White chocolate mousse cake with a raspberry blast secret centre

Yes I made it to one whole year of blogging and here is the next pay day cake in celebration – number 4! (you can see the others on my recipe page) Well in reality 6 months half-hearted and 6 months full blogging and what a difference a year makes. This time last year I began by making cake truffles for my friends Birthday and look what I have made 1 year on. Here is the link to my very first post – be nice! I have tried to avoid baking a cake for my blog birthday but I gave in. It had to be something new to me and this is how the white chocolate mousse cake with a hidden raspberry blast was born. The candle on the top was the one I saved from my son’s first birthday cake (ahhhhh). This cake is perfect for the up and coming Jubilee celebrations.

The combination works so well together with the hidden layer of tart and icy raspberries, velvety smooth white chocolate mousse and dark chocolate sponge laced with black raspberry liquor.

You see despite its splendor this cake was not actually supposed to be like this I could lie to you but I won’t. The moment I had completed the white chocolate mousse layer I knew that it was not going to work as I had not used enough gelatine in it to allow the mousse to stand proudly on the plate as I had imagined. Not one to beaten I sat for hours pondering how I could rescue it and finally stumbled across a recipe for a frozen mousse cake. Yes! I cried to myself as I realised all I had to do was freeze the cake and serve it partially frozen. The result is a cross between mousse and ice-cream and it works beautifully and you get to keep and enjoy it longer.

You see as I said in my earlier post synchronicity and the universe just work to create what is needed not necessarily what you though you wanted. The little girl in the picture above would have opted for the melting version as she loved ice-cream. That little girl is me and as you can see (see the 1st picture above ) my mouth is always open. When I slid this cake out of the tin I am pretty sure my mouth did the same excited gape.

Compared to other things I have baked this is not too hard and the trick is to do it in stages gradually so it does not feel like a chore. The beauty being that you can make this over the jubilee weekend but is also perfect for any celebration where time before may be short. If you want to serve this as a mousse cake that does not freeze but stands proudly then I have added the optional gelatin requirements for each section. However I like it just as it is and I’ve learnt from it and you can see what else I created with mousse magic very soon!

Have Camper will travel

So I am off on the maiden voyage in May our 1979 Moonraker VW campervan for the half term week. Sadly the weather is not going to be as glorious as we have just had think 2 degrees overnight – brrrrr.

Sneak Preview!

Day 1 – Bake the Cake layer

Ingredients for Base Genesoise Cake Layer
75g plain flour
50g cocoa (good quality)
4 eggs at room temperature
125g caster sugar
30g melted butter (left to cool)

Instructions
1. Grease and lightly flour a 20cm round tin
2. Melt the butter in a pan and leave to cool
3. Beat the eggs and sagur at a medium speed for 12 minutes until when you lift the whisk attachment out of the mixture falls in ribbons and pools on top of the mixture without disappearing straight away.
4. Sieve the flour and cocoa over the mixture
5. Fold in gently until combined
6. Drizzle in the butter and fold in – do not over fold or the cake will become tough – so when you think it is is nearly there and there are no huge lumps be brave and put it in the oven.
7. Bake in the oven on the middle shelf for 30 minutes
8. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin and placing on a wire rack
9. Add 2 tablespoons of raspberry liqueur ( Chombards, Framboise) to 2 tablespoons of caster sugar – heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. Brush liberally over the cake to moisten it. If you prefer you can use a simple sugar syrup which is equal parts sugar to water and you can adda flavouring or substitute with another spirit.
10. Divide the cake into two layers using a long serrated knife.
11. Wrap the cakes in greaseproof paper once cool and wrap in foil. Either store in an airtight container until you need it or put it in the freezer.

Day 1 – Make the hidden raspberry layer

Ingredients for the Hidden Raspberry Layer
400g raspberries (I used frozen – defrost overnight before you need to use them)
2 sheets gelatin (if wanting it to stay in shape on defrosting)
60g golden vanilla caster sugar
1 tablespoon of raspberry liqueur (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a 6 inch or 18cm baking tin with cling film – making sure you have enough to hang over the sides of the tin fully.
2. Place the raspberries in a food processor and puree.
3. Push the mixture through a fine sieve to prevent the pips from getting in the puree.
4. Soak the gelatin leaves in two separate bowls of cold water (enough to fully immerse each) for five minutes.
5. Put the puree into a small pan and heat gently to 35C (not boiling but warm to touch) and then add the gelatin and stir to dissolve.
6. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved.
7. Remove from the heat. Leave to cool for about 20 minutes.
8. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and place in the freezer until the mixture has set (approx 1 hour) then cover over with extra clingfilm and leave overnight or until you want use it.

Day 2 – White Chocolate Mousse (based on Michael Roux – Desserts)

Ingredients
450g White chocolate finely chopped
6 sheets leaf gelatin
150ml milk
4 1/2 tsp of liquid glucose
6 egg yolks
450ml whipping cream
90g icing sugar

Instructions (if not using gelatin then remove these steps)

1. Set a bowl over a saucepan which is filled to one-third with water. To the bowl add the chopped white chocolate. Using a low heat wait until the chocolate is half melted and remove from the heat. The chocolate will melt by itself and this reduces the risk of it burning.
2. Soak the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes. (optional)
3. Heat the milk in small saucepan until boiling point and then remove from the heat.
Squeeze out the water from the gelatin and add it to the milk. Stir gently until the gelatin has dissolved (optional)
4. In another bowl add the egg yolks, liquid glucose and 3 tbsp of warm water. Mix together until combined.
5. Whip the cream and icing sugar in another bowl until the cream leaves ribbon trails when you take the whisk out of the mixture.
6. Pour the hot milk over the white chocolate and gently mix with a whisk until there are no lumps and is it a smooth consistency.
7. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate and mix gently until combined.
8. Using a spatula fold in the cream gently until fully combined.

Day 2 – Assembly

1. Get your original tin that you baked your cake in – place the cake in the bottom (tip: use the bottom layer of the cake as the top layer will be smaller as cakes shrink as they cook). You can use the bottom layer for another cake.
2. Pour the mousse into the tin.
3. Remove the raspberry layer from the freezer and push down into the mouse mixture until it is about half way down. Place the tin in the freezer overnight for best results.

Day 3 – Eating!

1. To remove the mousse cake from the tin use a hair dryer or blowtorch to gently heat the tin so that it removes easily. You can then either slice into portions with a warm knife (cleaning after each slice) or place in a box for eating later and keep it in the freezer. The cake will keep frozen for at least one month.

Make Some Cake Bunting

To make youself some bunting to go on the top I used paint sample cards from Dulux and used a heart punch but you could also cut out bunting style triangles. I then stapled them onto ribbon and tied them to two lollie sticks. This is also far cheaper than ones you see on various websites. If making for the jubille then choose red, white, and blue colour cards.

Enjoy!

I’m entering this cake as I feel the flags say Jubilee celebrations to me and as you have an extra bank holiday you could make this cake over the weekend and enjoy it on the Monday or Tuesday. The competition is a Blogging Jubilee Baking Competition being run the fabulous Homemade By Fleur. If nothing else you should look at Fleur’s blog as I recently dreamt that we went shopping together (not that we have ever met but I have seen her on TV) and she gave me a signed copy of her new cookbook (not that she has one yet – this is dream after all) so as I said to her – it’s a sign! She is very talented and has had the pleasure of baking with Eric Lanlard in a baking competition that she rightly won . As you know I truly believe in signs so you must see Fleur’s rather stunning new website and check her out before she is famous. This competition has a prize that is sponsored by Appliances online. Wish me luck!

Up next: a drink recipe that will make you fall in love with summer.