Mango cream & mousse cake for my brother

My little (ok, not so little) brother is leaving for the states to do his phD. I was thinking of getting him a going away present and decided to make him his favorite mango cake. Since KK has a family gathering on sunday, it gave me the perfect excuse to bake a cake, which turned out to be his aunt's birthday cake.


Mango Cream & Mousse Cake

This cake is a combination of the two previous mango cakes I made. It turned out better than I've expected as the mangoes were ripe and sweet.

Cake base - 3 halves of classic genoise

Mango mouuse - refer to previous recipe. The key to success is 2 large ripe mangoes. The amount was more than enough for 2 9inch layers and sides of the cake.

Whipped cream cheese frosting (see below) for 1 layer and and to cover the whole cake

Cubed mangoes - 1 for filling and 2 for toppings

Mango flavored simple syrup - 120ml of Fruit Tree mango juice, 3/4 cup of mango puree and 1 tbsp orange liquer mixed well. Use 5-6tbsp per layer of sponge.

The perfect (ok, I may be exaggerating a little) whipped cream cheese frosting

170g cream cheese
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
240ml cream

Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in stand-mixer till smooth.
Whisk cream to stiff peak.
Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

Tasting notes and learning points:

The cake was soft and mango-y without being too sweet. The whipped cream cheese frosting held its shape well, likely due to the presence of icing sugar. I might have overdid it with the topping as the soft layers had difficulty supporting the heavy topping. Also, next time I'll use the leftover sponge and cream to make a triffle.

mango mousse cake

I wanted to try Rose's recipe of genoise rich to see if it makes a cake that is more moist. The initial plan was to make a strawberry shortcake but I seem to have a "lack of affinity" with strawberries as it was sold out (again) in the supermarket. Hence, the decision for a mango mousse cake instead.


Mango Mousse Cake

First, bake the genoise

For the sponge, I used the recipe of genoise riche from Rose's The Cake Bible. It is essentially the same as the classic genoise except that this uses twice the amount of butter. I baked it in a 8x3 inch round cake pan, well greased and floured. The cake took about 45minutes to bake compared to 25-35minutes if I've used a 9 inch springform pan. Hence, I had to cover the top of the cake with foil for the first 30minutes to prevent excessive browning. However, it was magnificently 2 inches tall!

While waiting for the cake to cool, make the mango mousse (adapted from Canadian Living)

750ml mango puree / puree 2 large sweet mangoes in blender
2 tbsp orange liqueur
1 tbsp lime juice
5 tsp unflavoured gelatin
50ml water
500ml of whipping cream

In bowl, combine mango puree, sugar, orange liqueur and lime juice; set aside.
In small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 5 minutes and dissolve over medium-low heat.
Stir gelatin into puree mixture.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Whip cream till soft peaks and fold one-third into remaining puree. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
Use immediately or keep in fridge.

Don't forget the simple syrup

Place 2 onces of sugar and 120ml of water in a saucepan. Heat till it is boiling and sugar has melted in covered saucepan.
Allow to cool and add 2 tbsp of orange liqueur.

Finally, assemble the cake

Slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers.
Place one layer on a cake cardboard in a 8x3inch round cake ring. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of simple syrup on the cake.Put a third of the mousse over the cake layer and smooth it out a much as possible.
Repeat with the other 2 cake layers.
Place in freezer for 2 hours for mousse to set.
Remove the cake ring by using a hairdryer to warm up the sides.
Serve

Tasting notes and learning points: The mousse was smooth and set nicely but the citrus flavor was a little strong. I think it can do with more mangoes and less cream. The genoise was still a little on the dry side. It was soft and light but not as light as the classic genoise, it was also denser likely due to the excess butter. Maybe will try the golden genoise the next time or consider adding more milk/buttermilk to the classic genoise.

mango cream cake

I was planning to make a chocolate cake with strawberry and white chocolate ganache the whole week but alas! Cold Storage ran out of strawberries and the only ones available are like twice the price of the normal ones. I concluded that it was too expensive for my baking experiments and hence decided on a mango cream cake instead.

Now, what's a mango cream cake? Wells, I imagined one to be a wonderfully soft sponge cake filled with cream cheese frosting and fresh sweet mangoes. Mmm...


Mango Cream Cake

Start by baking 2 classic genoise (see recipe in strawberry yoghurt mousse cake)

While waiting for the cakes to cool, cube 3 large mangoes.
I had to add sugar to the mangoes as they were too sour. Thus, I tried to mitigate it by adding 2 tbsp of sugar + 1 tbsp of mango juice (Fruit Tree is way much better than Peel Fresh for the mango juice) and it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.

Prepare the mango syrup

1/2 cup of chopped mangoes
1 tbsp of sugar (to taste, can omit if mangoes are sweet)
1/3 cup (80ml) of water

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.
Strain through a sieve.

