I don’t love winter. I might be a winter baby(Capricorn, which might explain things to those of you who are religious about zodiac signs), but I never liked the cold. I tried that for four years living in Boston, and while I loved the shoulder seasons, winter was brutal, with me being Taiwan-born, and SoCal-raised. That being said, I LOVE winter citrus. Maybe it was because I grew up in California, where we have no seasons and every kind of produce is basically available all year round, but I used to associate citrus with the summer, just because of summer memories of drinking lemonade. So it was a surprise to me to learn that citrus is actually a winter thing. But if it’s something that gets me to appreciate the colder time of year more, then that’s an upside, I guess? One of my favorite citrus is the pomelo. Think a grapefruit, but 2-3 times as large, with a ton of gross pith that we have to peel through, but sweeter and firmer. My grandma often prepared pomelo for us to eat whenever we visited her in Taiwan(which was either in the winter or the summer, so again, not helping my initial confusion as to what citrus season actually was) so I have fond memories of eating it. And I have made pomelo recipes on this blog in the past, but never one where it was just the sole focus. So I figured, why not embrace one of the lesser-highlighted citruses out there, and give pomelo a stage to stand on?

Pomelo flesh has a gorgeous ruby-pink color, and that was something I needed to highlight in this cake. And with any citrus, the zest have a pleasant flavor and brightness to it too, so between those two parts, I could really capture the flavor well. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really incorporate the pomelo pith, which does make up at least 30% of the fruit, but it is spongy and acrid, so not really an ingredient I would put into a dessert. With the zest, I used it to flavor a chiffon cake, which I layered up with a pomelo curd mousse, made by first reducing pomelo juice and zest into a pomelo curd, then folding that with whipped cream into a pretty-in-pink mousse that just melts on the tongue like ice cream. I will admit I cheated slightly with the color of the mousse – I used a bit of pitaya powder to naturally dye it pink, just because I was concerned my mousse would be a touch anemic in color. The cake itself is soaked with a simple vanilla soak, just to make sure the dessert isn’t too tart, and topped with extra pomelo segments and poached pomelo peels, just to really hammer home what the featured fruit in this case is. Unlike some of my other mousse cakes, where a mirror glaze or more extravagant decorations are used, I opted to keep the decoration pretty simple and natural here, since the pomelo is plenty pretty on its own!

Makes 1 6-inch cake:
For the pomelo chiffon cake:
1 egg, separated
2 tsp pomelo zest
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks before whipping in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolk with zest, oil, and vanilla. Sift into that the flour, baking powder, and salt, then fold into that the egg white. Pour the batter onto two 4-inch rings and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Allow the cakes to fully cool before attempting to use.

For the vanilla soak:
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Mix together until combined.

For the pomelo mousse:
2 tsp pomelo zest, finely grated
4oz pomelo juice
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp pitaya powder
1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff

Whisk everything in a pot, besides the vanilla extract, pitaya, and heavy cream, on medium heat until the butter fully melts into the liquid and everything thickens to the point of clinging onto your whisk. Take the pot off heat and whisk in the vanilla and pitaya. Allow the curd to cool further before folding in the cream.

For initial assembly:
Line a 6-inch cake ring with acetate and place onto a sheet tray. Spread 1/3 of the mousse inside, then add 1/3 of the remaining mousse on the bottom of the ring. Soak the cake and press one round into the ring mold. Then add another 1/3 of the mousse, then press in the cake again. Freeze the cake solid(2-3 hours) before attempting to unmold.

For the poached pomelo peels:
4oz pomelo peels, julienned
1 cup water
2 tbsp pomelo juice
a pinch of salt

Poach the pomelo peels in the water for 10 minutes. Remove the water and cook down the peels with the pomelo juice and salt for another 2 minutes on medium heat. Cool the peels.

For garnish:
4oz pomelo segments

Garnish the top of the cake with pomelo segments and peels.