This recipe came about because my mother gifted me with a giant oro blanco citrus, and I had zero clue what to do with it at first. For those unfamiliar with it, oro blanco is a giant green, round citrus fruit that is a hybrid between a grapefruit and a pomelo. Meaning that it is really dry, bitter, and sour. When I mean dry, I literally mean dry. I tried to juice an oro blanco that was the size of my head, and I only got about 1/4 cup of oro blanco juice out of the entire fruit. I even had to try making an extract from the peels, blanching and pureeing those first then trying to mix into that the oro blanco juice to try to stretch the yield in oro blanco flavor. But unfortunately, the flavor of the fruit was either just super bitter or mild, depending on how concentrated I made it. So instead, I opted to pair this citrus with another fruit. Initially, I wanted to use blueberries, but then I saw blackberries on sale, and it had been a minute since I used blackberries, so I figured, why not try my luck with those instead? I used to make blackberry-citrus desserts all the time, so it’s a pairing I know that would work here. And just to round it out, I wanted to use coconut as well, to add another mild flavor that has richer notes to round everything out. In terms of the aesthetic, I knew that with brightly colored citrus and a dark-colored fruit, those tones could be used to a mimic a starry-night sky. That and I have strong associations with eating blackberries in warmer weather, so it all kind of just came together!

From a technical standpoint, what sets this recipe apart from some of my other petit gateaus is the gelee. I went with a layered gelee that was set on top of the cakes, just to give that appearance of a starry night’s sky. That was done by first making an oro blanco gelee, setting that, and then setting a blackberry gelee on top of that. The oro blanco components were made by blanching oro blanco peels with water to extract some of that bitterness, then pureeing the peels with more water to extract the more floral notes, then mixing the strained puree with the minimal amounts of extracted oro blanco juice. That concoction(which I call an extract because it’s either that or a puree I guess?) is what I used for both the gelee and the curd filling in the center-ish of my mousse cakes! The mousse itself is made from blackberry puree, set with gelatin and lightened with heavy cream. The base of the cakes is a coconut biscuit, tinted blue with butterfly pea powder, just to give the entire cake a dreamy aesthetic to fit the constellation theme. I will say that this recipe is a bit of a time suck in the sense that there is a lot of waiting involved; between the two gelees, the mousse, and the curd, you will find yourself with a decent amount of down time between waiting on the different components to set. However, it is so worth it to see the final result, as well as to cut into the whole thing and admire the fun layers.

For the oro blanco extract:
Peels and juice from 1 oro blanco
150g water

Poach peels for 10 minutes in water until soft. Transfer the peels into a blender and puree with 1/4 cup fresh water until pale yellow in color. Pass the puree through a sieve to remove any lumpy solid bits and mix into the strained liquid the oro blanco juice to finish.

For the gelee:
70g oro blanc extract
20g sugar
6g agar
1g salt

In a pot, heat up the ingredients until the sugar, agar, and salt are fully dissolved into the liquid. Pour into a shallow container and refrigerate until firm. Cut out star shapes using cookie cutters then transfer the gelees into the bottom of 6 silicone petit gateau molds.

For the curd:
110g oro blanco extract
10g cornstarch
40g granulated sugar
10g coconut oil
1g salt
5g vanilla extract

In a pot, heat up the ingredients, sans vanilla, until the mixture comes up to a boil, while whisking. Once the mixture reaches 200 degrees F, take it off heat, stir in the vanilla, and pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Pour the mixture into 6 silicone cylinder molds and freeze these solid, for at least 1 hour, before attempting to unmold.

For the blackberry gelee:
60g blackberry puree
6g agar agar
a pinch of salt
5g granulated sugar

In a pot, heat up everything until the solids are melted into the puree. Allow the puree to cool to room temperature before pouring into your 6 silicone petit gateau molds. Place back in the freeze to allow the gelee to set fully.

For the blackberry mousse:
75g blackberry puree
10g gelatin powder
1g salt
25g granulated sugar
5g vanilla extract
180ml heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, heat up blackberry puree, gelatin powder, salt, and sugar until everything is dissolved together. Take the puree off heat and fold in the vanilla first. Then allow the puree to cool to room temperature before folding in the cream. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe the mixture into each silicone mold. Then press into the mousses the frozen disks of lemon curd, leveling off any excess mousse. Transfer back to the freeze for another 2 hours before attempting to unmold.

For the coconut biscuit:
28g coconut flour
28g all-purpose flour
15g coconut oil
10g granulated sugar
1g butterfly pea powder
a pinch of salt
10ml cold water
5ml vanilla extract

Mix everything together until a dough forms. Chill down the dough for 5 minutes before rolling it out on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 3-inch disks. Reroll and cut the dough as necessary until you get 6 disks. Bake the disks on a lined sheet tray at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the biscuits to cool before placing the set unmolded mousses on top.