Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Strawberry Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Mousse

When I was back in California (there I go again....), my better half and I would frequent those really nice bakery stores and buy their nicest cake on display. We would then go home and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea at the comfort of our house, just like in a nice cafe, heehee! Today I was so in the mood to make another cake. Not just any pound cake or cupcake...but a real 9" soft chiffon cake with the yummy icing covering it. Seriously, nowadays I do not need to have a birthday excuse to get me baking a nice cake. If you wonder where I got such urges, beats me! Haha! But I guess it has something to do with all the nice recipe books I bought and also inspiring posts from other food bloggers. :) Anyway, who doesn't like a nice piece of delicious cake?!

I wanted to bake something different, so I decided to try Strawberry Chiffon Cake this time. I wanted the taste of strawberries to be evident, so I added fresh strawberry puree into the cake batter. And knowing my little girl's taste buds, they love their strawberries with chocolate, so I made chocolate mousse to cover the chiffon cake. :) Not the usual combination I would say, but overall was still a satisfactory result. :)

Ingredients for Strawberry Chiffon Cake (9 inch round cake pan):

5 egg yolks
110g caster sugar

1 large egg
60ml safflower oil (any vegetable oil without a strong scent)
60ml strawberry milk (white milk also works)

1.5 tsp strawberry essence
40g fresh strawberry puree
100g cake flour

5 egg whites

1/8 tsp salt


Chocolate Mousse:
120g quality dark chocolate, chopped & melted under double boiler
250ml fresh whipping cream (or you can use non-dairy whipping cream)
30g confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

8 to 10 fresh strawberries
4 tbsp strawberry jam, heated

Method
:
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and 1/3 of the sugar till it is pale yellow colour, and triple in volume, about 5 minutes.
  • Add vegetable oil, milk and essence into the yolk mixture ans continue to beat mixture till well blended.
  • Sift the flour in and mix till well combined, set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 170°C.
  • Beat the egg white with the salt till foamy. Then add the remaining sugar and continue to beat mixture till stiff peaks.
  • Gently fold the egg white into the flour mixture in a few separate portions till all is combined.
  • Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes till the cake tester come out clean.
  • Remove from oven and let cool completely. In the meantime, prepare the chocolate mousse.
  • In another large mixing bowl, beat the cream with the sugar and vanilla extract till stiff peaks. Then stir in the cooled melted chocolate till well blended. Refrigerate till needed.
  • Slice the cake into 2 layers. Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam on the surface, follow by spreading 1/3 of the chocolate mousse on top.
  • Slice some of the strawberries and place them on to of the chocolate mousse. Then top it with the other layer of the cake. Ice the whole cake with the remaining chocolate mousse. Decorate at will. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs before slicing and serving.
I was really pleased with how soft the chiffon cake turned out! And the strawberry scent was there too, but was kind of masked off by the chocolate mousse taste...not that I'm complaining about the yummy chocolaty mousse! Did not do anything special for the decoration as I was rushing out to have dinner with some friends tonight.
The jam and the fresh strawberries added extra flavor and texture to the soft creamy cake, delicious! And since I also added strawberry puree into the cake, you might be able to see bits of strawberry in the cake itself. I was glad that my girls loved the cake too. :)
Do try it and let me know how you like it. Happy bakes!

14 comments:

ReeseKitchen said...

Hey.....tried the cake last night....the result???...Of course its nice!!..:) Especially the cream,..i like it! Its just alittle melted when i got it from Grace..heehee! But after i put it back in the fridge, its alright..;)Thanks!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Reese, glad that you still like it even after the fresh cream has melted. :-P I guess I forgot to tell Grace to put it in the fridge first...o well. :D You are welcome!

Kitchen Corner said...

Very nice cake! Strawberry and chocolate is such a good combination! You did it very well!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Grace for the encouragement. You are always so nice to pass complements to your fellow bloggers!

Talita said...

Gorgeous cake! Looks really soft and yummy!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Talita! The chiffon is soft indeed, and pairing with the chocolate icing is great.Try it! ;) Welcome to my blog btw. :)

Anonymous said...

Warm greetings to you!
Your bakes are all so wonderful!
Your such a genius...
I was just wondering if i can sub strawberry puree into something else as my family don't really like strawberries!! Ha ha..
I don't mind the cake to be plain too, so can i omit the puree? Would really appreciate if you could help me on this! Thank you so much!!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Anonymous,
What can I call you? Do you mind leaving a name? Will address your question when you give me your name, thanks. :)

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha, I'm sorry forgot to include my name. I'm Ann.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Ann,
Yes, you can most definitely not make strawberry chiffon. You can omit the puree and replace the strawberry essence with vanilla extract. Or why don't you try Cream Cheese chiffon instead? It is actually very mild in taste...like those Japanese cheese cake but even lighter. Go to the below link on my blog to check out the recipe. I love this recipe...do try. Happy baking!

http://honeybeesweets88.blogspot.com/2009/06/decorated-cream-cheese-chiffon-cake.html

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much HBS!

Ann

Anonymous said...

Sorry to ask you loads of Q!!
Can I make Cream Cheese chiffon cake with chocolate mousse?

Ann

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Ann,
No problem, ask away. You most certainly can. Let me know how your Cream cheese chiffon cake with chocolate Mousse turned out. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks loads HBS! Your so kind!I
will do the cake with chocolate mousse and let you know!!!
Have a great evening ahead!!
Cheers

Ann