We’re in the middle of December and I am still seeing the last shipments of persimmons at our local stores, tucked in between loads of different citrus fruits. (Imagination soaring…) But before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to post my last persimmon recipe so I can leave 2024 without regrets.
I’m not sure why, but my blog has turned into a dessert blog, which is not my intention at all! My planner has a long list of savory items waiting to be experimented on, and yet, my sweet tooth is calling to me. Perhaps it’s all those Christmas tunes we’ve been listening to non-stop. This year, my kids have been asking for Wham’s “Last Christmas”, the Jackson 5’s “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, and Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” on repeat. I am not sure what tickles them about these songs, but they burst into fits of laughter when they hear it and I am more than willing to shelve Michael Buble’s Christmas album in exchange for laughter. Lots of it. After all, here in the US, the Christmas season is short. If I were still living in the Philippines, that’s a different story. (They start Christmas celebrations in September, as celebrating Thanksgiving is not typically celebrated. Interesting subject, as the Philippines was an American colony for over 50 years.)
I digress. Back to the recipe. For Thanksgiving, I made Kat and Alec’s (from the Heirloom Pantry) persimmon galette. I loved how easy it was to make, and since we were staying at an Airbnb by the coast, I wanted to make a dessert that was minimal in equipment needed. If you are curious, I prepped the dough at home beforehand, then froze it so it could survive the drive, then finished the rest of the steps and baked it at the condo we were staying at. I highly recommend it, as it also makes for a great accompaniment to your breakfast.
My recipe uses the crust and persimmons from their recipe, but I decided to add a bit of a savory twist to it by adding the salted cheese mousse. The mousse is inspired by salted cheese foam that you can find at boba shops. Boba shops typically use cream cheese and milk, whipped so it stays on top of your drink. Since mine will have to be underneath the persimmons, I added gelatin to stabilize the mousse. I wanted it lighter than a cheesecake, so I used mascarpone instead of whipped cream. The results are fantastic! The mousse is silky and light with a touch of salt, and the persimmons have the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the buttery pastry.
This is probably the most work I’ve done for a recipe, but the delight that followed is absolutely worth it. So here’s to much more cheesy- sweet tarts, cheesy Christmas music and more importantly, buckets of laughter.
Salted Cheese Mousse Tart with Persimmons
Makes: 12- 4 inch tarts
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Resting/Chilling Time: 1 hour
Total time: 2 hours, 50 minutes
Ingredients:
Crust:
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ tbsp toasted sugar*
¼ tsp salt
½ tbsp lemon zest
½ cup butter, cold and cubed
⅛ cup ice water
Persimmons:
16 fuyu persimmons, ripe but firm, peeled and cut into ⅛ inch discs
¼ cup toasted sugar*
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Salted Cheese Mousse:
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
8 oz mascarpone, room temperature
1 tsp salt
½ cup toasted sugar*
3 tsp gelatin
3 tbsp hot water
Glaze: (halve out this recipe)
1/4 cup apricot jelly
2 tbsp hot water or more
Flaked salt for garnish, optional
Instructions:
To make the Caramelized Persimmons:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Arrange persimmon slices on a lined baking sheet.
In a bowl, toss toasted sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend well.
With the back of a spoon, coat each persimmon slice with the mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes, then allow to cool fully before cutting into half moon shapes. Set aside.
To make the pastry:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Mix using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on medium speed for about 5-7 minutes, or until butter is fully incorporated. You don’t want to overmix your pastry, or it will shrink in the oven.
Roll out your dough in between two pieces of parchment paper, starting from the center, rolling out to the edges, until your pastry is somewhere between 1/16 to ⅛ inch in thickness.
Chill your dough in the fridge for 30 minutes, or more if you can spare the time.
After chilling, cut dough to fit your tart pans. You want about ½ inch overhang on the edges. Use the flat edge of a knife at an angle to trim the edges smoothly.
Put the dough-lined tart pans back in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Blind bake your tarts for one hour in the oven at 350 degrees F after they are fully chilled.
There are many methods to blind bake, but I like to wrap mine with foil and fill the cavity with sugar.
Remove your chosen pie weight and foil, Allow to fully cool before filling.
To make the salted cheese mousse:
Using a hand mixer, whip mascarpone and whipped cream together until fully incorporated and fluffy.
Add salt and sugar and combine well.
In a small heat proof bowl, add water and microwave for a full minute on high power.
Add gelatin to heated water and stir until fully incorporated.
Immediately add to the mousse and whip again until fully incorporated.
Chill until ready to assemble.
For the glaze:
Heat water in the microwave in a heat-proof bowl, about a minute.
Add jelly and whisk until jelly is thinned out.
To assemble:
Fit an icing bag with the largest tip, or use a ziploc bag with a cut corner to fill your pastry with the mousse, working in circles from the edge of the pastry to the middle.
Top with your persimmons in any fashion you like. My video shows a classic rose (or bok choy) shape and the amount of persimmons in this recipe is based on that design.
With a pastry brush, brush with a thin layer of glaze until you achieve the amount of sheen you like.
Sprinkle a bit of flaked salt (pick out the largest bits), just before serving. This is optional.
*NOTES
You may substitute plain table sugar for the toasted sugar.
For extra sweetness, you may glaze the top of your mousse prior to topping with persimmons, and then proceed in the same order of instructions afterwards.
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