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!