So this recipe was the result of me being asked by The Pokemon Company to make a Rayquaza-themed dessert! The very first English Pokemon game I ever played was Pokemon Sapphire, and I loved beating the Elite Four, climbing the Sky Pillar, and catching Rayquaza. Rayquaza is a green serpentine Dragon/Flying-Pokemon that is meant to represent the sky. It soars through the atmosphere and normally only comes down to quell Kyogre and Groudon(Pokemon representing the sea and land respectively) whenever there is conflict. For this dessert, I wanted to make a dessert that could be stacked up, since Rayquaza is called the Sky-High Pokemon. I landed on a Japanese parfait, since those could be layered up really tall, and that would be a fun reference to that. Whenever I am in Japan, I would see these parfaits that are anywhere from 6 inches to even 2 feet tall! While I am not personally making one of that size, that was where the inspiration came from. When it came to the flavors, I wanted to go with traditional Japanese ingredients. Matcha or pistachio would be too obvious of a green color. So instead, i went with mugwort. Mugwort, also called yomogi, is a green leaf with a grassy, bitter taste that is similar to matcha. I am pairing that with kinako, or toasted soy bean powder, for a dessert that is grassy, refreshing, but still comforting!

For my components, we have a mugwort and soy bean milk ice cream as the base of the parfait. There are also crumbles made from kinako and mugwort tuiles, a mugwort gelee, mugwort dango, and a chantilly cream. The dango is meant to be an homage to the Jade Orb item in the Heartgold and Soul Silver versions, which is an item that can be used to unlock a Rayquaza in the Embedded Tower. The tuiles themselves, I made by first piping the yellow kinako tuile batter to resemble Rayquaza’s body pattern, then using the mugwort batter to fill that in with a green background color. Because Japanese parfaits use some sort of gelee on occasion, I made a gelee with the mugwort and soy bean milk, just to mirror the flavor of the ice cream itself, but with a firm texture. Overall, this was a very fun dessert to make, and I was happy to be challenged with the task of a Rayquaza dessert, as the challenge coming up with this pushed me to really think outside of the box on almost every aspect of it!

For the mugwort ice cream:
8oz soy bean milk
8oz granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1oz cornstarch
.5oz mugwort powder
8oz heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a blender, puree the milk, sugar, salt, cornstarch, and mugwort together until smooth. Pour the mixture into a pot and whisk on medium-high heat until the mixture thickens and clings to your whisk. Take off heat and whisk in the heavy cream, then the vanilla extract. Transfer the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn, following the instructions of the machine. Store the ice cream in the freezer until time to use.

For the mugwort gelee:
.1oz mugwort powder
4oz soy bean milk
2 tsp agar agar powder
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar

In a blender, puree everything until combined. Pour into a pot and bring to a simmer. Pour the liquid into a shallow container and refrigerate until firm. Cut into 1/4-inch cubes. Continue to keep refrigerated until time to assemble.

For the tuile batter:
7 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 egg white
1/3 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp kinako powder
1 tbsp mugwort powder

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients besides the kinako and mugwort powder. Split the batters in half, and mix kinako into half and mugwort into the rest. Transfer the kinako batter into a piping bag and on a parchment sheet, pipe the circular and line patterns that resemble Rayquaza. Freeze the batter solid(5 minutes). Then spread the mugwort batter onto the patterns in a thin, even layer. Bake the tuiles at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes. While the tuiles are still warm, cut out rectangles with the pattern. Spread and bake the remaining batter at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes and crush into smaller pieces. Store in an airtight container.

For the mugwort dango:
2oz shiratamako
1oz mochiko
.5oz granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1oz warm water
1 tbsp mugwort powder

Mix together all of the ingredients into a smooth dough. Roll out the dough into .5oz balls. Freeze the balls solid. Then cook the dango in boiling water until they float. Store the dango in cold, clean water until time to use

For the chantilly cream:
4oz heavy cream
1 tsp confectioner’s sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whip everything in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag with a star tip.

To assemble:
Start first with some of the kinako and mugwort crumbled tuiles. Then place down a 1oz scoop of the ice cream, 2 tbsp of the gelee, 2 dango, then repeat. Finish with the cream and a tuile on top.