One dessert I am frequently asked about is my sushi. And, to answer a few questions: Yes, it looks like sushi. Yes, it tastes flavorful and delicious. No, it is not made with salmon roe but passion fruit. I first created a dessert sushi when I was a culinary school student. At the time, I had no idea how those skills would position me to win Netflix’s “School of Chocolate” Dessert Deception challenge during the second episode.

The show’s goal was to create a photo-realistic food item using setting agents like gelatin, pectin and agar to make a beautiful food item bursting with flavor. I knew immediately when I heard the challenge what I was going to make.

My holiday gift to you is a step-by-step tutorial on how you too can make a deceptively delicious dessert for your diners. Dessert sushi is an unusual dessert that nobody asks for but turns out it’s what everybody needs. I hope you agree!  

But first, here is my culinary school dessert sushi made with a sponge cake, coconut rice and fresh mango paired with a pina colada dipping sauce and candied ginger.

Ikura sushi
On the show I needed to up my game from my first sushi attempt if I was going to be competitive in the Deception Challenge. I decided to take my dessert to the next level when I reimagined the sushi shape and landed on making Ikura sushi with its red salmon roe caviar wrapped in nori. I could show off my pastry skills while meeting the setting agent requirement.

My first step was to create a decorating paste to add color to the exterior sponge cake which severed as the nori. On the show, this is the point that without Chef Amaury’s recommendation, I could have ruined my dessert. During the episode, you can see I am spreading the decorating paste and there are solid chunks of color. The stage was so cold my butter was solid at room temperature. Thankfully, Chef suggested I make sure the butter was fully melted and incorporated into the paste. I got caught up trying to accomplish the tasks too quickly that I forgot what I was doing in the moment. After I made the change, the steps moved along better.

I made a quick, easy and versatile utility sponge cake to pour onto the chilled decorating paste to finish my nori. The cake was the sushi wrap. You could use a ribbon, Joconde, almond or any other flexible sponge cake recipe for this application. I made enough sponge cake batter for all five of the ¼-inch sheet trays prepped with the decorating paste.

The next step involved making the sushi coconut rice filling. I opted for jasmine rice because it is nice and fragrant. The texture is fluffy and delicate but it still has sturdiness when simmered with the second round of coconut liquid. The key was to maintain the rice at a low and slow simmer and not overcook it turning it to mush.

The next task involved making the mango compote with bloomed powdered gelatin. It is in this step I utilized a challenge-required setting agent. After putting the compote in the refrigerator to be chilled, I began working on the star of the show: passion fruit caviar.

Passion fruit caviar
I will walk you through the most difficult aspect of this deceptive dessert.

The oil and water must be properly chilled before beginning the caviar. I used a metal 1/8-inch size hotel pan, 4-6 inches deep to chill the liquids. Place the vegetable oil in the freezer for a few hours before making the caviar. This will ensure it is cold enough when dropping in the passion fruit mixture. Getting the correct temperatures is the most important part of this step and takes your undivided attention to get it right and be successful.

Once you have made the passion fruit puree it must be cooled to approximately 90ºF to 100ºF. This is your window, give or take a couple of degrees. Once in that window, use an eye dropper to drop the puree into the oil one ball at a time. Or, you can purchase a Caviar Box that has a special spherical dropper to quickly make the tiny droplets. You want the vegetable oil to be deep because the caviar will cool and form as it sinks to the bottom. Remove the caviar using a slotted spoon and place it into the ice-cold water. I also keep the oil and water pans on ice to keep them cold while making the caviar.  

If your caviar has taken shape and indeed looks like caviar you are in business and ready to build the dessert sushi. This is the most difficult component of the dish but that is why it was the star of the show.

Ikura sushi assembly
You are ready to assemble once you have made and cooled all the sushi components. There are a couple of ways to build the dessert.

I used oval pastry rings on the show, which is a technically more difficult way to build the sushi. I lined pastry rings with acetate (or you could use parchment) so the cake would not stick. I cut the sponge cake into strips and an oval piece to line the bottom and created my dessert form. I then layered coconut rice, mango compote, another coconut rice layer and topped it off with the passion fruit caviar.

You also can assemble it in the style of a traditional maki sushi roll, similar to the classic California roll you get at your favorite local sushi spot.

Step by step it goes like this:

• Gently remove the cake from the sheet tray and carefully peel away the silicone mat.
• Cut the cake in half to get two rolls out of each cake. Place them on a half sheet of parchment for rolling.
• Spread 150 grams of the coconut rice over the entire cake. Leave about ½ inch at the top so your cake will close the roll and connect at the end.
• Place 75 grams of mango compote in a strip just below center.
• Roll the dessert sushi like you would a sushi roll, not like a roulade.

Here is a professional tip: I use a candy ruler to tightly roll something long and flat. With the parchment rolled around the sushi roll, place the candy ruler on the top part of the parchment and push away from yourself while simultaneously pulling the bottom part of the parchment toward yourself. This action will tighten the dessert sushi roll. Do not worry if any filling squeezes out the end. Just scoop that part up with a spoon and enjoy.

Lastly, cut sushi and garnish with passion fruit caviar. Time to enjoy!

Funny “School of Chocolate” outtake
Here is a behind-the-scenes crisis-averted moment that really happened.

I definitely dropped my cake for this dessert when I took it out of the oven. I turned and hit the oven door and knocked the cake out of my hands. In trying not to burn myself, I let the cake fall and it landed cake-side down on the floor.

Fortunately, I always have a backup plan. I made enough decorating paste and sponge cake to quickly turn around and make another cake as we say, “on the fly.” I did not lose much time in the challenge and the overall crisis of not having something to wrap my sushi in was averted.

In the end, the dessert sushi was the Dessert Deception pastry winner. Such a simple concept but when executed properly can be a fun food illusion and even more flavorful to eat.

Amanda N. Miller, CC, CPC, is a culinary arts/baking & pastry arts Instructor at the Culinary Institute of Michigan – Muskegon, which is a Division of Baker College. She is also the winner of the 2020 Postsecondary Educator of the Year award sponsored by CAFÉ and the Sysco Corporation.