This dessert was loosely inspired by my most recent trip to the Big Island, where my friends and I hiked through a dormant volcanic crater in Kilauea. At the bottom of the large crater, there was a surprising amount of plant life that was sprouting out of the black volcanic rock, and the visual contrast of seeing the dark surface and the vibrant greenery was striking. It was also a reminder that even when something seems desolate, life can persevere. And that was something that I wanted to recreate in a dessert! I just knew right off the bat that I could make a dessert with green and black/grey colors, using black sesame and matcha. I also introduced a little bit of yuzu into this dessert, just to bring acidity and brightness to play off of the bitterness of the matcha and the nuttiness of the black sesame. The end result was a really beautiful dessert that honestly captured my experience of hiking down to that crater and seeing all of that nature blooming out of the volcanic rock. I nicknamed this dessert “Everything Goes On”, as both a reference to the Madeon song, but also because of the concept being inspired by life growing in an area that you would least expect to see it.

In terms of components, I wanted to do a light, refreshing matcha dessert. So I went with a frozen parfait(or semifreddo), using mascarpone cheese, which has a mild flavor that plays off of the grassier notes in the matcha. Even though it was a frozen dessert, I wanted there to be a loose homage to this dessert being inspired by a volcano, and just to add more texture, I bruleed the tops of my parfait, just that crunchy sugar layer on top of it. Texture is paramount in this recipe, since the star is a soft, frozen component. So I wanted there to be two baked textures, a sandier, crumblier black sesame crunch, and a crispy matcha tuile. Since there is a lot of sweeter, richer flavors, making a matcha curd made sense to get some more acidity in there. I used yuzu in the curd, because it has a really bright tartness to it. I also dusted matcha onto the top of my dessert, just to give the visual of moss growing over the black sesame crunch “rocks”, and used nasturtiums to garnish, just to add a pepperiness that plays off the citrus and mascarpone, and to further capture that visual of plants sprouting from the ground.

Makes 4 servings:
For the matcha-mascarpone parfait:
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp matcha powder
1/4 cup whole milk
a pinch of salt
3oz mascarpone cheese
3oz heavy cream

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and matcha together. In a pot, heat up the whole milk and salt. Temper the eggs with half of your milk, then add the eggs back into the pot, and whisk everything on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the egg-milk mixture through a sieve to remove any lumps. Using an immersion blender, blend the egg base with the mascarpone. Whisk the heavy cream into stiff peaks and fold that through to form your parfait batter. Pour the mixture into silicone bar molds and freeze these for at least 2 hours, until solid.

For the black sesame crunch:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup black sesame powder
2 tbsp tahini paste
2 tbsp canola oil
a pinch of salt

Mix until combined. Crumble into smaller pieces(about the size of your thumbnail). Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool down before using.

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
1 tsp matcha powder

In a blender, puree everything besides the egg yolk, butter, and matcha 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 and the matcha, stirring until the butter is fully melted in. Pass the curd through a sieve to remove any lumps. Transfer to a piping bag.

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 tsp matcha powder, plus more for dusting

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. Spread the batter into silicone tuile molds. Bake the tuiles at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes. Dust the tuiles with matcha powder to finish.

For garnish:
Granulated sugar
Nasturtiums
Matcha powder

Sprinkle sugar onto the tops of each parfait and using a blowtorch, gently melt the sugar onto the tops of each parfait. Transfer to a plate and garnish with the crunch, curd, tuile, and nasturtiums. Add a dusting of matcha to finish.