This recipe was the end result of me being indecisive and not being 100% sure what autumnal ingredients I wanted to commit to. I wanted to do this acorn flour-maple situation, and then I started introducing apples to it, just to give the dessert more acidity. Then I happened to have persimmons that were REALLY ripe, and figured, I’d just throw those in there too since I needed something else. I won’t lie, it’s ingrained in me to try featuring no more than three distinct flavors or ingredients in a recipe. It might be from my time in fine dining, it might be from when as a young baker, I thought putting 18 ingredients in a dessert sounded impressive(it’s not, it’s overcompensating and you’re just muddying up your concept), so whenever I add more than a third ingredient to be featured in a recipe, I start to err on the side of it needing to be edited down. However, this recipe gets away with some of that because outside of the apple, everything else is extremely mild in flavor. Maple and persimmon are both sweet, with maple having roasted notes and persimmon being a little astringent. Acorn tastes like molasses and gingerbread. And even with apple, it is not the most punchy fruit – if you mix apple with another fruit, like raspberry or strawberry, usually the other fruit wins out in terms of flavor. So what you end up with is a subtle mousse cake that tastes like fall melting into winter.

For the components, we have acorn shortbread, brown butter-apple cider compote, burnt maple-persimmon mousse, cider mirror glaze, and persimmon tuiles. I will admit that the sides of my entremet did not come out smoothly, even after I glazed it, so I wound up taking leftover acorn shortbread, grinding it into a powder, and crusting the sides with that. It honestly gave the cake a more earthy finish, so we’ll allow it. For the recipe posted, I adjusted the sizes of the acorn shortbreads so that you won’t run into that issue. The entremet itself comes across like a blend between a pie and an icebox cake, since the main anchor of the dessert being used here are large disks of acorn shortbread, that soften over time from being put in contact with that compote. I have been making so many pie/shortbread-type recipes lately because of the holidays, and I’ll be honest, if I don’t use my food processor in the third three months of next year(not likely thanks to Pi Day), I wouldn’t be sad about that. In terms of components, and this is with every entremet, waiting is important. Get those shortbreads made and the compote made and cooled before you even attempt making the mousse. With the mousse, we need to start by heating up maple to the point of almost burning, then pouring into that pureed persimmon to form a burnt maple-persimmon caramel-situation that can then be worked into a delicious mousse. The cider glaze is surprisingly simple to make, and it has a shiny, gorgeous finish. For the tuiles, we just take more persimmon puree, and work that into a batter. I purchased some maple leaf tuile molds off Amazon, so they’re fairly easy to purchase. All in all, this is one of the prettiest autumnal desserts I’ve made in a while, even though I struggled with the idea of cramming an extra fourth ingredient in there.

Makes 1 6-inch mousse cake, or 8 servings:
For the acorn shortbread:
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 tbsp acorn flour
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor, blend the flours, sugar, salt, and butter into a crumbly dough. Add to that the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until the dough comes together in a single ball. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out o a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness and transfer to a parchment sheet. Cut out 2 5-inch disks, reserving the scraps. Bake the disk at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, and the scraps at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. Allow the disks to cool before attempting to use. For the scraps, blend them into a fine crumb.

For the brown butter-cider jam:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, browned
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt
2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut to fine dice
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider

In a pan, sweat out the apples with cinnamon, salt, sugar, and butter. Once the apples are softened, add to that the cider and cook everything on medium heat until all of the liquid is cooked off. Allow the jam to cool before using.

For the persimmon puree:
2 super ripe hachiya persimmons
2 tbsp water

Peel the persimmons and place in a blender with the water. Blend into a smooth puree.

For the burnt maple-persimmon mousse:
2oz maple syrup
3oz persimmon puree
2 tsp gelatin powder+2 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a pot, heat up maple syrup to 300 degrees F. Add to that the persimmon puree, stirring until combined. Then add in the gelatin, stirring until that is dissolved in. Add to that the whole milk and stir until combined. Allow the mixture to cool off heat to room temperature before folding in the cream and vanilla to form your mousse base.

For initial assembly:
Line a 6-inch ring mold with cling wrap and place on a sheet tray. Start by pouring in half of the mousse. Spread the jam evenly onto each 5-inch round of shortbread. Place one of the shortbreads, jam side down, into the mousse. Pour in the rest of the mousse, then press in the other shortbread. Freeze the cake solid, 2-3 hours, before attempting to unmold.

For the persimmon tuiles:
1oz persimmon puree
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1 tsp canola oil
1 egg white
red beet powder*

Whisk together the persimmon puree, flour, salt, canola, and egg white until a batter forms. Split the batter in half and add beet powder to half. Spread the batter into silicone maple leaf molds and bake at 325 degrees F for 12 minutes.

For the cider mirror glaze:
4oz cider
2 tbsp gelatin powder+3 tbsp cold water
6oz white chocolate
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat up cider and gelatin until the gelatin is dissolved. Add to that the white chocolate and salt, and stir on low heat until everything is melted together. Allow the glaze to cool to 90 degrees F before pouring onto the mousse cake.

For final assembly:
Place the frozen, unmolded mousse cake onto an elevated surface. Pour the glaze on top of the cake and allow the excess to drip off and the glaze to set. Coat the sides in the ground acorn shortbread, and garnish the top with the maple leaf tuiles.