I will be honest in that this dessert was my attempt to pair some ingredients together that felt like they would go together, but the plating was clunky to put it lightly. I had purple sweet potato namelaka, which is a white chocolate-based whipped mousse, kinako-almond crunch, which is smoky, nutty, and buttery, purple sweet potato chips, and a tangy ruby kiwi curd. All of these textures and flavors have all of the making for a good dessert, and they did taste great together, but I had a major brain fart with plating them together in a way that looked cohesive. That being said, the dessert itself was very well balanced taste-wise, so I figured I would still share the recipe, even though it is far from the prettiest thing I have made. Even the violas on top didn’t necessarily save this one. In retrospect, I should have adjusted the curd, and it would have been a lot prettier, but retrospect is where we learn the most?

For the kinako-almond crunch:
1/4 cup kinako powder
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp brown butter
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp flaked almonds

Mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl to form your crunch dough. Spread the dough on a lined sheet tray and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Crumble the dough into smaller pieces.

For the purple potato namelaka:
4oz white chocolate
8oz heavy cream, in two parts
a pinch of salt
2 tsps gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1g vanilla bean paste
1oz purple potato puree

In a pot on medium heat, melt down the white chocolate with one part of the cream, a pinch of salt, and the gelatin powder and vanilla bean paste, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom of the pot from burning. Allow the mixture to cool down in the refrigerator for 1 hour, and then mix in the purple potato puree and the remaining heavy cream using a rubber spatula. Transfer to a piping bag. Press the crumble into 3 4-inch ring molds and then pipe the namelaka among the molds. Freeze these solid.

For the ruby kiwi curd:
4 ruby kiwis
juice and zest from 2 lemons
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp cornstarch

Peel the kiwis first, then transfer everything, minus the kiwi peels, into a blender. Puree everything until smooth and combined. Then pour the liquid into a pot and whisk everything on medium-high heat until it all comes up to a boil and begins to thicken to the consistency of pudding. Allow the curd to fully cool.

For the purple sweet potato chips:
1 purple sweet potato
a pinch of salt
olive oil

Thinly slice the sweet potato on a mandolin. Toss the slices with salt and olive oil. Roast at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container until time to use.

For plating:
Violas

Smear the curd on the bottom of the plate, then place on top of that the crusted namelaka. Garnish the place with purple yam chips and violas to finish.