Wednesday 6 May 2009

MANGO PEACH MOUSSE CAKE

mango peach mousse cakeThe warm weather is finally here in Vancouver and I've been hankering for a light mousse cake. The trouble with making cakes in general for me...and I've oft lamented this fact: most recipes make cakes too huge for our average family to finish.
With a five year old and a 2 year old who love cake but have limited capacity for it, and a hubby who doesn't enjoy more than a sliver of cake (under duress), I am hard-pressed to finish a cake within 3 days. Besides, there's only so much running I can do to work off the cake calories!

The first time I made this mousse cake, I used two thin cake layers and made the mousse with strictly mango puree. The mousse was yummy but I found the cake-to-mousse ratio not to my liking. I wanted more mousse. So, I took off one of the cake layers and increased the mousse. It's perfect now and the only thing I want to tinker with is the cake. It's a French sponge and can withstand a light syrup soak or a layer of jam or mango puree on it, but I think I'll try a thin layer of Asian chiffon and see how that works. Asian bakeries don't use genoise but incorporate chiffon-type layers in their mousse cakes. The texture is fine and the chiffon doesn't compete with the light mousse.

I'll be making mini cakes from now on. I have a cake ring that's 7" in diameter for the mousse cakes. My 6" cake rounds for baking the sponge cakes are perfect (I bought these from Wilton's at the Michaels store---40% coupon yay!)
I split the cakes in half and freeze what I don't use by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and then in a ziploc bag. The halved 6-inch layer of sponge is placed in the middle of the 7" cake ring or springform pan. If you use a cake ring you should wrap the bottom in plastic wrap and place it on a sheet pan in case of leakage. By pouring the mousse mixture over the cake layer and lightly tapping out all the air bubbles, you'll get a smooth-looking cake...no air pockets. I don't really care to decorate these little cakes because at home we just chow down anyhow. If I were to take one to a party I'd decorate it with fresh fruit slices brushed with apricot jam glaze and piped sweetened whipped cream.

good to the last bite: here you can see I spread a layer of fruit puree between the cake and the mousse to inject some intense fruit flavour and moistness

The great thing about this refrigerated mousse cake is its lightness. You can eat a whole lot! However, since it only makes a 7 inch cake, it's not so dangerous. Portion control is built right in! The cake slices are smaller than normal and you still feel satisfied.

The mousse recipe is straight-forward and the fruit can be interchanged with other fruits like raspberries, blueberries or whatever is in season. You just have to taste the puree before incorporating the whipped cream to adjust for sweetness.

MINI MANGO PEACH MOUSSE CAKE

(makes one 7" round cake)

1 6-inch round vanilla sponge cake, split [you'll use just half of the cake; wrap and freeze remaining cake for later use]

Puree mixture:

  • 180 g mango peach puree [I used my Vitamix to puree a mixture of mango and peaches]
  • 45 g granulated sugar

Gelatine mixture:

  • 1 1/2 T gelatine powder
  • 75 g water

Whipped cream mixture:

  • 240 g heavy whipping cream
  1. In a saucepan, heat the fruit puree with the sugar until it boils and the sugar is dissolved. Stir well. Allow to cool to room temperature. Reserve 3 T puree in a small bowl.
  2. Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
  3. Soak the gelatine in the water and microwave to dissolve. Watch carefully and stir often. The gelatine should be fully dissolved. Combine with the puree and mix until well blended.
  4. Combine the puree and the whipped cream mixtures.
  5. Place the split cake layer at the bottom of the 7" cake ring (which is wrapped in plastic;sitting on a sheet pan) or springform pan. Centre it, ensuring there is an equal amount of space between the cake and the ring. Spread the reserved fruit puree on the cake layer. Then pour the mousse mixture over it and level the surface. Lightly tap the cake ring so that air bubbles do not form.
  6. Refrigerate the cake until firm (approximately 2 hours)
  7. Heat a towel and wrap around the outside of the cake ring. Remove the ring carefully and decorate with fresh fruit slices (brushed with apricot glaze) and piped sweetened whipped cream.

33 comments:

Aussiemuminthekitchen said...

OK. Now that looks incredible. You had me at Mango but oh man I'm in love. I think I may have to try my hand at this one. I feel your cake eating pain btw. My hubby is just like yours and I only have a 21 month old. I always end up giving my food away!

Steph said...

I love Asian chiffon cakes, but they are so hard to bake! Love the mousse to cake ratio!

Coco Bean said...

I'm drooling all over my laptop right now. That is exactly what I want. Send some by air-mail please!
I'm glad to hear that Van is getting such great weather. It has been good here also, but then again anything above -10 is good weather eh!
I am a baby cake fanatic, great job. I'll be waiting by the mailbox!

Sara said...

Yum, I love this flavor combination! It sure looks pretty too.

Dewi said...

Amazing! Beautiful, smooth, and sounds so delicious.

Mélanie said...

Looks very good... I have some peach puree and I was wondering with what I could bake it. So now I now : mango!
For my mousse cake, I often use a dacquoise base instead of sponge cake. It's very light, because it only uses the whites from the eggs. You beat the eggs with sugar, add very little flour and ground almonds (or coconut, or hazelnut... depending on your mousse), and it's done!
If you want, the recipe is here : http://melaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/07/summer-breeze.html

Scate said...

I've never tried a mousse cake - by the looks of it I don't have much choice. I completely agree with the mini sized cakes. Noone likes getting a half-eaten cake, but a half-sized cake is perfect!

