One of my favorite parts about October/November is hidden rose apple season. During just those two months(at least in my neck of the woods), these gorgeous, pink-fleshed apples are available. Not pink skinned, pink flesh. So like when you cut into them, they are this pretty pink color. I have been obsessed with them since I first stumbled upon them years ago while working at The Portofino Hotel, where we were randomly just giving them out to guests. The restaurant manager, Mike, was nice enough to give me a handful when I was amazed by how pretty they were, and I was thrilled – and even made a fun dessert out of them. So now every year, whenever it is hidden rose apple season, I’m already thinking about what I could make this year. The thing is, while the apples are a gorgeous pink color, they still just taste like apples. Consistency-wise, I’ll be honest in that they can be a little starchier than your usual apple – why this is an issue is that shaving them thinly and trying to curl them up can be very hit or miss because they may just tear or snap in half when you attempt to do so. Because of that, I usually just shave them thinly and bake them into chips as my garnish, just to highlight the gorgeous color. But a garnish is not what makes a dessert. So while I knew whatever I was going to make would look pretty, it still had to taste good and be substantial. While I don’t recommend working backwards from an aesthetic or garnish, for an ingredient as unique as this one, you kind of have to.

For the components of this dessert, we have the hidden rose apple chips, a hidden rose apple gelee, a clear glaze made from the apples as well, a ruby chocolate mousse, and a Chinese almond sponge. I went with these ingredients because I like the pairing of apple and almond, while nuts and ruby chocolate go together well too. Ruby chocolate is a pink-tinted chocolate that underwent a different kind of fermentation process, resulting in it tasting a bit tart, like red berries. I figured the color would play off of the hidden rose apples to begin with, while balancing any sweeter notes in the dessert. The sponge cake has Chinese almond powder in it, since that adds some floral notes that kind of lift the apple, while the gelee uses a tiny bit of rose water, just to play off of that further. This entire dessert is surprisingly balanced in terms of the visual and texture, since the soft mousses, gelee, and cake are contrasted with the crispy apple chips, while the flavor is not too sweet since I used lemon juice to not only temper the sweetness level, but to lower the PH level in parts of my dessert to bring out more of that gorgeous pink color. The end result is honestly a stunning cake that is not too sweet, and embraces the hidden rose apples perfectly, in my opinion.

For the hidden rose apple chips:
1 hidden rose apple
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

On the thinnest setting of your mandolin, shave the apple and store in lightly salted water. In a pot, bring sugar, water, salt, and lemon juice to a simmer. Once the sugar and salt are dissolved into the water, take off heat and add to that your apples. Allow the apples to sit in the syrup for 10 minutes, off heat. Strain the apple slices out of the syrup and place onto a parchment lined sheet tray. Bake the apple slices at 200 degrees F for 2 hours. Reserve the syrup, as you’ll be using this both as the cake soak and the glaze.

For the hidden rose apple gelee:
2 hidden rose apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp rose water
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp agar agar

In a pot, bring everything to a simmer until the apples are soft and the liquid is reduced by half. Allow the apples to cool before pouring into a cling wrap-lined 5-inch ring mold(placed on a transferrable, freezer-proof surface) and freezing everything solid before attempting to unmold.

For the Chinese almond chiffon cake:
1 egg, separated
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp vegetable oil
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp Chinese almond flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

In a bowl, whisk the egg white with sugar to stiff peaks. Add to the egg yolk your vanilla, oil, and salt. Sift into the egg yolk the remaining ingredients then fold in the whipped egg white to form your batter. Pour the batter into a 5-inch ring mold and bake at 350 degrees F for 22 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before attempting to unmold.

For the ruby chocolate mousse:
2oz whole milk
1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
3oz ruby chocolate
a pinch of salt
6oz heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, bring milk, gelatin, and ruby chocolate to a simmer, stirring until everything is melted together. Take off heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Fold into it the heavy cream to form your mousse.

For assembly:
Line a 6-inch ring mold with cling wrap and cooking spray, and place onto a small sheet tray. Start by placing the frozen disk of gelee down, then pour the ruby chocolate mousse on top. Brush some of the reserved pink syrup onto the sponge cake, and press into the mousse. Level off the sides with an offset spatula to ensure everything is a flat layer. Freeze the cake solid before attempting to unmold.

For the finishing glaze:
4oz of the reserved syrup
1 1/2 tbsp gelatin powder

In a pot, mix 1oz of the syrup with the gelatin powder. Then pour the remaining syrup in. Bring everything to a simmer, until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Allow the glaze to cool down to 90 degrees F before pouring repeatedly over the frozen unmolded cake to glaze the top and sides. Once the glaze is set, garnish the top and sides with your apple chips.