TCHO Chocolate Mousse, Roselle-Orange Jam, Pomme Gelée, Roasted Peanuts, Mint
Pastry Chef Shardé Cole of Dakar NOLA | New Orleans, LA
Yield: 16 servings
Adapted by StarChefs | November 2026 | Photo: Sam Hanna
INGREDIENTS
Apple Gelée:
16 ounces turbinado sugar
4 sticks cinnamon
10 apples
1 tablespoon Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
Super agar
Roselle-Orange Jam:
8 cups roselle, seeds and calyxes separated
8 oranges, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
Granulated sugar
Cinnamon-Apple Cake:
2 cups diced apples
50 grams light brown sugar
220 grams all-purpose flour
150 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
240 milliliters soy milk
80 milliliters extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey pure almond extract
Milk Chocolate Mousse:
8 ounces TCHO Oat My Gawd 46% milk chocolate
20 ounces coconut milk
3.15 grams iota carrageenan
2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
Kosher salt
Dipping Chocolate:
16 ounces TCHO Hella Dark 81% dark chocolate
16 ounces roasted salted peanuts, chopped
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
1 tablespoon cocoa butter
To Assemble and Serve:
16 ounces roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Mint leaves
Edible flowers
METHOD
For the Apple Gelée:
In a stockpot over medium-high heat, bring sugar, cinnamon, and 16 ounces water to a boil. Reduce heat. Using a melon baller, scoop apple spheres directly into boiling liquid, reserving scraps separately. Add vanilla. Cover and remove from heat. Let steep 20 minutes. Remove and reserve apple spheres. Let spheres and poaching liquid cool to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer apple spheres to a clean work surface and halve. Set aside. Pass reserved apple scraps through a juicer and strain through a nut milk bag. Season cooled poaching liquid with resulting apple juice until desired sweetness is achieved. Stir in one-percent super agar by weight of liquid. Transfer to a clean stockpot. Using a Vitamix Commercial immersion blender, blend until smooth. Place pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Let simmer 2 minutes. Transfer to a nonreactive container and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, using a Vitamix Commercial immersion blender, purée mixture until smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve, then transfer to a piping bag. Pipe into half-sphere silicone molds, filling molds halfway and reserving remaining mixture. Top each mold with 1 reserved halved apple sphere. Freeze until set.
For the Roselle-Orange Jam:
Rinse roselle calyxes and set aside. In a stockpot over medium-high heat, add roselle seeds and cover with enough water to submerge. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 30 minutes, or until pods are softened. Strain, discarding solids. Transfer to a clean stockpot over medium-high heat. Add oranges and rinsed roselle calyxes. Cover with just enough water to submerge. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 20 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by one-quarter. Stir in vanilla and ½ cup sugar. Cook 5 minutes. Add additional ½ cup sugar and cook 5 more minutes. Taste and repeat process until desired sweetness is achieved. Remove from heat and cover mixture with plastic wrap, pressing sure to adhere plastic wrap to surface. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until set.
For the Cinnamon-Apple Cake:
Heat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, toss apples with brown sugar, 20 grams flour, and 50 grams granulated sugar. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, sift baking soda, salt, remaining flour, and remaining granulated sugar. Set aside. In a third mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in apple mixture. Scoop batter into large dome molds, filling halfway. Transfer molds to a sheet tray and bake 10 minutes. Rotate and bake additional 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool. Freeze. Once frozen, using a melon baller, scoop a shallow center from each dome. Freeze.
For the Milk Chocolate Mousse:
Place chocolate in a metal mixing bowl and set aside. In a saucepan, combine 16 ounces coconut milk and iota carrageenan. Using a Vitamix Commercial immersion blender, mix until combined. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring coconut milk mixture to a boil. Pour over chocolate and let sit 5 minutes. Stir until chocolate is fully melted. Using a Vitamix Commercial immersion blender, purée mixture until smooth. With the blender running, slowly stream in remaining coconut milk until fully combined. Add vanilla and season with salt. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. The next day, transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip until light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate.
For the Dipping Chocolate:
In a bowl set over a double boiler, melt all the ingredients until well combined. Transfer to a tall nonreactive container and set aside.
To Assemble and Serve:
Place peanuts in a small bowl and set aside. Skewer 1 Cinnamon-Apple Cake and dip curve-side into Dipping Chocolate, letting excess drip off. Roll in crushed peanuts to coat. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet tray, dome side up. Repeat with remaining Cinnamon-Apple Cakes. Refrigerate until set. Flip and fill hollowed center with Roselle-Orange Jam. Transfer each to a serving plate and top with 3 Apple Gelée spheres. Pipe desired amount Milk Chocolate Mousse around Apple Gelée spheres to fully cover surface. Pipe with reserved Apple Gelée. Finish with mint and edible flowers.
