My First Blog Award and Not-Quite-Mango Mousse Cake

I would like to thank Jean and Esther for passing this award to me. This is the first time I'm receiving an award related to blogging and I find it rather interesting. Usually, awards are given out to recipients to acknowledge their contribution in their respective fields. In this case, I think of this award as an encouragement, friendship and goodwill between two bloggers.  

Now that mangoes are in season, it means time to buy and use them for baking. On my mind, I have been thinking of making either a mango-upside down cake or a mango mousse cake. After reading Allie's post, I decided to use Florence's mango mousse cake recipe for the 2nd time.

In the previous attempt, the mouse turned out horribly bland when I used Malaysian mangoes. This time round, I used Thai honey mangoes (my mangoes were over-riped) and it did turn out better, but still not up to my expectations. The recipe works perfectly well and I am sure the problem (taste-wise) lies with the variety of mangoes that I have used.  

In local supermarts here, the varieties of mangoes available are quite limited. We have:

• Malaysian mangoes (Chanakran mangoes, if I did not recall wrongly),
• Thai honey mangoes
• Thai rainbow mangoes
• Thai ivory mangoes
• Pakistan mangoes (pricey)
• Taiwan mango king (pricey) 

Out of these varieties, I find that malaysian mangoes are both bland in taste and lacking in sweetness while Thai honey mangoes are sweet but lacking in fragrance. I will probably not be using these two varieties of mangoes in any of my bakes again, using them for cake decorations at most. Maybe fellow bakers and readers out there might to want to share your experience with mangoes.

My other regret for this mango mousse cake is the appearance. I had been careful while filling up the perimeter of the cake (in the cake ring) with mango mousse, pushing the mousse down as best as I could but the cake still turns out with big gaps at the sides.

Mango Mousse Cake ( Sponge recipe adapted from 超人气香港蛋糕56款, Mango mousse recipe slightly modified from Do What I Like and Mango gelee layer recipe adapted from All that Matters)

Taste and Texture: Firm mango mousse layers with moist and light sponge, topped with soft mango jelly.
Serving Size: 10 slices
Equipment:
1) 8 inch round pan
2) 8 inch round cake ring
3) 9 inch round cake board
4) Cake leveller or palette/serrated knife longer than 8 inches
5) Balloon whisk
6) Rubber spatula
7) Handheld beater/Stand beater
8) Baking paper
9) Wire rack
10) Toothpick/wooden skewer
11) Flour sieve
12) Mixing bowls

Sponge cake ( Sponge recipe adapted from 超人气香港蛋糕56款)
70g egg yolks, room temperature
40g caster sugar
4tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs water
95g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
140g egg whites, room temperature
40g caster sugar

Making the sponge cake:
Prepare Oven - Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Prepare flour mixture - Sift cake flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and distribute the ingredients evenly.

Making the egg yolk batter - Place egg yolks and 40g caster sugar in a large mixing bowl. Briefly whisk the egg yolk mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Add in oil and water and stir well.

Folding flour into egg yolk batter - Add the flour mixture to the yolks + oil + water mixture and mix well. Use a spatula to scoop sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure flour mixture is evenly incorporated.

Beating egg whites - Next, whisk egg whites on low speed. Increase speed slowly to medium and beat until egg whites are foamy. Gradually increase speed to high and add the remaining 40g of sugar gradually. Beat until egg whites are almost stiff but still moist. This is when the beaters are lifted, the egg whites will form peaks that are upright and not drooping slightly. Egg whites will resemble whipped cream.The entire bowl of whites will not drop out when the bowl is overturned.

Folding in egg whites - Using a balloon whisk, fold one third of beaten egg whites into egg yolk batter gently to lighten and combine. Fold in the rest of the beaten whites to combine. Final batter should be foamy and uniform in colour with no streaks of egg white present. Folding egg whites gently using balloon whisk will prevent egg whites from deflating too much.

Baking the sponge cake - Pour batter into a greased and lined 8 inch round pan and bake at 160 degrees C for 25 -30minutes. Test doneness using a skewer or toothpick. Cake will shrink from edges on cooling. Unmould sponge cake and leave to cool on a wire rack upright.

Mango Mousse layers: (recipe slightly modified from Do What I Like)

350g fresh mango puree, at room temperature
350ml whipping cream,
3 tbs icing sugar (vary to your liking and the sweetness of the mangoes)
17g gelatine powder soaked in 4 tbs water
about 180g mango, cubed (not too big)

Making mango mousse:
Whipping the cream - Whip cream until it is at mousse state (roughly 70% stiff). Add in icing sugar and whip on low speed to dissolve the sugar.

Making gelatine solution - Soak gelatine in water and allow it to bloom for 5 minutes. Heat the gelatine mixture over a double boiler untill gelatine dissolves completely. Leave to cool.

Making mango mousse - Combine gelatine mixture and mango puree. Fold in whipped cream to obtain a smooth pale-orange mango mousse.

Cake Assembly:
Slicing sponge cake - Slice sponge cake into 2 even layers using cake leveller or long serrated/palette knife. Slice off the part that has domed.

Preparing the sponge and mousse layers - Place one sponge layer into a 8 inch cake ring supported by a cake board below. There should some allowance surrounding the sponge layer. Spread 100g of cubed mango over the first sponge layer. Pour half of the mango mousse over the first sponge layer. I measured the mousse by weight and divided it evenly into 2 portions. Level the mousse as evenly as possible.

Place the second sponge layer over the mousse layer. Spread remaining 100g cubed mango over the second sponge layer. Pour the remaining mousse mixture over the second sponge layer and level the top as evenly as possible. Place cake ring in the refrigerator and allow a chilling time of 4 hours or until mousse is firm.

Mango Gelee layer (recipe adapted from All that Matters)
100g mango puree
2 tsp gelatin
3 tbs water
100g mango, cubed

Making mango gelee layer:
Making gelatine solution - Soak 2 tsp gelatine in 3tbs water and allow it to bloom for 5 minutes. Heat the gelatine mixture over a double boiler untill gelatine dissolves completely. Leave to cool.

Making the mango gelee - Combine cooled gelatine solution and mango puree. Pour it over the chilled and assembled mango mousse cake. Scatter 100g cubed mango over the mango gelee layer. Allow cake to chill until mango gelee layer is firm.

Unmoulding finished cake:
To unmould, wrap a warm kitchen towel around the ring or use a hairdryer to briefly heat up the exterior of the cake ring. Take care not to apply too much heat using the hairdryer. Remove cake ring slowly and steadily. Bring cake back to the refrigerator to firm up before decorating and cutting.

Notes:
1) There is a risk of the mousse oxidizing when exposed to air for some time.
2) Use good quality mangoes for this cake.
3) Do not omit diced mangoes for mousse layers.
4) I'll probably cut down a little on the gelatine for the mango mousse.
5) The mango mousse tends to 'stain' the sponge layers.

Instagram link: http://instagram.com/bakertanbakes