Prepare the whipped cream cheese frosting

250ml cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp (45g) sugar
360ml heavy cream

Whip heavy cream until firm peaks. Cover and refrigerate.
Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth.
Fold a third of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
Fold in the remaining cream
Use immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Finally, assemble the cake

Trim the top crust and slice the genoise into 2 horizontally. We will need 3 halves of the genoise.
Place one of the layers with cut side up on a cardboard cake round.
Brush mango syrup on it. (Each layer needs about 5 tbsp)
Spoon the mangoes on top of the layer.
Spread the whipped cream cheese frosting over the mangoes in an even layer.
Repeat with the middle layer.
For the top layer, brush the syrup, then frost the sides and top of the cake.
Garnish the top of the cake with mangoes and sides with toasted almond flakes.
Serve


Tasting notes & learning points:
So Rose was right after all. The genoise does taste so much better with syrup. According to The Cake Bible, the perfect amount of syrup is 3-4 tbsp for every egg used in the batter. I decided on 3 tbsp/egg since I added milk to my batter. This works out to 12 tbsp of syrup per cake and hence 6 tbsp of syrup per half. However, since the mango cubes are a little moist, I decided to use 5 tbsp of syrup per layer of genoise which worked out fine. The cake was moist and soft and not pasty.
Everyone loved the cake but I felt that it would have been much better if the mangoes were ripe. Toasting almonds can be done easily on a dry frying pan over medium heat which takes about 5 minutes.

lemon curd and chocolate mousse crumble

I had this dessert from da Paolo gastronomia with HJ the other day and it was yummilious! Never thought of pairing chocolate with lemon curd. The tangy smooth lemon curd helps to break the monotony of the dark seductive chocolate mousse and crumble. It's like a little twist in an otherwise 'boring' dessert.


Lemon curd and chocolate mousse crumble (serves 4 hungry chocoholics)

First, prepare the CRUMBLE (adapted from Avec Eric)

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup (56g) cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
4 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp light brown sugar
pinch of salt

Stir all the ingredients in a large bowl until it forms a pebble-like consistency. (Alternative: rub the butter into the dry ingredients.)
Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Spread crumble onto baking sheet and bake at 325F (162C) for 10-15minutes or until crumble is golden brown.

While waiting for the crumble to chill and bake, prepare the LEMON CURD

1 egg + 3 egg yolks
120g sugar
80g chilled unsalted butter
zest & juice of 3 lemons

Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar in saucepan until smooth.
Place pan over low heat and add butter, juice and zest.
Whisk continuously until thickened.
Strain through a sieve and allow to cool.

Next, prepare the CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (adapted from Pierre Herme)

1 3/4 cups heavy cream
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Valrhona Manjari), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water

Beat the cream until it holds medium-firm peaks, then cover and chill. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and egg yolks at the lowest speed for a few seconds, just to break up the eggs; set aside while you prepare the chocolate and sugar syrups.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave oven or in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove the chocolate from the heat, and, if necessary, pour it into a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients for the mousse. Cool the chocolate until an instant-read thermometer registers 114 degrees.

While the chocolate is melting and cooling, place the sugar and water in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally and washing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil the syrup over high heat without stirring until an instant-read thermometer registers 257 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately remove it from the heat.

With the mixer on the lowest speed, beat the eggs for a few seconds, then very slowly add the hot sugar syrup in a thin, steady stream. To avoid splatters, try to pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, not into the spinning whisk. (Inevitably, some will splatter, but don't attempt to scrape the hardened syrup into the eggs -- you'll get lumps.) Increase mixer speed to high, and beat eggs for about 5 minutes, or until they are pale and have more than doubled their original volume. If the mixture is still warm, reduce the speed to medium and continue to beat until eggs are at room temperature.

Using a large rubber spatula, fold about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate. Fold in the rest of the cream, and then, very delicately, fold in whipped egg mixture.

Finally, make the GANACHE and assemble the crumble

200g dark chocolate (Valrhona Caraibe)
200ml heavy cream

Heat the heavy cream and let it boil for 1 minute
Add hot cream to chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes.
Stir mixture in concentric circles, starting from a small circle in the middle and slowly enlarging the circle to obtain a smooth glossy ganache.
Allow to sit at (aircon) room temperature for 40-60minutes until it sets.

Tasting notes & learning points:
The lemon curd was too sour and not "lemony" enough. MT suggested using the lemon cream recipe from Pierre Herme which I intend to try next time. Most importantly, do NOT reduce the sugar in the lemon curd.
My ganache separated!!! But I managed to salvage it in the end, all thanks to Edward Notter. He suggested stirring warm split ganache into a few tablespoons of heated cream slowly. The method worked perfectly and the ganache was soooo smooth and glossy.

almost famous amos chocolate chip cookies

I had a short break from work on saturday and decided to do something which begets instant gratification. What is better that chocolate chip cookies? Quick and easy to put together, the alluring aroma of cookies baking in the oven starts to hit you within 30 minutes of the idea popping in your head. Hmm.. and not to forget the crunchy yummy cookies which is highly addictive. I NEED to give them away... let's share the calories.. hee

