Vanilla Blackberry Pistachio Mousse cake receipe and assembling

Assembling the cake in the mould or pan

The arrow shows the layers from the bottom of the pan or mould to the top.

Notes :

· I will try to present the method in the sequence as which should be made first.

· The cake receipe is for a 6 * 3 inches cake pan.

· The Pistachio and Blackberry mousse receipe one single layer in a 6 * 3 inch pan

· Instead of whipping the cream to soft peaks I used the readily available Krafts whipped Cream

Pistachio Paste : 

Adapted from kitchen wench 

Ingredients:

1 cup      unshelled Pistachio

1 cup      castor sugar

3/4 Tsp   Corn Syrup ( Glucose Syrup )

3-4 drops Green Food Colour

Method :

· Soak the pistachio in boiling water for 2- 3 mins and peel of the skin.

· Line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil and spread the pistachio over it. Bake the pistachio in a preheated oven at 100 C for 15 mins. Do not over toast else the pistachio will loose its aroma. You will find that the pistachio are still a little wet. Thats ok for blending.

· Put the pistachio, castor sugar, corn syrup, water and food colour in a food processor and blend well till you have a smooth paste.

 Notes : 

· The paste may not be as smooth and silky as store brought but its way way cheaper and you could always pass the final mixture that you have mixed the paste with through a strainer. I used this paste to make the pistachio mousse and passed the final mixture after adding gelatine through the strainer.

· This receipe makes more of the pistachio paste than what is needed. You can store the remaining paste in a box and refrigerate it.

Chocolate Cake Base :

I have used Bretty Crocker Moist Chocolate Cake Mix.

But you can use the chocolate jaconde receipe or any of your favourite chocolate cake receipe.

Notes :

· If you are using a cake mix use only a single layer of cake about a cm or so in thickness. This leaves you with a lot of unused cake. you can wrap it in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for about a week.

· You could use the leftover chocolate cake to make a Trifle as in this post or to make a chocolate cake with raspberry swiss meringue buttercream ( post shortly on way )

Pistachio Mousse :

 

Makes a single layer of mousse in a 6 * 3 inch cake pan.

Ingredients :

70 ml                    ( 70 gm )     Milk

1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp   ( 20 gm )      Pistachio Paste

2 -3 drops                               Vanilla essence

2                            (40 gm )    Egg Yolks

1 Tbsp                   ( 15 gm )   Sugar

1/2 tsp                   (2 gm )       Gelatin  in humid condition increase gelatin a little more

1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp  ( 130 ml)  Heavy  or Whipped Cream    I used the krafts whipped cream

Method :

· Line the cake pan with a plastic wrap for removal and keep aside

· If you are using heavy cream, whip till you get soft peak, and put it back in the refrigerator till later use.

· Whisk egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and keep aside

· Boil milk, Pistachio paste and vanilla in sucepan allowing not to burn the milk.

· Tempering the yolk mix :    Add a Tbsp of the boiled mixture to the yolk mix and stir. keep repeating this 2 - 3 times  until the yolk mix has a warmer temperature. Then add the yolk mix slowly and stirring gently to the boiled mix.

· Return the entire mix to low heat stirring, till the temperature reaches 85 C

· Remove from heat, add gelatin and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.

· Strain the mixture so that you remove all the lumps in the mixture.

· Let the mixture cool.

· Once cooled fold in the whipped cream.

· Pour the mousse mix in the prepared pan and refrigerate until the mousse is well set.

Italian Merigue :

Ingredients :

1 Cup + 1/4 cup + 1Tbsp   ( 260 gm )Sugar

50 ml        ( 50 gm ) (or just till it covers sugar in bowl) Water

6               ( 180 gm ) Egg whites

Method :

· Boil the sugar and water together till the temperature of the mixture reaches 118 C - 120 C on a candy thermometer. If you are not using a thermometer the syrup should be somewhere in between the soft ball to firm ball stage.

· Using a electric beater whip Egg whites .

· Carefully pour the syrup mx into the eagg whites continuing beating with the electric beater.

· Whip till you get stiff peaks.

Note :

· This receipe makes more italian meringue than what is needed in the Blackberry mousse. You can use all the remaining to make one receipe of the Vanilla cream mousse that can be used to fill a 6 * 3 inch cake pan.

· Cover the meringue with a lid and keep it in a cool place away from heat. Meringue can last for at least 12 hours in cool temperatures.

