Greetings everyone! I am so proud today to write about this phenomenal Strawberries mousse cake, which I learnt to make thanks to the extraordinary blog by the young amazing baker LUCAKE.IT . Luca reinvents all the classic pastries in a modern key, and honestly I truly admire his job!

Anyway strawberries season is getting closer, and actually here in MidWest you can already find fresh strawberries at a very good price, and considering that this cake is made 50% out of fresh strawberries I though I would finally give a try to a “mousse”, which is a kind of sweet that as always intimidated me a little because it requires the use of gelatin.

This cake is light and creamy, structured in alternated layers of  strawberries mousse, sponge cake and fresh strawberries. It is also absolutely scenic and ideal for birthdays or fancy dinners. Making it is not complicated, it just needs time, patience and precision (forget to try it if you don’t intend to use a kitchen scale) . And as always, if I made it, you can definitely make it as well!

INGREDIENTS for a 10″ SPRING FORM PAN  (20 servings)

FOR THE SPONGE CAKE

8 oz. (225 gr.) egg whites

3 oz. (90 gr.) egg yolks

5.3 oz. (150 gr.) sugar

1.6 oz. (45 gr.) all purpose flour

1 oz. (30 gr.) potatoes or corn starch

2.6 oz. (75 gr.) vegetable oil (my favorite is coconut oil)

1 pinch sea salt

1 tsp. lemon extract

FOR THE MOUSSE

12 oz. (340 gr.) strawberries cut in small cubes

3.5 oz. (100 gr.) granulated sugar

1.4 oz. (40 gr.) water

0.4 oz. (12 gr.) gelatin leaves

13 oz. (375 gr.) heavy whipping cream

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES GELATIN

8.8 oz. (250 gr.) strawberries cut in small cubes

1.4 oz. (40 gr.) granulated sugar

0.3 oz. (10 gr.) water

0.2 oz. (6 gr.) gelatin leaves

FOR THE FILLING AND DECORATION

12-13 small strawberries, washed and cut in half (for the decoration on the pan’s “edge”)

7 oz. (200 gr.) strawberries (cut in small cubes for the filling)

2 strawberries for the top of the cake.

DIRECTIONS

Make sure to weight the eggs white and yolks. The quantities must be accurate.    In a stand mixer (or with an electric mixer) mix until white and stiff the egg whites, sugar, pinch of salt and lemon extract. Then add the yolks and keep mixing for a few second until well incorporated. Sift in the flour and starch.

Hand mix gently the flour and starch from the bottom to the top to avoid the batter to become watery. Add the oil and keep hand-mixing gently.

Pour the batter in a 20”x14″ (45×37 cm) baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Try spreading the batter uniformly and bake (preheat the oven) in the middle rack at 375 F. (190 C.) for about 12-13 minutes. When you’ll take the cake out of the oven its surface must be still soft.

Get a clean kitchen cloth, drench it in water, squeeze it to get rid off the excess of water, take the sponge cake out of the oven and flip it onto the wet cloth. Peel off the parchment paper and cover the entire cake’s surface with plastic wrap. When completely cooled, cut two circle out of the sponge cake: a 10” one and a 8″ one.

NOW LET’s START TO BUILD THE CAKE!  Line the 10″ spring-form pan with parchment and arrange first the 10″ sponge disk, and then – around the pan’s edge – the “half strawberries”.

NOW START PREPARING THE MOUSSE: wet the gelatin leaves in some cold water for at least five minutes. In  medium size pot, add water, sugar and the 12 oz. (340 gr.) strawberries cut in cubes. Bring the mix to boil and cook at medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Don’t overcook because you need the mix to be very liquid. Blend the mix with an immersion blender.

Sieve the pulp with a thin strainer to get rid off the strawberries seeds. In a bowl weight 0.8 oz. (375 gr.) of strained pulp and in case you don’t have enough add water to reach that weight. If the pulp is still warm, squeeze the gelatin leaves and melt directly into the pulp, otherwise, warm up a few seconds the pulp in the microwave so it will be warm enough to melt the gelatin.

In a separate bowl whisk the heavy whipping cream until fluffy. Pour the warm pulp (mixed with gelatin) and stir gently from the bottom to the top with a spatula. Pour half of the mousse in the spring form pan, then add randomly half of the strawberries cubes (about 3.5 oz. or 100 gr.).

Place now in order the smaller sponge disk, the rest of the mousse, and the remaining strawberries cubes, making sure they disappear under it. Let the cake rest in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, so that the mouse will set.

GET READY TO PREPARE THE STRAWBERRIES GELATINE: Wet the gelatin leaves in cold water for at least 5 minutes. In a small pan add water, sugar, the strawberries cubes , bring it to boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Blend the mix with an immersion blender and sieve the pulp with a strainer.

In a bowl weight 8 oz. (230 gr.) of strained pulp and in case you don’t have enough add water to reach that weight. Slightly warm up the pulp and melt in the gelatin previously well squeezed.

Let the strawberries gelatin cool down a little and then pour it on top of the gelatin mousse, making sure it covers evenly all the spots. Let the cake rest in the fridge for at least two more hours.  When the cake is well set, open the spring form pan, place the cake in a nice platter and decorated it with a few strawberries.

Your super fancy strawberries mousse cake is ready to be enjoy! You’ll leave your guests speechless!

LEARNT IT, MADE IT, LOVED IT!

TIPS:  -Don’t throw away the sponge cake leftovers: cut it in small pieces, dust with powdered sugar and let bake at 350 F. (180 C.) until golden. They will turn  in yummy crunchy cookies.

– Remember to use a spring-form pan otherwise it will be impossible to take the cake out of it.

– For the mousse and gelatin you can use fresh or frozen fruit. Strawberries can be substitute with mixed berries instead.

-If you are not confident in using gelatin leaves, you can use instead 1 and a 1/2 packs of gelatin powder.

– Since during strawberries season they are more flavored and usually less expensive, I would buy a big batch, wash them and cut them in cubes and keep it frozen until you decide to make this cake.

– The flavor of this strawberries mousse cake is absolutely delicate. The texture is velvety and refreshing. Anyone that likes fresh treats will fall in love with it!

I really hope you will like this recipe!

Please, Keep me posted if you’ll try it and don’t be shy to share your thoughts with me!

We need social interactions more than ever!

Love,

Silvia

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