Crunchy chocolate chip cookies (makes ~40 cookies)

125g Butter
70g Castor sugar
70g Brown sugar
2 tsp Vanilla essence
1 Egg
260g Self-raising flour (= 260g plain flour + 3 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt)
1 tbsp cocoa power - natural unsweeten
130g Chocolate chips (bittersweet 70%) - I simply chopped up a bar of bittersweet chocolate

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. (preferably fan mode)
2. Sift the flour & cocoa powder, set aside.
3. Beat butter, essence and sugars using mixer until smooth.
4. Add egg and beat until well combined.
5. Stir in sifted flour and the remaining ingredients.
6. Place rounded teaspoon of batter about 4cm apart on patchment paper in baking tray

7. Bake in pre heated oven for 15 minutes or until browned. (~18mins on middlerack)

8. Cool in trays for short while and transfer to wire rack for cooling.

The cookies are initially soft when they first came out from the oven but became incredibly crunchy when cooled. I may consider cutting the sugar and butter the next time.

strawberry yoghurt mousse layer cake

The main reason for baking this cake was to make genoise. I also wanted to make something light and fruity after the chocolate cake last week. Hence, the strawberry mousse layer cake which seems so very apt for the summer.

According to Wikipedia, a génoise cake (Genoese cake or Genovese cake) is an Italian sponge cake named after the city of Genoa and closely associated with Italian and French cuisine that does not use any chemical leavening, instead using air suspended in the batter during mixing to give volume to the cake. Hence, the beating of the eggs is the most important step to ensure that the cake turns out light and fluffy.

Rose gave an excellent recipe of classic genoise in The Cake Bible with detailed instructions. The only advice I can give is FOLLOW the instructions! My genoise failed the first time because I stopped beating the eggs after 3 minutes as the batter did not seem to be rising any more. That ended up with a genoise achieving half the intended height. For the second time, I beat the eggs at high speed for a full 5 minutes as intended and tweaked the recipe slightly to make it more moist. Thankfully it turned out perfectly soft, spongy and moist with a tender crumb (even without the sugar syrup). It is best eaten immediately or once cooled. If not, the frosting will help keep the cake moist and soft.

Strawberry yogurt mousse layer cake

Start by making the genoise (adapted from Rose's The Cake Bible)

2 oz unsalted butter
4 large eggs / 5 small eggs (~200g without shells)
100g caster sugar

50g cake flour

50g corn starch
2 tbsp warm milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 350F/175C (non fan)
Start boiling a pot of water in large saucepan.
Grease & flour a 9-inch springform pan.

Clarify butter by melting it in heavy saucepan over medium heat, partially covered to prevent splattering. Cook uncovered when butter looks clear till solids drop and begin to brown. Pour immediately through a fine strainer into medium sized bowl. This forms the beurre noisette which smells wonderfully delicious.
Add vanilla and milk to beurre noisette and keep warm.

Whisk eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl set over pan of simmering water, beat till eggs are lukewarm. Continue whisking at high(est) speed in stand mixer for full 5 minutes. The batter looks like whipped cream at the end of 5 minutes and looks like it's threatening to overflow.

While eggs are beating, sift together the flour and cornstarch.

Remove 1 scant cup of egg mixture and thoroughly whisk it into the beurre noisette.

Sift 1/2 the flour mixture into the remaining egg mixture and fold it gently but rapidly with a large balloon whisk. Repeat with remaining flour mixture until the flour has disappeared completely. Fold in the butter mixture until just incorporated.

Pour immediately into prepared pan and bake in oven for 25-35minutes till cake is golden brown and starts to shrink slightly from sides of pan. Unmold the cake immediately once it's out of the oven and cool on rack with cake right-side-up.

Next, prepare the strawberry yoghurt mousse cloud

140g strawberry yoghurt (Meiji brand)
3 tbsp caster sugar (to taste)
300g fresh strawberries, washed and chopped
450g fresh cream
2 tsp vanilla essence
2.5 tsp gelatine + 3tbsp water

Blend strawberries and yoghurt in electric blender till smooth. This makes about 240g of pureed strawberry yoghurt mixture.Add in sugar to taste.

Soak gelatine in water for 5 minutes, heat & stir to dissolve.
Add gelatine mixture to strawberry mixture. Mix well and strain if neccesary.

Whip fresh cream and vanilla essence to stiff peak.

Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture in thirds.

Finally, assemble the cake

Torte genoise into half horizontally.

Place 1 layer of sponge into springform cake pan. (Sprinke sugar syrup on genoise if desired)

Pour half of mousse in and smooth it out.
Repeat with the next layer of sponge and mousse.

Cover with cling-wrap and leave in freezer for at least 2 hours

Unmold the cake by warming the sides of the pan with a hairdryer or warm towel.
Sprinkle white and dark chocolate shavings on top of the cake.

Serve.