Mariposa “Butterfly” ▶

To prepare the mousse: Sprinkle the gelatin over the lemon juice to dissolve. In a mixing bowl, whip the eggs, yolks, and sugar together until the mixture thickens and the sugar is completely dissolved. Warm the gelatin mixture over low heat until all the gelatin has dissolved. Continuing to whip the egg mixture, pour in the gelatin in a thin stream, beating until it is incorporated. Add the passion fruit puree and fold together. Place the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice and stir until the mixture thickens to the consistency of soft peak whipped cream. Fold in a large spoonful of whipped cream to lighten the mixture, then add the remaining whipped cream in two additions, folding carefully to preserve the volume of the whipped cream. Press plastic wrap over the surface and refrigerate. The mousse may be made a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To create the butterflies, first, place four serving plates face-up on a work surface. Put a square sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil which is larger than the plate over each, extending about at 1-1/2 inches beyond the plates at the “equators.” This means the corners will extend even further. Cover each sheet of foil with a sheet of parchment paper the same size. Place another serving plate, face-up, on each covered plate, stacking them together snugly. The foil and parchment will be sandwiched between the plates, with the corners extending beyond the plates. Gently cup the foil and parchment upwards just a little on each; the foil will help secure the parchment.

Using a fifth piece of parchment paper the same size as the ones under the plates, fold the parchment in half lengthwise. Draw half a butterfly on the parchment, pretending the body is at the fold and extending the points of the wings almost to the corners of the paper on the open side. Make the “waist” about 1 inch wide; it will be double that width when the pattern is cut and opened. Cut the open sides along the drawing and unfold to make the pattern.

Temper the chocolate. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium tip with chocolate; keep the remaining chocolate at temperature on a heating pad set at low until ready to use.

To make the butterfly outlines: Place the butterfly pattern on the first prepared plate, centering the design on the plate. Outline around the butterfly pattern with a line of piped chocolate, working across both the plate and the parchment paper extensions. Lift the pattern and repeat on the other plates. Go back over the butterfly outline with a second and even third layer of chocolate to strengthen it. Leave the butterflies alone to set and harden; if you have refrigerator space, refrigerate them. As they harden, the chocolate will pull away from the paper slightly.

To make the chocolate antennae: Line a baking sheet with a Silpat, parchment paper, or foil. Put the melted chocolate into a small piping bag fitted with a very small plain tip, or in a plastic zipper bag; if using the plastic bag, cut across one corner to create a very tiny hole. Pipe 4 lines curving to the right, about 4 inches long, ending in small blob of chocolate. Repeat, curving the lines to the left. Place in the refrigerator to set.

To create the butterflies: Once the chocolate outlines have set well, carefully separate the parchment paper and foil from the extensions by slowly peeling the paper downward. Lift the top plates and remove the parchment, foil, and plates beneath. Place the newly hatched butterflies back on the work surface where you can reach them, but where the extensions are safe from bumping.

Fill separate pastry bags fitted with medium plain tips with the creme anglaise and purees. Be very careful of bumping the chocolate extensions. Starting at the “waist” of one butterfly, pipe two 5-inch crescents of blackberry puree back to back across the waist with the points of the crescents pointing toward the ends of the wings. Start outlining these crescents with purees: a line of peach, then creme anglaise, then strawberry. Begin again with a blackberry outline, then peach, creme anglaise, and strawberry. Finish with another blackberry line. All of the puree lines will be on the plate; do not worry about leaving plate space beyond the last line. Repeat with remaining butterflies. Using a skewer or toothpick, lightly drag it across purees from the center outward toward the wing points and onto the outer edge of the plates, creating a dramatic streaked effect.

To create the center of the butterfly, make four large quenelles of passion fruit mousse, using two large spoons to shape them, and place the end of one quenelle in the middle of each butterfly, extending outwards between the wings to form the head. Overlap 4 to 5 kiwi slices behind this to form the tail of the body; place one strawberry half between the head and tail pointing toward the head, and one pointing backwards at the end of the kiwi slices to complete the tail. Position two chocolate antennas, one curving outward to the right and one to the left, on the plate at each head, pushing the ends of the antennae slightly under the mousse to hold them.

Stand back and be amazed.