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. 

No Bake Individual Mango Cheesecake

My baby just turned three and this year we, or rather I, decided to have a small party on this occasion. She was super excited about the event and I was all geared up to make her day special. The food was catered in but I kept the desert and cake for myself as I really wanted to do something of my own for her special day. As a kid, I remember Mom making everything on her own for all my birthdays and though it wasn't too convenient for me to make all the food for 30 odd people, I thought making the desert should not be a big task as such. My baby loves mangoes and the choice of desert was but obvious!! A delicious smooth and creamy No Bake Mango Cheesecake. This happened to be the star of the party and not only did everyone enjoy it, they even carried the extras home to relish later. What better way to de-stress yourself than seeing your guests enjoy your creation!! An effort well paid off indeed!! 

 

Ingredients (Makes 16-17)

250 gms cream cracker biscuits (preferably the low salt ones)

100 gms butter melted (I like a little salted biscuit base but you can go for unsalted butter as well)

340 gms cream cheese (room temperature)

250 ml whipping cream (chilled)

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

10 gms (or 1 tbsp) gelatin (unflavored)

1/2 cup hot water

2 tbsp icing sugar

1/3 cup fine grain sugar (or castor sugar)

Fresh mango chopped into cubes for garnishing (optional)

For the glaze

1 cup sweetened mango pulp

10 gms (1 tbsp) unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup hot water

Direction

Start by preparing the base. Keep your individual pudding bowls clean and ready.  Take the crackers in a food processor and make a fine crumb. Melt the butter, either on stove top or in the microwave, and let it come to room temperature. Now in a bowl, mix the finely crumbled biscuits and the butter till the mixture just comes together. Take a prepared pudding bowl and put two spoonfull of the mixture and gently press it down with the back of the spoon into a uniform layer. 

Repeat for the rest of the mixture and pudding bowls and then keep in the refrigerator for chilling while you prepare the next layer. 

In a bowl, take the whipped cream and 2 tbsp icing sugar and whip till soft peaks form. Using an electric beater is quite helpful here. 

Now dissolve the gelatin in the hot water and mix well till the water becomes transparent. 

Let the gelatin mixture cool down a bit while stirring frequently to prevent it from setting and then add it to the mango pulp. Mix well. 

Now using the same paddle attachment which you used for whipping the cream, if using an electric beater, whip the cream cheese and sugar till smooth and creamy. Add the mango pulp and whip further. We are not looking for any soft or stiff peaks but a light and creamy mixture. Once the mixture is smooth and silky, add it to the whipped cream and mix gently till well incorporated. Take care not to overmix. The mixture will then loose its lightness. Taste for sweetness and add some castor or icing sugar (do not add fine grain at this point) if required. Remember that the sweetness will increase a bit more when chilled and there is a third layer of mango glaze coming up on top. So add accordingly. This is how your mixture should look. 

Now take the chilled pudding bowls out from the fridge. The biscuit layer must have set by now. Take 3 large spoonfuls of the cream mixture and gently pour it on top of the biscuit layer. Wipe off any drops or cream that may have got smeared on the sides of the bowls. 

Now cover the bowls either with a lid or a clingwrap and keep it in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours or until set. This is the most important step as without a set cream layer we cannot add the mango glaze. 

When you see the cream layer has well set, start preparing the glaze. 

Dissolve the gelatin in hot water and mix thoroughly till you get a clear transparent liquid like before. Keep stirring to bring it to room temperature or just warm. Add it to the mango pulp and stir. Check for sweetness. I did not add any sugar at this point but you can add if you want. Take care to add only castor or icing sugar, if adding at all. Now take the set pudding bowls out one by one and pour 1 big spoonful of the glaze on top or until just covered. Cover again and let it set in the fridge for another 2-3 hours. 

As a final step, chop some fresh mangoes and add a few pieces on top of each pudding and keep covered and chilled in the refrigerator. 

Take the bowls out of the refrigerator just half hour before serving so that the biscuit softens a bit. 

Now sit back and enjoy this delicious desert and be prepared to be showered with words of high appreciation!!

My First Swiss Roll

15th of August was husband's birthday and he wished for a cake which was low in calorie as well as in guilt. Now, birthday cakes are meant to be indulged rather than count the calories. However, being the finicky guy that he is about cream and butter, I knew I had to pay heed to his demand or be ready to gulp down the entire cake myself. A bit of research showed me that it wasn't that diffucult a job either. You can have a beautiful birthdayish cake even without adding that cup of butter. The answer to my problem was a Swiss Roll. I was so pleased to know about the ingredients, I immediately set about on the task to get my tools ready. The basic success of the Swiss Roll depends on how well you have separated the eggs. A little drop of yolk in your egg whites will spoil your chances of getting the perfectly whipped stiff white peaks and creamy egg yolk batter. So you should either have an egg separator ready or be quite an expert of doing it without the tool. 

The next important step is the baking of the sponge. You should bake it just until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. A minute more than that and you will, although still have a beautiful soft and moist sponge, get cracks while rolling it with the filling. While I failed to understand this in my first attempt and hence got a few cracks here and there, it is definitely a lesson well learnt. I also tried to decorate the swiss roll with a baked pattern but I guess I have to read up a little more to get hold of the technique. My pattern got a bit burnt and so I had to invert the swiss roll and add the filling on the side of the pattern, hence those red starwberry spots in between the chocolate filling. So keeping the decorated Swiss Roll for another day!

