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.