, heat up the brown butter and sugar until the sugar turns an amber brown color. Once so, add to that the apple first, stirring the apples through the caramelized sugar on low heat, making sure that the caramel coats the apple slices. To that, first stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and vanilla bean paste, then afterwards, add in the remaining ingredients. Allow the water to cook down by half and for the agar to fully dissolve into the liquid. Pour the gelee mixture into a lined 5-inch ring mold and transfer the gelee to the freezer. Allow the gelee to freeze for at least 30 minutes before attempting to unmold.

For the financier:
3 egg whites
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
a pinch of ground cardamom
a pinch of salt
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp unsalted butter, browned

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with sugar, vanilla, cardamom, and salt until the egg whites turn frothy. Sift into that the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder. Then fold into that the unsalted butter to form your financier batter. Spread the batter in a thin, even layer on a lined quarter sheet tray. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Allow the financier to fully cool before cutting out two 5-inch rings.

For the French vanilla mousse:
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp gelatin powder+1 tbsp cold water
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste. In a pot, heat up the milk and gelatin powder until the gelatin powder is dissolved into the milk. Pour half of the heated milk into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk those two together. Then pour the egg yolk-milk into the pot with the rest of the heated milk, and whisk everything in that pot over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until a thin, custardy sauce has formed. Pass the custard through a sieve to remove any lumps. Allow the custard to cool down to just above room temperature before folding in the heavy cream.

For initial assembly:
Line the bottom of a 6-inch ring mold with cling wrap and then the insides of the ring mold with cooking spray before placing it onto a sheet tray that can fit into your freezer. Start by pouring 1/3 of the mousse into the bottom of the ring mold. Then press into that one of the two financier disks. Then pour into another 1/3 of the mousse, then the apple disk. Then the last 1/3 of the mousse, and the second financier round. Transfer the ring mold to the freezer and freeze it solid, at least 2-3 hours, before attempting to unmold it. When you unmold the entremet, it should come out in a smooth cylinder.

For the white chocolate-vanilla bean mirror glaze:
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp gelatin powder + 1/4 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 cup white chocolate chips

In a pot, heat up the cream, vanilla bean paste, gelatin, and salt on medium heat, until the gelatin is fully melted into the cream and the cream comes up to a simmer. To the cream, add in the white chocolate chips, and allow that the chips to sit in the pot, off heat, for 1 minute, before stirring everything until it is combined. Pass the glaze through a sieve to remove any lumps and keep the glaze at 90 degrees F for glazing.

To glaze the cake, place the still-frozen entremet onto a slightly raised surface(like an upside down deli cup or an icing rack) and then pour the mirror glaze onto the entremet. Allow the glaze to set around the cake before garnishing the top of the cake with the kohakutou to finish.