Raspberry Mousse Cake

RASPBERRY MOUSSE CAKE

Three components of the cake are:

1. Sable Breton 

2. Raspberry Mousse

3. Raspberry Glaze

Recipes and Methods:

(Recipe below makes 6 domes of raspberry mousse cakes)

1. Sable Breton

Delicate and crunchy base holds the raspberry mousse dome and balances the smooth and air texture of the mousse. 

65 g egg yolk

130 g sugar

170 g butter

3 drops vanilla extract

180g all purpose flour

6g baking powder

1 pinch of salt

a) In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar on a medium speed mixer for 2 mins

b) Add in egg yolks and vanilla essence to the mixture above until combined together

c) Mix flour and baking powder together and add them into the mixture

d) Work the dough by flattening-rolling-flattening it on a floured surface

e)Wrap the dough and refrigerate overnight

f) The day after, roll out the dough using rolling pin to a 5mm thickness and cut to shape with a ring cutter. (I use 7cm ring cutter to match the diameter of the fleximold)

g) Still attached to the ring cutter, bake the dough at 180 C for 15 mins or until golden color

f) Take out the sable breton from the ring and let it cool to room temperature

2. Raspberry Mousse

Gives a light and airy texture to the whole component, and balanced between acidity and sweetness of a dessert

250g raspberry puree

50g sugar

12.5 g gelatine sheets

250ml whipped cream

a) soak gelatine in cold water. If you're using gelatine powder, use 6.5 g

b) in a pan, heat together the sugar and raspberry puree until the sugar is dissolved. 

(If you can't find the puree in supermarket, you can make your own by boiling 1/4 cup or 

 62.5 ml of water in a saucepan, simmer until the sugar dissolved, and cool. Blend this  sugar syrup together with raspberry until smooth.)

c) Once the puree and sugar are heated, turn the heat off and add in the soaked gelatine         until it completely melts

d) fold in whipped cream (preferably at soft peak/ lightly whipped) until combined and      forms a nice and even pink color

e) prepare a semi-sphere mold on a tray, pour the mousse into the mould,  freeze overnight

Fleximould, semisphere 70mmx 35mm

*The next day*

3) Raspberry glaze

A shiny red that covers the dome, sweet and fruity component.

150g raspberry puree

5g icing sugar

5g gelatine sheets or 2.5 g gelatine powder

10g flan gel

a) soak gelatine sheets

b) boil 50 g puree, sugar and flan gel

c) add in gelatine to the mixture until it melts completely

d) add in the remaining 100g of puree

e) let mixture cool down

Assembly:

1) Take out the mousse from the freezer, and take the mousse out by simply pushing down     the fleximould

2) Prepare a tray and place a cooling rack on top

3) Place the mousse dome on top of the cooling rack

4) Pour the raspberry glaze on top of the dome in a circular motion until it covers the   surface of the mousse completely

5) Lift the glazed mousse by slipping a knife or palet knife on the bottom of the mousse

6) pick it up with your hand or a palet knife and place it on top of the baked sable breton

7) garnish as you desired

If you do not own a cooling rack, 

1) keep the raspberry glaze in a small deep container

2) take a chopstick and insert the top part of chopstick to the flat part of the mousse. Make sure the mousse is steady and does not move around

3) Hold the chopstick that is connected to the mousse, and dip the mouse in the glaze while gently spinning the chopstick 

4) make sure the glaze covers the entire surface of the mousse

5) pick up the mousse using your hand and place it on top of baked sable breton

6) garnish as desired

*****GOOD LUCK IN THE KITCHEN*****

Gateau St Honore

Dear you who love baking and wondering how to make this popular Saint Honore cake,

Here's a recipe just perfect to produce these two items,

                                                          a 20 cm (diameter) St Honore

                                                        and a 9 cm (diameter) St Honore

Components are:

1) Puff Pastry
This would be the base of the St Honore.
In order to save time, you can get a commercial puff pastry sheets/dough from the grocery store; or start fresh using the English Method recipe* (I put the recipe on the end of this post)

1. Using a knife, cut the puff pastry sheets into 2 circles, one 20cm and one 9cm diameter. You can use cake board or ring cutter as a guide.
2. Place the circles on top of tray lined with silicone paper (baking paper)
3. Dock the puff pastry with fork by gently stabbing from the the surface
4. Rest in fridge for 15 mins

2) Choux Paste

Choux paste is used to make pastry items such as eclairs, profiterols, corquembouche, and St. Honore.

250 ml  Water                                                      

100  g    Butter, room temperature

pinch     Salt

pinch     Sugar
*Boil these ingredients in a pot/ deep saucepan.

190  g   Bread flour (Bakers flour)

*Mix in flour to the boiling liquid immediately. Combine until there is no lumps of flour, and until         you are able to hear a sizzling sound. Transfer into a mixing bowl and let it cool to body  temperature.                      

300  g  Eggs                                                        
 *Add eggs gradually, mix it on medium speed. Scrape the sides of your bowl using spatula each time eggs are added. Lift the whole paste using scraper, it should drop in 3-4 seconds making a V-shape. The paste should look shiny. 