Ingredients

4 large eggs separated (it is best to separate eggs when they are fresh and cold out of the refrigerator; once separated, bring them to room temperature before starting the procedure)

1/4 tsp salt

A pinch of cream of tartar (optional)

3/4 cup castor sugar

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanila extract

For the filling

4 cups icing sugar 

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp butter (preferably unsalted) cut into squares

120 ml milk at room temperature

P.S.: This is a standard chocolate sauce recipe. The excess sauce you can store in the fridge for later use. You can also use any filling as you wish like fresh fruit jam, whipped cream, etc. 

Direction

Take a 32x23 cm flat baking dish and grease it. Line the dish with parchment paper in a way that there are no bubbles or raised edges. It should be as smooth as possible. This will help you get a smooth wrinkle-free base once baked. The greasing of the bottom of the pan before lining helps keep the parchment paper in place. 

Now, take the bowl of egg whites (which you had separated while the egg was still cold from the fridge and brought to room temperature) and ensure that there are no drops of yolk or dirt in it. Add the salt and cream of tartar (if using) and beat them to stiff peaks but not dry. Takes about 10 minutes in the electric beater with the paddle attachment. 

Now beat the egg yolks till creamy. Add the sugar little at a time and beat till a pale thick and creamy batter is formed. This will take another 5-10 minutes. I usually first beat the egg whites till stiff and then use the same attachment for the yolks. It is okay to have whites mixed in the yolk but strictly no for the reverse. Hence, if you intend to use the same attachment for both the whites and the yolks, you must always beat the whites first. 

Now sift the flour and baking powder. Add the vanilla extract to the batter and beat for a second until combined. Now, add the sifted flour to the batter in two batches and mix till smooth and no lumps remain. 

Meanwhile, start pre-heating the oven at 180 degree celsius for 10 minutes. 

Now add the egg whites and with the help of a spatula (never use an electric beater) fold into the mixture till smooth. Take care not to overmix the batter which will deflate the whites. Also, always move the spoon in one direction to fold in the whites. Pour this batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Check at 15 minutes and then again in 2-3 minutes. A minute over baked and you are sure to get cracks on top while rolling as well as hard edges. 

Immediately remove from the baking dish and onto another parchment paper of the same size. Roll the swiss roll along with this parchment paper and let it cool. This will help gain its shape. When just warm, unroll it gently and spread the filling without spoiling the bend and roll up again. This time without the parchment paper. Once rolled, cover it up with the paper loosely and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Slice when cooled. You can also chill it and bring it slightly back to room temperature before serving. 

  

Kid's Birthday Special Muffins and Cookies

The 28th of January is a special day as my baby turned 2. Like all mothers, I wanted to make this day special for her. She also seemed quite excited about the day and so it became even more important for me to plan it a special way. However, I did not want to hold any lavish parties or invite the adult guests for dinner/lunch as it would have nothing to do with her. So I decided to celebrate her birthday in her playgroup where she enjoys the most and has all her friends. I decided to make small goodie bags stuffed with mini muffins and cookies which would be easy for little babies to eat and enjoy. Some balloons and party caps completed the set up and my baby and her friends had a wonderful time playing together and singing birthday songs. Her teacher was kind enough to send me some pics of the event and I was satisfied seeing her happy face. Here's what I made for her friends.

Mini Choco Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 egg

1/2 cup mini choco chips (I added a little bit more for the kids)

2 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder and keep aside. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together till smooth. Add the egg and beat further. Pour in the milk little at a time and mix well. Lastly, add the vanilla essence and give a mix. Now fold in the flour mixture and gently incorporate until the entire quantity is mixed without any lumps. Now add the choco chips and mix with a spatula until just incorporated. Do not over mix. 

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree celcius and line a mini muffin tray with liners and pour the batter till 1/3 of the cup. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

                                         

Mini Dark Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1 oz semi sweet dark baking chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

50 gms butter

Direction

Sift the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and keep aside. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar till smooth. Add the egg and the milk and beat further. Now fold in the flour and mix till the batter is smooth. Lastly, fold in the chopped chocolate and stir just to incorporate. Do not over mix. 

Pour the batter into lined muffin trays up to 1/3 of the cup and bake in a pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes at 180 degree Celsius. 

                                      

 P.S.: In the final stage, I added one M&M candy on top of each muffin, which did not turn out to be a good idea! :(

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Ice Cream Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup icing/confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 oz semi sweet chocolate chopped

Directions

Beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Now, add the flour, salt, vanilla extract and knead a smooth dough. Flatten the dough into a disk shape and cover with a plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour or until firm. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and cut out small ice cream shaped cookies with the help of a cookie cutter. You can use any other shape as you desire. Place the cookies on the tray and refrigerate again for 10-15 minutes while you pre-heat the oven at 175 degree celsius. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes until slightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, on a double boiler melt the chopped chocolate until smooth and glazy. Now dip the cooled cookies into this chocolate syrup and refrigerate again for 10-15 minutes until the chocolate sets. Store in air-tight containers in the refrigerator and take out 10 minutes before serving.

                                     

And the final platter looked like this: