White peaches are my reminder that it’s finally summer. It’s crazy to think we’re over halfway through 2025(time literally flew by this year it feels like). 2020 still feels like yesterday, and the craziest part is that people born that year are already old enough to be in kindergarten now! That being said, white peaches will hold a special place in my heart, because I grew up eating them. We had a white peach tree(and a persimmon and guava tree) in our backyard growing up, so we would enjoy those fruits whenever the appropriate season rolled in for each. White peaches were a particular favorite of mine because when super ripe, they were basically just liquid sugar. Sweet, soft, juicy, and by the time you’re full, you’ve eaten 5 of 6 before realizing it. We even had a squirrel visitor that would steal some of our peaches; my mom would nickname that squirrel Peachy, and during breakfast, our entertainment was sometimes watching Peachy nibbling on a peach or two. Sometimes, Peachy would even bring some of its squirrel friends to partake in the peach festivities! That being said, the peach tree gave me a lot of good times(between Peachy and the peaches). Unfortunately, the tree itself has been removed after we moved houses, but it will be a goal of mine to have a peach tree of my own if I ever get a home with a back yard. In the mean time, I always make an effort to make white peach desserts whenever they’re in season, as a loving homage to those silly childhood memories.

For this recipe, I went with a blanc manger mousse cake. A blanc manger is a set dairy-based mousse, similar to a panna cotta, but in this case, thickened with cornstarch instead of gelatin. The top layer is a white chocolate blanc manger, while the bottom layer is a white peach mousse. I also took the peels from the white peaches, and turned those into a vivid pink gelee, used to add pops of color throughout! I also had leftover peach-flavored white chocolate from Royce, so I figured, why not use that to make some garnishes, and for the base of the cake, instead of doing a baked sponge, just combining feuilletine(thin sweet pastry flakes, similar to waffle cone in texture) with that peach white chocolate to form a crunchy base for the whole thing to sit on? The final dessert was fairly pretty(I would have personally redone the gelee glaze layer on top), but at least it was a light, refreshing dessert that really captured the taste of white peach!

Makes 1 6-inch cake, or 6-8 servings:
For the white peach puree:
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 white peach, peeled(peels reserved), pitted and cut in medium dice
1/4 cup water

In a blender, puree everything together, and pass through a sieve. Store in an airtight container until time to use.

For the peach peel gelee:
Reserved peach peels
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
a pinch of salt
1 tsp agar agar

In a pot, bring everything to a simmer until the liquid takes on a pink hue and the sugar, salt, and agar fully dissolve into the liquid. Remove the peels and pour the liquid into a shallow, small tupperware. Allow the gelee to set before cutting out blossom and circular shapes from the gelee. With the scraps, reserve those, while arranging the gelee shapes in a 6-inch ring mold that is lined with cling wrap and freeze it solid.

For the white chocolate blanc manger:
1/2 cup milk
2 tbps cornstarch
a pinch of salt
2oz white chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
8oz heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, whisk together the milk, cornstarch, and salt until everything is melted together and thickened substantially – it should resemble pudding in consistency. Whisk into that the white chocolate, stirring until the white chocolate fully melts into the mixture as well. Allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature before mixing in the vanilla first, then fold into the heavy cream to form your blanc manger batter. Pour the blanc manger into the 6-inch ring mold that has the gelee shapes on the bottom and freeze this layer solid, at least 1 hour, before attempting to pour on the other components.

For the peach chocolate crunch:
1/4 cup feuilletine
2oz chopped up white chocolate(I used Royce Hakutoberry/Hakutowhite Chocolate)
a pinch of salt

In a double boiler, melt 3/4 of the white chocolate entirely. Then take the chocolate off heat and stir in the remaining chocolate until that is melted in as well. Then fold in the feuilletine and salt. Pour the mixture into a 5-inch ring mold and allow the layer to set solid before unmolding.

For the white peach mousse:
white peach puree
1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder
2oz chopped up white chocolate(I used Royce Hakutoberry/Hakutowhite Chocolate)
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
8oz heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, heat together the peach puree, gelatin, and salt until everything is melted together. Whisk into that the white chocolate, stirring until the white chocolate fully melts into the mixture as well. Allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature before mixing in the vanilla first, then fold into the heavy cream to form your mousse. Pour the mousse into the lined 6-inch ring mold with the blanc manger, and press into that the peach crunch. Freeze the cake solid.

For garnish:
Reserved gelee
1oz chopped up white chocolate(I used Royce Hakutoberry/Hakutowhite Chocolate)

Melt down the remaining gelee with water and pour it over the still-frozen cake to form a glaze layer on top of the cake. With the chocolate, melt 3/4 of it in a double boiler, then add in the rest, stirring until it is fully melted. Spread the chocolate on an acetate sheet and allow it to firm up for 2-3 minutes before cutting out little blossom shapes. Transfer the chocolate to the refrigerator so that it can firm up further before peeling the chocolate pieces off of the acetate to use as garnishes on top of the cake to finish.