Of Macarons, Mangoes and Dear Mommy.

I have been wrecking my brains over my mom’s birthday cake for the past couple of weeks. I wanted something different for her. Something that doesn’t involve chocolate.

My mom does enjoy an ocassional bite or two of chocolate. But she is not BIG on them the way my brother, dad, nephew and bro-in-law are. And the truth is, i am getting quite sick of making the same chocolate cake again and again. Each of their birthday cakes had the same sponge cake and the same frosting. It was getting mechanical for me. The only room for creativity i had was on the appearance of the cakes.

And it wasn’t as if i didn’t try, i do ask each of them what kind of cake would they like before their big days arrive, secretly hoping i get some challenging answers. But equally mechanically, each of them was so firm in their answer – “CHOCOLATE!”.

For my mom, things are different. I didn’t have to ask her what she wanted, because she is the easy goer in the family. And i decided, what the heck, i am the baker, i should have a say on what i do too right?

So, i was toying on a green tea mousse idea. If u knew my mom, she is quite the tea drinker. A tea flavored cake would be pretty much perfect.

But then, lo and behold, a box of mangoes landed before my nose. My dad loves mangoes, but i think this season he got a lil bit carried away. A WHOLE box of mangoes, probably 30 of them for a family of 6. Do the math, that’s 5 mangoes a piece.

And with that arrival, it was byebye green tea, hello mangoes

So i went scouring the world wide web, so determined in using all those mangoes and not letting anyone go beyond their expiry. I saw a couple that i liked, but i settled on Rei’s Mango Mousse cake.I have been following Rei’s blog for quite a bit, and i am pretty sure her recipes work. You guys should really check her out!

Rei’s instructions were also clear, but what sealed the deal was a bonus green tea macaron recipe, which meant that i could still impart my original tea flavored cake plans into this cake. Thanks Rei for sharing the recipe!

Now, macarons, macarons, i know i am getting ahead of myself. I am sure many of you have heard the many standards of the perfect macarons. From it’s feet to its domes. I am not an expert on it, and my macarons are less than perfect. Thank goodness these macarons are not the main players here, only mere sidekicks. No one will be scrutinizing them to their last details. PHEW!

Yes, I know i need lots of help in my macarons. But, thats for another time. Let’s concentrate on the cake for now.

I am pretty surprised at how well this cake came together. It is probably one of the easiest cake to decorate too. All i had to do was just pour the mango mousse into the springform pan, pour the mirror glaze over the mousse, stuck a few macarons, and arrange a few strawberries ( okay maybe not that easy). But having said that, this cake takes time though. Time is needed for the mousse to chill, and also time needed for the glaze to set. So, do set aside enough time before u go on making this. 🙂

For better version of this cake, head over to Rei’s

Mango Mousse Cake

Sponge Cake Base :
(A)
2 Egg Whites
40g Fine Sugar
1/4 Tsp cream of tartar

(B)
2 Egg Yolks
30g Fine Sugar
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Essence
50g Milk
24g Corn Oil

68g cake flour
1/4 Tsp bicarbonate of soda

*Sift together

Method
1) Prepare and line a 7 x 7 inch baking tin. In a clean bowl, whisk egg white and sugar. Add cream of tartar and whisk till peak.

2) In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar till pale and fluffy.

3) Add vanilla essence, milk and corn oil to egg yolk mixture then fold in sifted flour mixture.

4) Fold in egg yolk mixture into egg white mixture.

5) Bake at 150°C for around 30 to 35 minutes or till skewer comes clean. Let the cake cool and slice horizontally 2 slices and trim them into 6.5 x 6.5 inch square.

Mango Mousse :
17g Gelatine Powder
60g Hot Water

350g Whipping Cream
3 Tbsp Icing Sugar

300g Mango Puree (if regrigerated, bring to room temperature)
1Tbsp Rum

200g to 220g Cubed Mango

Mango puree topping:
150g mango puree (bring to room temperature)
1 Tbsp gelatin
4-1/2 Tbsp boiling water

Slice/Cubed fruits *optional

Method
1) In a mixing bowl, whip whipping cream with icing sugar to mousse state. Refrigerate to chill.

2) In a small bowl, dissolve gelatine powder in hot water. When the gelatine powder is fully dissolved, add to mango puree. Add rum to the mixture. Mix well.

3) Add the mango mixture to whipped cream. Mix well till incorporated.

4) Use a 7 x 7 inch cake ring, place a layer of cake and pour in mango mousse, or use a large piping tip to pipe the mixture. Do take note of the corners. Add mango cubes and cover them with some mousse. Let it slighlty set for about 10 minutes in the fridge.

5) Lay another cake layer and pour the remaining mousse. Let it set for 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge.

6) Meanwhile,dissolve gelatine in hot water for mango puree topping. Mix in mango puree. Wait till the mousse is set and the topping is cooled, arrange sliced fruits, if using, pour in the topping carefully. Let the cake chill for at least 3 hours before removing the cake ring and decorate with macaroons (optional, recipe found here and here) or chocolate shards.

*Note : If you pour a little of the mango puree topping on the fruits, you do not have to glaze them again.