Chocolate Mango Mousse Cake

In my family we have back-to-back birthdays starting with mine and ending with my father-in-law with the exception of my kiddo who is January born. Three back-to-back birthdays mean lots of cake baking but relatively fewer mouths to feed. So when it came to baking the last birthday cake of the year, I knew for certain that it has to be not just a cake. A mousse cake was on my mind since long and I got the perfect opportunity to get that wish fulfilled. A soft and spongy Chocolate Cake layered with sinful Mango Mousse and neatly finished off with a beautiful Mango Glaze! A perfect dessert cake, you can also make it in individual portions by crumbling/cutting  the sponge and layering with alternate layers of the mousse. Do refer my notes at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients 

For the sponge 

2 egg whites

2 tbsp plus 2 tbsp fine sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 egg yolks 

50 ml milk (roughly 1/4 cup)

24 ml (roughly 1/8 cup) unflavored oil (I used extra light olive oil)

1/4 cup flour (preferably cake flour for a light sponge)

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder sifted 

 

For the mousse 

1 cup whipping cream 

1 1/2 cup sweetened mango pulp (I used canned alphonso pulp)

2 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp gelatin/agar agar powder 

4 tbsp water

For the glaze

1 cup sweetened mango pulp

1 tbsp gelatin/agar agar powder 

4 tbsp water 

Direction 

Start with making the sponge. Beat the egg whites with 2 tbsp sugar and cream of tartar until stiff peaks are formed. 

Now beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl along with the remaining sugar until pale yellow in color and creamy. Add the milk and the oil and beat further. Now add the sifted flour and cocoa mixture in two batches and mix well till no lumps remain. Now add half the egg whites into the yolk mixture and fold in till combined. Pour this mixture into the remaining egg whites and fold in to incorporate. Do not overmix. 

Preheat the oven at 180 degree celcius (should do halfway through the preparation) and grease and line a 6" round pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and the pan (after 5 minutes) and cool completely on a wire rack. 

While the cake cools, we can start with the mousse. Take a chilled bowl with chilled beaters and put the whipping cream along with the sugar and beat till stiff peaks form. The peaks should be able to hold their shape even when you tilt the bowl. 

Keep this bowl in the fridge (not freezer) while you prepare the mango puree. Sprinkle gelatin or agar agar in cold water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Now heat the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds till completely dissolved and you get a clear liquid. Mix well and let it come to room temperature before using. Make sure you continue stirring it so that it doesn't set. Now add the cooled gelatin liquid to the mango puree and mix well till no lumps remain. 

Take the whipped cream out of the fridge and fold in the mango puree until combined. Now line a 7" spring form pan (I used an 8" pan and so got a slightly bigger outer mousse layer; would highly recommend using a 7" instead) or cake ring with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides for easy release later. Slice the completely cooled cake (very important) into two and put one half into the prepared pan. 

Now spread half the mousse on top of this evenly and let it set slightly in the fridge for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take the pan out and gently keep the other layer of cake on top and spread the remaining mousse as evenly as possible. Smooth out the top and keep it to set in the fridge for at least an hour or till it feels set to the touch. 

Once the mousse has set, start preparing the glaze. Again, prepare the gelatin in the same way like you did for the mousse. Pour the cooled gelatin into the mango puree and mix well. Pour this mixture gently on top of the set mousse and let it set for 1-2 hours or overnight. Decorate the top as you like and serve chilled!

Notes:

1. You can make it as individual portions by cutting the cake with a cookie cutter or crumbling the cake and layering it using the same procedure like you did for the cake. 

2. The procedure for making the mousse with agar agar powder will be the same. 

3. If you are a vegetarian, you can make an eggless cake using your recipe or any of my chocolate eggless cake recipes here and follow the rest of the procedure accordingly.