Blackberry Mousse :

 

Makes a single layer of mousse in a 6 * 3 inch cake pan.

Ingredients :

1/4 C + half of 1/4 C   ( 90 ml )   Heavy Cream  I used Krafts whipped cream

90 ml                            ( 90 gm)  Blackberry Puree

1 Tsp                             ( 4 gm )   Gealtin

18 ml                             ( 18 gm )  Framboise  Used 1 Tbsp Raspberry jam + 1 Tbsp water, boiled

                                                                          together and then strain. Use only 18 ml of the syrup.

2 Tbsp                            ( 30 gm )  Italian Meringue

Method :

· If using heavy cream whip the cream till you get soft peak and keep in refrigerator till being used.

· Line the cake pan with a plastic wrap for removal and keep aside

·  If you are using fresh or frozen Blackberries, Puree the fruit in a blender and strain the puree so you get rid of all the seeds.

· Simmer puree on low heat.

· Remove from heat, add gelatin and stir till well dissolved.

· Remove any lumps in the mix

· Let cool.

· Add the Framboise.

· Fold in the italian meringue.

· lastly fold the whipped cream

· Pour the mousse mix in prepared pan and refrigerate till the mousse is set 2-3 hours
 

Vanilla Cream Mousse :

Notes :

·  This receipe makes for a 6 * 3 inch cake.

· Make the vanilla cream mousse at the time of assembling the cake
 

Ingredients :

18 Tbsp           ( 270 ml )      Milk

2 Tsp              ( 10 ml )       Vanilla Extract

6 Tbsp            ( 90 gm )    Sugar

6                     ( 108gm )    Egg Yolks

3 Tsp              ( 15 gm )      Corntarch

3 Tsp              ( 15 gm )      Custard Powder

6 Tsp              ( 30 gm )    Gelatin Powder

1 Cup + half of 1/4 Cup ( 270 ml ) Heavy Cream I used Krafts Whipped cream

Remaining all of Italian Meringue

Method:

· If using Heavy cream whip till you get soft peak and put it in the refrigerator till being used.

·  I assume here that the Meringue is prepared before else make it now.

· Whisk egg yolk, cornflour, custard powder and keep aside.

· Warm milk in bowl taking care that it just warms up and does not boil.

· Temper the yolk mix with the milk and simmer the mix till it thickens a little, taking care not to overdo this process. ( if the mix becomes to thick mix a tsp of milk at a time )

· Remove from heat and add gelatin stirring it well till dissolved and till you have smooth consistency.

· If you find lumps in the mix, strain the mix.

· Let it cool completely

· Fold in the italian meringue

· Lastly fold in the whipped cream.

Cocoa Glaze :

you can prepare this ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for a week.

When using just warm it in a microwave or over a bain marie.

Wait till it cools to room temperature before drizzling on the cake

Ingredients :

150 ml Water

1 Cup + 1/4 Cup  ( 250 gm )   sugar

1/2 Cup ( 100 gm )                   Cocoa powder

1/2 Cup  ( 150 ml )                   heavy cream

3 Tsp       ( 15 gm )                   Gelatin.

Method :
 

· Put water, sugar and cocao powder in a bowl and bring it to just boil.

· Add cream and bring it to boil.

· Mix gelatin and stir till well dissolved.

· Strian to remove any lumps.

· Set aside to cool.

· Pour on the cake to cover it.
 

Assembling the Cake :

 

· We need to arrange this cake in a upside down manner so the asembling process goes in the reverse order

· Use a 6 * 3 inch cake pan for this.
 

· Cut a cm thick layer of the chocolate cake.

· Cut a smaller circle from the pistachio and blackberry mouse so you have a smaller circle than the cake pan you are using.
 

· Pour the vanilla cream mousse in the pan so it fills about a cm or two in thickness.

· you can put the pan in freezer for 5 mins.
 

· Now place the blackberry mousse in the pan taking care it is placed in the center. ( I forgot to take pictures for this step, but its the same as the pistachio mousse that is in the picture below)
 

· Pour another layer of vanilla cream mouse and put the pan in the freezer for 5 mins.
 

· Place the pistachio mousse in the pan taking care it is placed in the center.



 

· Pour another layer of the vanilla cream mousse till you have enough space left to fit in the cake layer.


 

· Spread raspberry jam on one side of the cake layer.



 

· Place the cake with the raspberry side touching the mousse in the pan.


 

· Keep the pan in the refrigerator till the cake is set.
 

· Now place the pan upside down over a cake board or a a flat plate and use a hair dryer or warm towel over the pan and slowly unmould the cake.
 

· Cover the cake with the cocoa glaze :

·  Place the cake on a wire rack and put a tray under it to collect the drizzle.

·   Now pour the drizzle over the cake to entirely cover it.

·   you can reuse the drizzle collected in the tray.

Vanilla Blackberry Pisatachio Mousse Cake

   

     This cake is inspired from the beautiful art work of Pastry Chef Hidemi Sugino's cakes. I did not know who this person was until I stumbled upon Gourmetbaking a blog by Bertha. Thanks Bertha for presenting your renditions in such an eye appealing way. your pictures are so beautiful. Hope to see many more such posts from you in future.

   Yesterday was Mom & Dad's 45th Wedding Anniversary!.

    Cheers to my parents for being married together and spending such beautiful years together and showering we kids with so much of love, care and all the patience of bearing our silly acts even today.  We are kids you see, so all is accepted :)

LOVE you Dad, LOVE you Mom. This cake is for you guys. Happy 45th Anniversary!!!!

      
     This is my first try at making an Entremet, and I am so satisfied how good it turned out. I am just unable to stop myself from admiring its beauty and the taste of the cake overall was the greatest achievement. Since I wanted to try my own choices in assembling this cake, I really had to work day night thinking how good I can present the colours within the cake that will be as appealing to the eyes as are the cakes that Mr. Sugino makes, and so was the taste, because that's what is needed in food that delights your eyes!!!!

 
       I decided to go in with Blackberry, pistachio and vanilla mousse with a chocolate cake as the base, but still was not sure about which mousse goes where in the final assembly of the cake.

 
       I was sure about the nutty creamy taste of the pistachio mouse and the creamy vanilla mousse would always result in a good partnership, but the blackberry fruit has a very different taste among the berries. Though tangy it has an addition of that bitterness.

   

      I had never tried at making a Blackberry mousse. but was fascinated to see how cheating this fruit is when it comes to its colour. Though dark purple from outside that makes it appear black, when you puree this fruit it substitutes the versions of somewhat the black cherry colour and a touch of purple. So the final colour of the mousse looks like that of a cherry fruit inside. Now, I was sceptical about all this colour drama that this fruit offers, and just wanted to try it out not sure how the taste would be finally.

     
      The pistachio mousse tasted perfect, so creamy, nutty, not too sweet. I just loved it. But the Blackberry Mousse was the complete opposite. It tasted a little bitter and very less of sweetness in it.

     

        Oh I felt so bad at making such a bad choice with this fruit to be a part of my ever first Entremet. I wished I would have chosen raspberry or strawberry for this. But they could not substitute for the blackberry flavour you see. So with a very very heavy heart I thought of just finishing the cake . Thinking at least the pistachio and vanilla will do justice for the cake, not knowing what the vanilla choice had in store for me. When we try out something new disasters do happen so better try the next time . That's what I had to convince me. I vowed never to try anything new from my end the next time and just follow the methods told by the professionals.

Not knowing how wrong I was ......

    

     I wanted the Pistachio taste as a surprise in the cake so went on to have the vanilla mousse layer all around the cake ( Next time I will try "Sicile" that has the pistachio mousse all around, since my family has already got a hint about this surprise taste now)

   

      Not estimating properly for the amount of receipe I would be needing for the vanilla cream mousse, I had to do it again, that making me entirely out of energy at the time of assembling the cake.
But the effort was well worth to how good the mousse set.

     

     The cake looked perfect, though the edges are not so good looking. I tried the hair dryer trick to unmould the cake from my 6 inch round cake pan but the cake did not want to move a single bit, or may be I was impatient at it. So I ran a warm knife around the edge and that made the sides of the cake look messy. But I was not more worried about it since I was going to glaze the cake with Cocoa glaze. But I guess that a chocolte glaze would prove an edge over my choice.

  

      I did not want to put any decorations on the Glaze since it has its own beauty hidden inside. when I cut the cake it was a real surprise treat for the eyes. I really wished the taste would be as delicious as its beauty. Remember the blackberry mousse had disappointed me.

     But there was a big surprise to me. The Blackberry's tanginess and bitterness was so well adjusted with vanilla and pistachio. Also the sweetness of this mousse was perfectly balanced with the other flavours. Blackberry was truly a surprise in this cake.

