Today we are going to make a very delicious, light and lovely mousse cake.
This two-layered cake has a chocolate joconde sponge as a base and is covered by a violet mirror glaze.
Inside it has a blackberry mousse layer and a yogurt mousse layer. Overall, it is not sugary, it has fine fresh fruit-berry aroma, light taste with a touch of creamy softness of yogurt layer and a mouthwatering fluffy texture.
Glaze has a condensed milk in its base and will add some fine sweetness to balance the taste.
Ingredients for the blackberry mousse:
- 350 g fresh blackberries
- 130 g italian meringue
- 160 ml heavy cream (min 35%)
- juice of one medium lemon
- 4 sheets of gelatin
Ingredients for the italian merengue:
- 90 g egg whites
- 180 g sugar
- 50 ml agua
Italian meringue procedure:
- Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils. Heat until a thermometer placed in the syrup registers 121°C (249.8°F).
- While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites in a mixer machine until they form soft peaks.
- With a mixer running very slowly and carefully beat in the hot syrup.
- Continue beating until the meringue is cool and form firm glossy peaks.
Directions for the blackberry mousse:
- Make the italian meringue.
- Place the leafs of gelatin in a cold water.
- Press the blackberries through a sieve using the back of a spoon to get a puree (appx. 200 g).
- Squeeze the gelatin leafs, put them in a cup or a small bowl and heat in a microwave for several seconds to melt them (be careful not to overheat!).
- Take some part of the blackberry puree, around 70 g, and heat it to 40°C (104°F) than add the gelatin. Stir well to blend it completely. Add the rest of the puree, stir well.
- Whip the heavy cream into soft peaks.
- Add the lemon juice (strain it) to the puree.
- Add the meringue, fold it gently into the puree.
- Add the whipped cream, fold it gently, we don’t want the mixture to deflate.
- Put the mousse into a pastry bag with a round nozzle (or simply cut the corner of a pastry bag if you use disposable plastic bags).
- Pour the mousse into a round silicone mold (18 cm in diameter, 5 cm high). Start from the middle and go to the sides, pouring a spiral. Than stir a bit the mousse with a silicone spatula, moving it gently to insure that the mousse is evenly distributed, which means that the surface and sides of the cake will be perfect. Fill the mould to the middle.
- Cover with a plastic wrap and sent to a freezer for 2 hours, this layer should be set and firm before we can add another one.
Ingredients for the joconde sponge:
- 125 g sugar powder (confectioners sugar)
- 100 g almond flour (powdered almonds)
- 3 whole eggs at room temperature
- 25 g cacao powder
- 20 g all purpose flour
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 2 egg whites at room temperature
- a pinch of salt
Directions for the joconde sponge cake (biscuit joconde):
- Mix together the almond flour, sugar powder, salt, cacao and flour in a mixer bowl.
- Add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well at medium speed after each addition. Mix until light and smooth.
- Whip the egg whites with the sugar until they form firm, glossy peaks.
- Gently fold the egg mixture into the whipped egg whites.
- Fold in the melted butter.
Baking joconde sponge:
- Spread in appx.1 cm thick in half-sheet pan lined with parchment.
- Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 12-15 minutes (until firm to the touch).
- Let the sponge cool down completely, than remove from the pan.
- With a metal ring cut a circle 16 cm in diameter.
Ingredients for the yogurt mousse:
- 250 g natural greek yogurt (unsweetened)
- 200 ml heavy cream (min 35%)
- 70 g sugar powder (confectioners sugar)
- 2 sheets of gelatin
Directions for the yogurt mousse:
- Place the gelatin in a cold water (for appx. 10 minutes)
- Whip the heavy cream to the soft peaks.
- Whip the yogurt until smooth and creamy.
- Squeeze the gelatin leafs, put them in a cup or in a small bowl and heat in a microwave for several seconds to melt them (be careful not to overheat!)
- Add the liquid gelatin to the yogurt, stir well to blend completely.
- Add the whipped cream, fold it gently, be careful not to deflate the mixture.
- Put the mousse in a pastry bag, with a round nozzle or simply cutted corner, and pour the mousse on the top of the first blackberry layer. Follow the same procedure as before and even the sides with a spatula.
- Place the joconde sponge circle on the top and press gently. Align the surface of the cake with a spatula and some more mousse.
- Cover with a plastic wrap and freeze for minimum 4 hours.
Ingredients for the mirror glaze:
- 50 ml water
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g liquid glucose
- 65 g condensed milk
- 100 g white chocolate (fine chooped)
- 6 g gelatin (3 sheets)
- Violet food coloring (whatever color you like, of course, but it should be intense water-soluble coloring in paste)
Directions for the mirror glaze:
- Combine water, glucose and sugar, in saucepan and heat the mixture to 103°C (217.4°F). It is important to respect the temperature in order to get the desired result, so it is very recommendable to use a thermometer.
- Place condensed milk in a bowl and add the heated sugar mixture, stir well.
- Add the fine chopped white chocolate. Stir well to melt it and blend it completely.
- Squeeze the gelatin sheets and add them to the mixture. Mix well, the gelatin should melt and blend thoroughly. If the mixture has cooled to much you can heat it a bit in a microwave, but be careful.
- Add the coloring.
- Blend the mixture with a hand blender to make it smooth and homogeneous. Immerse a blender carefully and at an angle to avoid pouring air bubbles in the glaze, we need to have as little bubbles as possible, the best of all – none.
- Let the glaze cool to 35-36°C (96.8°F)
Glazing the cake with the mirror glaze.
- The glaze mixture is ready to use when the temperature is dropped to 35-36°C (96.8°F). Mix it gently, try not to let any air bubbles in.
- Take the cake out of the freezer, demold it and place on a wire rack, put a plate or a tray under the wire rack.
- Make sure that there is no ice ot the surface of the cake, if there is any – swipe it away with a finger.
- Pour the glaze on the top of the cake, glaze will flow down, spread evenly and cover the sides as well. If you would like to make the glazing thinner, with a palette knife quickly spread it to the edges of the cake.
- Let the icing set for several minutes, than remove the cake from the rack over a tray. Carefully neaten the bottom edge with the knife.
- Send to a fridge for 4-6 hours to defrost and set.
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