1. Prepare a tray, spray it with oil and dusted with a little bit of flour.
2. Put the choux paste into a piping bag and put a 8mm piping tube, twist the edge to prevent paste from leaking out. 
3. Place the tip of your piping tube 1 cm above the tray surface, and pipe out the choux paste (imagine a shape of hershey kisses but as big as macarons). Pipe at least 15 pieces. This would go to your 20 cm St Honore.
4. On the same tray, same method, pipe out smaller version of the above. At least 1 cm smaller in diameter. These are for your 9cm St Honore.
5. Dab gently the kisses (the tail that goes up as in hershey kisses) using fork.
6. Break an egg and mix. Take a pastry brush to gently egg wash your piped choux paste.
7. Prepare another tray, lined with silicone/baking paper. Put the puff pastry on top.
8. Use the remaining of choux paste to pipe spiral on top of your puff pastry like so,

            you can use the same piping tube that you used to pipe previously. Do for both 20                                 cm and 9 cm puff pastry. Egg wash using pastry brush.

   9.   Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes together with the other tray.

  10. Take out from the oven, let it cool to room temperature.

3) Chantilly Cream

This would be the cream that goes on top and inside your St Honore.

500 ml  Heavy Cream (Thickened Cream)                                

  50   g  Icing sugar (Powdered sugar)
*Whip it together until the cream can hold its shape. Rest in fridge.

1. Take the 35 pieces of "Hershey Kisses" choux, and make a hole from top using the tip of your knife. 
2. Take a piping bag, and use the smallest piping tube to pipe out the chantilly cream into the choux through the hole you just made.

4) Caramel

This is the shiny part that goes on top of your choux pastry, and also the "bird nest" that you've seen on the 20 cm St Honore picture above.

500 g  Sugar                                                    

200 g  Water  
*In a sauce pan, boil sugar and water to amber color. Turn heat off. The caramel is ready to use.

Assembly:

1. Prepare a tray lined with silicone mat and bring the saucepan of caramel close to the silicone mat, so you can dip and stick the "Hershey Kisses" choux easily.
2. Take one of the choux (that you just piped with chantilly cream), dip the flat surface into the caramel. Just the surface. Be mindful not to burn your finger.
3. Place this flat surface on top of silicone mat. Move on to next choux repeat step 2.
4. When the caramel sets (at least for 2 minutes), you would be able to peel the choux off easily from the silicone mat.
5. Take the baked 20cm puff pastry and put it near your work station. 
6. Pipe chantilly cream to cover gaps between the spiral in your puff pastry.
7. Peel the big choux by simply lifting them up from the silicone mat. Dip the other side (the part that has hole for piping chantilly cream) into the caramel. Then, stick it on the edge of the puff pastry.
8. Now you should have choux pastries surrounding the chantilly cream. It does not necessarily 15 pieces of choux to do this, stick just enough choux onto the edge.
9. Pipe some more chantilly cream and bring to a height that you desire. Mine is piped to 1 c below the level of the choux. You can be as creative as you want, using the star nozzle, leaf nozzle, etc.
10. Place "bird nest" on top.
11. Repeat step 5 to 9 to the 9 cm St Honore, using 9cm baked puff pastry and small baked choux pastries.

To make the bird nest (sugar spun),

• take 2 forks and a big bowl
• dip the forks in the caramel
• lift them up and bring them to one edge of the bowl
• stretch the caramel back and forth across the bowl, going as quickly as possible
• release from the bowl and bring the edges together
• place on top of the chantilly cream
• garnish with strawberries, lemons, edible flowers, or anything else as you desire.

                                       ***GOOD LUCK IN THE KITCHEN!***

                                                                                                                              

         

*English Method Puff Pastry

220 g     Bread flour (Bakers flour)

    2 g     Salt

  22 g     Unsalted Butter

132 g     Water, cold

    1 g      Lemon juice (optional)

165 g      Unsalted butter sheet, preconditioned or room temperature

1. Sift flour and salt in a bowl. Then, use your fingers to rub the 22 g butter in the flour mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add water and lemon juice in the centre and mix together.
3. Attach a dough hook on your mixer, and start kneading the mix into a smooth dough. Roll into a ball.
4. Wrap the ball using plastic wrap and rest it for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. Take the ball out from the fridge and flatten the dough to a rectangle shape (20 cm x 30 cm) with 1 cm thickness.
6. Cut butter sheet into 165g, which is just enough to cover 2/3 rd of the rectangle dough.
7. Fold over the remaining 1/3 of the dough towards the middle, then fold the other 1/3 part to the middle, to enclose the butter. See the picture below.
8. Flatten this dough with a rolling pin to a rectangle approximately 60cm x 20cm, keeping the sides straight. 
9. Fold the dough into three, the same way you fold the dough on no.7, and don't forget to seal the edges.
10. Flatten the dough again using rolling pin, by rolling it out the opposite direction to that previously done and fold it again into three. Now your dough has been given 2 turns.
11. Wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
12. Repeat steps 8-11 twice more to give you a total of 6 turns.