       

          The cake was perfect in all ways and made feel so proud of my confectionary skills. It was not as heavy as I thought, and made a perfect light dessert for the weekend lunch. Though there is gelatine being used, the mousse is soft and creamy. 

      

      Here you go.....

       Saved a piece for you.

       Let me know how it tasted. 

     For the receipe and assembling steps click here

Spring Colour Mania......

    Spring, Spring, Spring.......

        Spring is in the air.....

      Finally the long wait is over, and now time for some Spring Colours all over.

Daffodils have bloomed, Hyacinths have bloomed, the Cherry Blossoms have opened up and showcasing their glorious beauty.

     But in my sugar garden, I have been working upon some flowers and Calla Lily, Cherry Blossoms, Plumerias, Ranunculus flowers are at their peak. I have earlier worked with Gum Paste to sculpt these flowers, but recently I tried MMF, and from then on have been keen to check how good I can use to sculpt flowers. I found the MMF receipe more easy than the Gum Paste.



Calla Lily

 

PLUMERIAS




Cherry Blossoms



        I tried to make the Ranunculus for the first time, with very little guidelines. So, I observed the flower pictures and with what Jacqueline Butler from Petalsweet has blogged, started to sculpt this very simple but tricky flower. I was pretty impressed with the final look of the flower.



Ranunculus



      The pink one was my first attempt. Though not to what I wanted, it does look like a full bloom Ranunculus. ( we need to use at least 3 - 4 different cutter sizes, but I have only 1 size, so I should pat my back for how good it looks )

       The  White Green Ranunculus is my second attempt , and I am fully satisfied how beautiful it looks.

I m glad to see this decked up on a pretty cake very soon.

          

     With this Ranunculus I have been running crazy for anything grass green in colour.

Finally it is SPRING you see. So Green should be in favour.

      My Green fever has led me in search of a new era of  patisserie. I went on hopping in search of something green coloured mousse based dessert, and found the beautiful, eye catching desserts from Hidemi Sugino that Bertha from Gourmetbaking has created. I have prepared a receipe of homemade Pistachio Paste ( green is dominating now ) and am all set to try my hand at all the delicious, yummy pistachio pastries. I hope I will be successful in making them, the way Bertha has presented.

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday cake

Strawberry Shortcake

   

       Last month my  daughter turned 7, time flies :)  and she demanded a Strawberry Shortcake themed Birthday this year. After lots of research and analysis I finally started planning - cake , cupcakes in ice cream cones, fruit platter with all the strawberry shortcake colours, crafts, games.

And of course, a berrilicious lunch for the kidz.

 

     For the Birthday cake, I baked three 9 inch cakes, so I could make some height for my cake and  decorate the entire cake with Marshmallow Fondant (MMF)- something I never tried before. Fingers crossed ;)

     This time I used even baking strips that I made out myself, for baking the cakes, and it was great since I got almost flat topped cakes. Will surely post the tutorial. so I was able to get a 9 inch cake that was 2 inches in height. I needed a good height for the cake so that I get enough space to show the vines at the sides of cake.

     


             So decided to make some big white flowers and strawberries ahead of time and left them to air dry. All with MMF. I had tried earlier using Gum Paste, but was a little skeptical about using MMF for making my cake toppers. Used cornstarch on the work table, before making the strawberries and flowers, and allowed them to air dry for sometime and then kept them in a box.

The leaves and tiny flowers did not need any form, and also since I ran out of time just got them ready while I was decorating the cake. But I again used cornstarch as a base on the work table to make them. Cornstarch helps to dry the items a little when you are working.

I have  posted a tutorial about the fondant flower tutorial and fondant strawberry tutorial  that will guide you for this project.

       



        Frosted the cake with orange, plum and strawberry flavoured frosting from Duncan Hines Frostings Creations, so that I get all the colours I wanted in the cake. Then was the tricky part - rolling a big fondant layer and attaching to cake. Well, I first did some math - get the height of the cake, measure it on the fondant and cut it in big strips and then attached it to the sides of the cake. I had to put three such big strips, to cover the strips used the small pink strips of fondant and then the stems and leaves. I don't have a stencil for alphabets (should think of getting one now), so just cut them with a knife and slowly rubbed the edges with fingers to smooth out and attached all the accents to the cake by brushing some water to them. MMF is Kool! . No glue. Just water to attach.  Job done!

     

        The cake finally looked the way I had sketched it, but I guess it would look good if there was another tier of cake for base. Now making a tier cake will be next challenge since I have never tried one. The cake tasted delecious with three different frosting flavors!