White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake

I made this White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake for my mum's birthday recently :) 

You’ll need approx 4 punnets strawberries for this recipe

Ingredients

1 x Chiffon cake base, cut into 2 even layers

Click here for the Chiffon Cake Base recipe

A) 400g strawberry
1 tbsp lemon juice
50g caster sugar

1 tsp strawberry essence
Extra strawberry sliced and cubed (as much as you like- I used approx 100g)
Whole strawberry for garnish (optional)

B) 300ml thickened cream
3 tbsp icing sugar

C) 100g white chocolate
50ml thickened cream

D) 15g gelatine (approx. 1 tbsp)
50ml hot water

E) 100ml thickened cream

1 tbsp icing sugar, extra

Method

1. Clean and hull the strawberries. Add in 50g sugar and let it sit for awhile. Puree them in a blender and put it through the strainer. You should get about 400ml strawberry puree. Stir in 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Reserve 2 tbsp of this puree for the swirl effect.
2. Whip 300ml thickened cream with 3 tbsp icing sugar till mousse state.
3. Melt 100g white chocolate then add into 50ml thickened cream.
4. Dissolve gelatine in hot water, let stand for 5 minutes then stir this into the strawberry puree. 
5. Add melted white chocolate mixture into the strawberry puree.
6. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry chocolate mixture.
7. Line the cake pan with a slice of the cake base; top it with half the mousse. Add in the strawberry pieces. Press the fruits down gently if needed. Top it with some mousse just enough to cover the strawberry pieces.
8. Top it with another layer of cake and pour the rest of the mousse on it.
9. Spoon teaspoonfuls of the reserved puree onto the surface of the mousse on desired positions and swirl it with a toothpick to create the swirls.
10. Refrigerate for at least 3 - 4 hours.   
11. Use an electric beater to beat cream and icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. 
12. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Arrange some strawberries around the cake between the cream rosettes. Cut the cake into wedges to serve. 

Notes & Tips

To create the swirl effect on top of the cake, drop one teaspoon of strawberry puree on the cake surface and swirl the puree with a toothpick. I put 1 teaspoon on the middle of the cake and the rest at clock position of 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.

*** I lined the inner circumference of my spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape and trimmed my cake to be smaller than the spring form pan. This way the mousse will cover the whole cake and you don’t need to cream the cake but just pipe some rosettes or whatever with some cream and do the rest of the décor on the cake. If you don't have any cake tape, use clear cellophane instead. Moisten one side of the cellophane with some water to help it adhere to the sides of the pan.

Chinese Chestnut Sponge Cake

I made this chestnut sponge cake as a birthday cake for my mum since she really likes chestnuts. 
I wasn't able to source fresh chestnuts for this recipe so I used frozen instead- it was more convenient anyways since the chestnuts had been peeled already. The roasted chestnuts that I'm referring to in the recipe are the ready to eat ones that are packaged and usually found in Asian food shops. They add some sweetness to the chestnut filling but if you don't have any, just use 450g frozen chestnuts and add a bit more sugar when making the filling. Have a good long weekend!

Ingredients

1x Chiffon cake base, cut into 2 even layers
Click here for the Chiffon Cake Base recipe

Filling

400g frozen chestnuts, peeled
50g roasted peeled chestnuts
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup water (preferably water used in cooking chestnuts)
½ tsp vanilla essence
1½ tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp milk

Decorating

3 tbsp icing sugar
300ml thickend cream
200g strawberries, thinly sliced
10 roasted peeled chestnuts

