These tea-ramisu were the end result of me wanting to use these silicone cloud molds I purchased, and wanting to do something Pokemon-themed. So after thinking through what I could do, it just made sense to go the route of Cottonee. Cottonee, as the name may imply, is a cotton ball-themed Grass/Fairy type Pokemon. It literally looks like a cotton ball with little lambs ear-looking leaves and a star-shaped steam on the back. I adore Cottonee’s evolution, Whimsicott, because it is also a cute little cotton ball, but with lamb/sheep-like features. Most Pokemon do not stay cute-looking when they evolve, so it was a welcome surprise that Whimsicott is a fully evolved but fully adorable little bundle of joy! That and I love Fairy-type Pokemon. Back when I played competitive Pokemon, I actually used an Eviolite-Prankster Cottonee with Cotton Guard and Leech Seed which just infuriated anyone it went up against. So needless to say, the Cottonee line will always be one of my personal favorites to use. Whenever I make a Pokemon-themed anything, I will be honest: I usually go for simpler Pokemon. If limbs are involved, I usually will not try to make that Pokemon, because that already gets too complicated for me. So round, minimal limbs/protrusions, and usually not too many different colors/patterns is the way I like to go with selecting which Pokemon I would be making a dessert after. In this case, Cottonee checks basically all of those boxes, plus its body shape kind of resembles a cloud anyways, so that was my perfect solution for both making a Pokemon dessert and trying out the cloud molds!

For the dessert itself, I wanted to make essentially a tiramisu-type of dessert. We have an almond sponge cake that is soaked with matcha green tea surrounded by a mascarpone mousse, garnished with a combination of whipped cream and matcha gelee. The whole thing also sits on a green tea shortbread, just so that the mousse does not slide or smear. With a lot of these Pokemon-themed or inspired desserts, a LOT of time goes into the finishing details. The main body of the recipe is the tea-ramisu, or the cake, the soak, and the mousse. Fortunately(or unfortunately if you were hoping that this recipe would take 30 minutes to an hour), those components will need at least 4 hours in the freezer to set up anyways, so you have plenty of time to mess around the with the gelee decorations that we are using to transform this dessert into a Cottonee! The gelee itself is super simple to make, and fortunately it is highly durable and flexible, but it comes down to cutting things in the right shape, and after piping tons of cream on the tea-ramisu itself, placing on the gelees correctly so that you end up with a mousse cake that actually looks like a Cottonee! I will say from personal experience, the side leaves, depending on what angle you place them on, may slide off, so make sure that they are placed on exactly flat to avoid this – contrary to the ones in the photos, since I will be honest, minutes after photographing these tea-ramisu, the side leaves just slid right off. And then the little ovular eyes. I used a separate hojicha gelee to make the eyes, since Cottonee’s eyes are orange. And trust me, that took a lot of attempts to even get them on the mousses. Using an offset spatula or tweezers will make your life easier. These little tea-ramisu are super cute to look at, and I personally love how refreshing they tasted as well!

Makes 6 servings:
For the almond sponge:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

In a bowl, whip the egg whites with sugar, salt, and vanilla to stiff peaks. Sift the other ingredients together and fold into that the egg whites to form your cake batter. Spread the cake batter onto a lined quarter sheet tray in a thin layer and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before cutting out 1/2-inch by 3/4 inch rectangles.

For the matcha soak:
2/3 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp matcha powder

In a bowl, mix together the ingredients until combined.

For the mascarpone mousse:
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tbsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract
8oz mascarpone cheese
2oz heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together. In a pot, dissolve the gelatin into the milk. Temper the egg yolk mixture with the milk, then whisk the egg-milk mixture on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps before mixing into that the vanilla and mascarpone cheese first, then folding into that the heavy cream. Transfer the mousse into a piping bag for easier assembly.

For initial assembly:
Start by filling silicone cloud molds with the mascarpone mousse. Dip the almond cake rectangles into the tea soak then press two rectangles into each mold. Level off any excess mousse. With any additional mousse, pipe that into silicone 1/2-inch sphere molds. Then transfer both molds to the freezer. Freeze the mousses for at least 4 hours before attempting to unmold anything.

For the matcha shortbread:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tbsp matcha powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, butter, matcha, and salt until a crumbly sand forms. Add to that the vanilla and egg yolk and mix everything together to form a smooth, cohesive dough. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes. Then on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 3-inch disks and transfer those to a lined sheet tray. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes. Allow the shortbreads to cool.

For the matcha gelee:
10oz water
1 tsp matcha powder
2 tbsp agar agar
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat up everything on medium heat until everything comes up to a boil and the agar is dissolved and the liquid is reduced by almost half. Pour the liquid into a shallow tupperware container that is lined with a thin layer of cooking spray and refrigerate until the gelee is firm. For assembly, using cookie cutters, cut out star shapes(these will be Cottonee’s back stem), 1/4 inch disks, and angel wings(cut these in half to form the side leaves).

For the hojicha gelee:
.5oz water
1g hojicha powder
1/2 tsp agar agar

In a pot, heat up everything on medium heat until everything comes up to a boil and the agar is dissolved. Pour the liquid into a shallow container with a flat bottom and allow the liquid to firm up in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Cut the gelee into small ovals; these will be used for Cottonee’s eyes.

For the whipping cream:
5oz heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, whip everything to stiff peaks. Transfer the cream into a piping bag with a round tip. Refrigerate the bag of cream until time to assemble.

For final assembly:
Invert the cloud mousses and place them, rounded side down, onto a shortbread. Should the clouds not lay flat, you may need to use a paring knife to level off the top of the rounded side so that the flat side lays parallel to the surface. On the non-rounded side of the mousse, place on the half sphere of mousse, then pipe around it the whipping cream. Garnish the top and sides with the eyes for the ovals, the angel wings, folded in half, for the side leaves, and the star and disk for the back stem to finish.