Drifloon is one of the cutest Pokemon out there, being a ghostly purple balloon with a yellow cross shape(I’m assuming that the balloon was popped and patched up), and a little wispy cloud on top of its head. I still have memories of playing Pokemon Pearl and finding them in the Valley Windworks on a Friday afternoon. When it comes to making Pokemon-themed desserts, I like making desserts from the simpler designed Pokemon, namely because the less features, the easier to replicate. So in this case, I went with Drifloon, since they are essential purple spheres with black dots for eyes, a little white cloudy crest on top, and a yellow cross for the mouth. In this case, I wanted to color coordinate my ingredients, and use yuzu and blackberry to account for the yellow and purple components. We have here a yuzu curd core, a blackberry mousse, a shortbread base, yuzu modeling chocolate for the little X mouth-things(I used Valrhona Yuzu Inspiration to give the modeling chocolate that yuzu flavor), and chantilly cream for the tops of the Drifloons. While the dessert might look simple, it does require a decent amount of time to bring everything together, just because of how many layers there are in these little pie-cookie-things.

For the yuzu curd:
1oz yujacha(yuzu marmalade/citron jam)
1 tbsp cornstarch
a pinch of salt
1 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1.5oz yuzu juice
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp unsalted butter

In a blender, puree everything besides the egg yolk and butter until a smooth mixture forms. Pour the liquid into a pot and bring up to a simmer over low heat. Pour half of the liquid over the egg yolk while whisking the egg yolk. Then pour the egg yolk back into the pot and whisk everything on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Take the pot off heat and whisk in the butter, stirring until the butter is fully melted in. Pass the curd through a sieve to remove any lumps. Pour the curd into silicone 1/2-inch sphere molds and freeze solid. Press the half spheres together to form your cores.

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 silicone 2-inch sphere molds, pressing the cores into the center. Freeze solid before attempting to unmold.

For the shortbread base:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

In a food processor, blend everything together until a dough forms. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out 3-inch disks. Bake the shortbreads at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool before removing from the tins to ensure that they stay intact.

For the white modeling chocolate
1oz white chocolate chips
1oz Yuzu Inspiration
,5oz corn syrup
1g ground turmeric
a pinch of salt

Over a double boiler, melt everything together until just combined. Pour onto a nonstick surface, and transfer to the refrigerator to firm up the dough.

Roll out the modeling chocolate and cut out X-shapes.

For the chantilly cream:
4oz heavy cream
1oz confectioner’s sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste
1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Whisk everything together until stiff peaks form. Keep the cream refrigerated until time to use.

To assemble:
Edible black marker

Start by piping a small dollop of cream onto the shortbread. Place the blackberry mousse spheres on top of the cream, and pipe more cream around the mousse, and on top of the mousse. Pipe a small bit of cream onto each modeling chocolate piece and place them onto the blackberry mousse spheres. Finish by dotting the spheres with edible marker to form the eyes.