This one is for all my friends who want to try this recipe after seeing the pictures on Facebook….
You will need an 18cm cooking ring or loose bottomed cake tin.
A sheet of acetate (transparency plastic) would also be good to have.
For the sponge:
3 egg yolks + 40g caster sugar
4 egg whites + 80g caster sugar
100g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
some finely chopped pistachios
Method:
- Whisk the egg yolks & sugar until they turn pale in colour
- Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk/machine until they become foamy white (like toothpaste). Add 1/2 the sugar and continue whisking till the eggs start forming firmer peaks when you lift up the whisk. Add the rest of the sugar and whisk till the mixture is glossy & firm enough to hold its shape (turn the bowl upside down – the mix should stay in place). Fold the egg yolks into this mixture.
- Sieve the flour & cocoa powder together. Fold it into the eggs in 3 parts.
- Pour the batter on to a tray lined with baking paper. Spread evenly across the tray. Sprinkle pistachios on it.
- Bake at 180 deg C for 12-15 minutes (the timing depends on your oven so you may need to keep checking every couple of minutes after it has been in for 10 minutes). Leave to cool on a wire rack
Jelly:
15oml Strawberry puree
50g caster sugar
2 leaves of gelatine (1 sachet of powdered gelatine)
Method:
- Soak the gelatine in cold water.
- Warm the puree and sugar till it starts to bubble around the edges. Take the pan off the heat.
- Drain the gelatine (if using leaf gelatine) and add it to the warmed puree. Mix thoroughly & strain into a shallow bowl.
- Leave to set in fridge. (If you are in a hurry, place it in the freezer for 5 minutes to get it to set faster & then move it back in fridge.)
Take a break! Wait for the sponge to get cold and the jelly to set before you start with the mousse.
While you are waiting, you can get the cooking ring ready –> Line the inside of the ring with a 10cm tall strip of acetate & stick it together with cellotape to form a ring inside your cake tin/cooking ring. This will help you remove the cake from the ring without any mess.
Place the ring (with the acetate) on cake board/flat plate.
Cut out a 5cm tall strip of the sponge long enough to fit inside the actetate. Cut out a circle of the sponge to fit at the base.
Mousse:
300g Alphonso mango pulp (tinned or fresh)
50g caster sugar
250ml whipping cream
5 leaves of gelatine (2-3 sachets of powdered)
Note: From my experience, powdered gelatine is not very effective here – leaf gelatine makes it set a lot firmer and quicker, so use this if possible.
Method:
- Soak the gelatine in cold water.
- Warm the mango pulp and sugar.
- Add the gelatine (drained, if using leaf gelatine) to the pulp & stir thoroughly such that there are no lumps of gelatine in the mixture.
- Whisk the cream till you can see peaks forming in it when the whisk is lifted (place the bowl over iced water to speed the process and to avoid splitting cream, if you live in a warm climate).
- Fold the mango mixture into the whisked cream.
Put it all together!
- Fill the cake ring with mango mousse halfway to the top of the sponge.
- Cut the jelly to the size of a disc which will fit inside the sponge. Place it on top of the mousse.
- Add the rest of the mousse on top and level it off with a bent palette knife.
- Leave it to set in the fridge. It could take anything between 40 minutes to a few hours, depending on what type of gelatine you have used and how cold your fridge is.
Once it is set nicely, make a glaze to give it that nice finished look.
For this you will need:
50ml Alphonso mango pulp
2 leaves of gelatine
10g liquid glucose (you can get this from most supermarkets in the UK in the baking aisle)
- Soak the gelatine in cold water
- Warm the glucose & mango pulp together till the glucose mixes in with the pulp.
- Take off the heat, add the drained gelatine and mix it in.
- Pour a thin layer of this glaze over the mousse & leave it to set.
Lift off the cake ring & peel off the acetate.
Decorate with fruit, chocolate shapes or piped chocolate (as I have done with mine).
Happy baking!
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