Method

1. Place frozen chestnuts in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Cook until soft. Drain, reserving the water.
2. In a bowl, combine sugar with chestnut water or plain water and stir until dissolved.
3. Place chestnuts, sugar water, melted butter, vanilla essence and milk into a bowl of a food processor and mix until a smooth paste consistency forms.
4. Whip thickened cream in a clean mixing bowl. Add in icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form.
5. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on one half of the cake layer.
6. Spread a layer of chestnut filling onto cake layer with whipped cream. Place the other half of cake over the chestnut filling, then top again with some more whipped cream.
7. Cover entire cake with whipped cream, then pile remaining chestnut filling on top of cake. (I forced the chestnut filling through a spoon with round slits to create the pile of strands seen in the photo. You can also use a potato masher too for the same effect).
8. Place the remaining cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of cake.
9. Arrange chestnuts around the cake, either in between the cream rosettes or on top of each second cream rosette. 
10. Place sliced strawberries around the bottom edge of cake, with the pointy end facing up.
11. Cut the cake into wedges to serve.

Chiffon Cake Base

A chiffon cake is a very light, sponge type of cake. It is typically served accompanied with flavourful sauces or other accompaniments, such as chocolate or fruit fillings.

Click here for my Mango Mousse cake recipe.
Click here for my Chinese Chestnut Sponge recipe.
Click here for my White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse cake recipe.

Ingredients

4 eggs (at room temperature), separated
1/4 tsp salt
50g caster sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
75ml warm corn oil
110ml warm water
150g plain flour
¾ tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar, sifted
75g caster sugar, extra, sifted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and line a 20cm spring form cake pan.
2. Whip egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until big bubbles are formed. Add in the cream of tartar and whip until white in colour. Add in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time and whip until egg whites are stiff.
3. Place egg yolks, salt, caster sugar & vanilla essence in a large mixing bowl and mix well with an electric hand mixer.
4. Pour warmed oil into yolk mixture.
5. Stir warm water into yolk mixture.
6. Sieve plain flour and baking powder together and fold it gently into yolk mixture using a large metal spoon.
7. Pour 1/2 egg white mixture into yolk mixture and fold until combined.
8. Fold remaining yolk mixture into the remaining egg white mixture.
9. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
10. Invert cake onto a wire rack and leave to cool. Then cut cooled cake into 2 layers.

Notes & Tips

Don't open the oven door while your cake is baking, otherwise it can flop in the centre. When your cake is cooked, it will come away from the sides of the pan, and spring back when touched lightly in the centre.

Substitute corn oil with vegetable oil if none available

Mango Mousse Cake

I made this mango mousse cake as a surprise for my dad's birthday.

You'll need around 5 ripe medium sized mangoes for this recipe.

Click here for my chiffon cake base recipe.

Ingredients

1x Chiffon cake base, cut into 2 even layers
300ml Thickened cream
3 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
300g Mango, pureed (remove 2 tbsp for swirl effect)
200g Mango, cut into 2cm cubes
15g gelatine powder
100ml thickened cream, extra
1 tbs icing sugar, extra


Method

1. Dissolve gelatine in 50ml hot water. Keep warm for use later.
2. Add icing sugar to cream, then whip until stiff.
3. Add gelatine solution into mango puree and mix well.
4. Add mango gelatine mixture into whipped cream and combine well.
5. Line the inner circumferance of a spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape (or clear cellophane cut to size if none available).
   
6. Put 1 layer of cake onto cake pan and top it with mango mousse filling. Add in the mango cubes and top it with some mousse just enough to cover the mango cubes.
7. Put on the other cake layer and pour all the mousse over it.
8. To create the swirl effect on top of cake, drop one teaspoon of mango puree on the cake surface and swirl the puree with a toothpick. I put 1 teaspoon on the middle of the cake and the rest at clock position of 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
9. Whip the extra cream and extra icing sugar in a clean mixing bowl, then pipe some rosettes around the cake to decorate.
   
10. Chill cake for at least 4 hours (best overnight) before serving.
    

Notes & Tips

You can omit the swirl effect and just decorate the cake with sliced mangoes

Trim the chiffon cake to be smaller than the springform pan. This way the mousse will cover the whole cake when you pour it into the cake tin and you don't need to cream the cake.
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