Happy to have found your blog!

Juliana said...

Wow, this sounds and looks terrific...mango and peach...so much like Spring. The cake seems so light. Great pictures! By the way, thank you so much for visiting my site an leaving nice note.

Ivy said...

This sounds delicious and it is perfect even without any decoration.

Y said...

It looks great! I love mini cakes too, not just for the benefits of portion control.

Manggy said...

Oh! I didn't know genoise wasn't a good fit (I find it pretty so-so as it is), but I guess I would prefer a chiffon anyway-- I love the softness and lightness :) Thanks for the recipe! My 6" cake ring is one of the best things I've bought! :)

Mélanie said...

Hello
If you want to try the passion fruit mousse, I use passion fruit puree and not fresh passion fruits. It would be really a lot of work to obtain enough juice to make the cake + very expensive...

I don't know if you can find it in stores in Vancouver, but there are some sellers on the web.
http://www.perfectpuree.com/index.php/Our-Products/passion-fruit.html
http://www.emarkys.com/caviar/customer/product.php?productid=17722&cat=620&page=1

The quantity may seem important, but once the jar is open, just freeze the remaining juice to keep it longer... You can use it for passion fruit pies too, it's like a lemon pie, but with an exotic twist!
http://melaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/exaggeration-lesson-1.html

Tell me if you try it...

helen said...

If you have a problem with portion control, call me. I can help.

This looks terrific! So light and airy, mmm....

Anonymous said...

Oh goodness something nice and Fresh for spring, I love Chiffon cakes but with the Mousse- it looks fabulously delish!!!

Anonymous said...

I would like to try to make this cake. Can you give me the recipe for Asian chiffon cake?

I have tried using different sponge cake recipes, but they never turn out to be like the one you buy at a Chinese bakery.

Cakebrain said...

Anonymous,
For an Asian Chiffon, the best recipe I've encountered so far is the CI recipe. Try any of my adaptations of this chiffon cake in my recipes link on the sidebar. Just look under the "Cakes" section.

Mermaid Sews said...

Wow, this sounds and looks divine, now if you can make this lactose free, let me know, as I would kill for a piece.

Cakebrain said...

Mermaid S.,
I think to make it lactose free, all you would need to do is replace the whipped heavy cream with Dream Whip.

babychimchar said...

I made this cake using sponge cake base. The cake didn't have the soft texture like the one bought at the Chinese bakery. But the mousse was great!!!

Can you share your Asian chiffon cake recipe?

Thanks!

Cakebrain said...

babychimchar,
I'm working on a creating my own recipe for the asian chiffon...because the commercial bakeries I'm sure use emulsifiers for their softness and I don't want to do that. The closest recipe I have that duplicates the texture and softness is the CI chiffon cake recipe. Look up the adaptations I have tried in my Recipes link on the sidebar. The problem is that it requires a tube pan and the yield is far greater than required for the mousse cakes I make. So I'm testing through trial and error for a smaller proportion of batter in a small 6inch round tin.

babychimchar said...

You suggested I should try CI chiffon cake recipe. What does CI stand for?

Cakebrain said...

babychimchar,
CI stands for Cooks Illustrated magazine.

Rumela said...

The Mango peach mousse cake are my favorite. I love baking them and decorating.these make good edible Christmas decoration as well. i will make this a holiday when my kids in home. thank you for shearing your post.

Cakebrain said...

thanks for the comments everyone! I hope you do try this cake...it's simple and delectable!

test it comm said...

That mango mousse cake looks nice and light and airy and good!

Quyen said...

Will you please share your recipe of vanilla sponge cake or chiffon cake. I cannot find them in your cake section in the sidebar. Thank you soo much in advance. I plan to make your wonderful Peach Mango Mousse cake this weekend. Thanks again

Cakebrain said...

Quyen,
You need to not look under the labels on the sidebar, but under my recipes section (hit the picture with the 4 cupcakes. It's located under Cake in my Recipes section. I like the recipe for chiffon better than a genoise.
http://cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com/2007/08/mini-chiffon.html

Quyen said...

Thank you for answering my last question. Do I use the full recipe for Mini Chiffon Cake and bake in a 6 inch pan for the Mango Peach Mouse Cake? Thanks a again for taking time to assist me:)

Cakebrain said...

Quyen,
You can adapt the recipe. Use whatever pans you have on hand. If you have 6 inch round pans and find you have leftover batter (after filling them 2/3 full before baking), just pour the remaining batter in muffin cups to make muffins. If you have larger pans, you might want to just bake them in those pans and then cut them into 6inch rounds to fit a springform pan. Then use the cake crumbs and extra cake for cake truffles or cake pops. Just remember to watch the cake carefully when using different pan sizes. Adjust timing accordingly. Bake until golden brown on top and the cake top springs back slightly or do the toothpick test. Two 6 inch round cake pans will take much less time than one mini tube pan. Look through the oven window at 20 minutes to see how it's doing and use your good judgement and don't open the oven door too often to keep checking.

Anonymous said...

Hi when you say 1 1/2 T gelatine, do you mean teaspoon or tablespoon? Amazing pics Looking forward to trying these recipes!

Cakebrain said...

The big "T" = Tablespoon and
the little "t" = teaspoon

Michelle said...

I'm stoked to make this cake for some friends, but they're vegetarian so I'll need to omit the gelatin. Any thoughts on how I might go about this? Thanks in advance!

Cakebrain said...

Michelle,
You can use agar in place of gelatin.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin