So I had already made a regular Cottonee tea-ramisu(tiramisu but using tea instead of coffee) before, but I figured, why not invert the matcha and hojicha in the recipe, and somehow we wound up with shiny Cottonee. Unlike normal Cottonee, which features a white body, orange eyes, and green leaves, a shiny Cottonee features a gold body, gold-brown leaves, and green eyes. For those unfamiliar with any of these terms, Cottonee is a Grass/Fairy Pokemon that resembles a little floating cotton ball with large leaves. Shiny Pokemon refers to a Pokemon that has a different coloration from the norm – these are a lot rarer to find, and a fun little surprise/reward for Pokemon trainers who put in the extra effort to find them/are lucky enough to stumble upon one. There is a whole culture in the Pokemon fandom centered around hunting for these shiny Pokemon, since some of these alternate colorations actually can look really cool! In this case, a shiny Cottonee kind of looks like an autumnal version of the original. It kind of just worked out perfectly for me to make shiny Cottonee, since all I had to do was replace the matcha components in the original with hojicha, use a little kinako(toasted soy powder) to tint some things yellow-er, and them we have a completely different dessert that resembles a shiny Cottonee instead!

For the components, we have an almond sponge, a hojicha soak, a kinako-mascarpone mousse, kinako cream, hojicha and matcha gelees, and a kinako shortbread that the entire mousse sits on top of. There are quite a few components here, making this a deceptively simple-looking dessert, but with lots of fun textures hidden within the mousse cake itself. I will advise using a stand mixer so that a majority of the hard work(whipping egg whites and whipping cream) is made easier for you. With any mousse cake-type of recipe, temperatures and waiting play a crucial role in making sure that these can set up and be assembled properly. The gelees, namely the shaping of these and garnishing the mousses with these, was where I put a majority of my effort into. It takes time to add the little gelees, and I will highly recommend also using plating tweezers and/or a small offset spatula to make placing the gelee even easier. Unlike with the regular Cottonees, these are actually a perfect dessert for the fall, since we are using hojicha(which is a toasted green tea with a nutty, warming flavor profile) and kinako, giving the flavor profile of these mousses this warming, welcoming taste. One bite is like a big, comforting hug. Which is what I would imagine hugging an actual Cottonee to feel like!

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 hojicha soak:
2/3 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp hojicha powder

In a bowl, mix together the ingredients until combined.

For the kinako-mascarpone mousse:
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp kinako powder
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, kinako powder, 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 kinako shortbread:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup kinako powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, butter, kinako, 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 hojicha gelee:
10oz water
1 tsp hojicha 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 matcha 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
1 tsp kinako powder

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.