| This cake is made inside a 10" Spring form pan,
or more commonly known as a Cheesecake pan. Slice a 10" yellow cake
into three layers, and save the top slice for another project. You
will only need the bottom and center slice to build this cake. |
| This cake is built right side up, inside the spring
form pan, unlike the other mousse cakes that are inverted after building
and freezing. Start by inserting the bottom layer of the cake into
the bottom of the spring form pan. Brush with one half of the plain
syrup. |
| Bloom the gelatin in the cool water. A Bavarian cream is made from the whipped pastry
cream, flavored with a half teaspoon of vanilla. Warm the gelatin in the microwave for 10 seconds or until clear then add to the pastry cream, stirring until smooth. Whip
the sweetened whipping cream until it is very stiff. Fold together
with the pastry cream - just until smooth. |
| Have the canned pears drained and sliced, into thin
slices. Spread one half the filling onto the first layer of cake.
Lay out the sliced pears to completely cover the filling. Cover with
the remainder of the Bavarian cream. Be sure it is spread out evenly
and way out to the sides of the mold. |
| Insert the center layer of sliced cake into the
mold. Press down firmly. Brush the remainder of the syrup onto the
layer. |
| Bloom the gelatin in cool water, warm in the microwave 10 seconds or until clear then add to the Mango
puree, stirring until it is smooth. Whip the sweetened whipping cream
until it is very stiff. Add the mango preparation. Stir just until
smooth. It will be very liquid. |
| Pour the mango mousse onto the second layer of cake.
It should spread out evenly on its own. Tip the mold some or gently
spread it out to the edge of the pan, using a spatula. |
| I choose to freeze overnight to ensure it is very
hard when un molded. Working over a sink, with hot water running very
slowly, carefully expose the edge of the spring form pan to hot water,
being careful not to get water up onto the mango mousse top. Do this
before releasing the latch on the side of the pan, to ensure a total
and complete release. Slide a flat spatula under the cake to help
you to move it over onto a 10" cardboard or other serving dish. |
| Using warm liquid apricot glaze and a soft pastry
brush, very quickly after un-molding, brush the entire top surface
with a very thin layer of glaze. It will freeze within a couple of
minutes. Then apply a second coat. Then wait for it to harden. A third
and forth coat will then be applied in the same manner, until a nice
smooth glazed finish is achieved. If you tried to do this all at once,
you would melt the frozen mousse into your glaze and make it all milky
instead of clear. |
| While it is chilling, prepare the chocolate decor
pieces, by melting 4 ounces of Chocolate (of your choice) I used a
chocolate candy coating. Using a pencil trace around your ten inch
cake pan onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Flip the paper
over and pour the melted chocolate into the circle. Using a spatula,
spread it out just over the edge of the line you drew previously.
Allow to harden. Carefully lay your 10 inch cardboard onto the sheet
of hardened chocolate and cut around it using a small kitchen knife.
Now using a straight edge, cut the disk of chocolate in half, then
quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 wedges. Always ensure that all your
cuts are very well centered into the true center of the disk. |
| Whip 4 ounces of sweetened whipping cream until
very stiff. Using a spatula - cover the sides of the mousse cake until
it is very smooth and nice. Put the remainder of the whipped cream
into a small pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Garnish the
top of the cake with 12 evenly spaced rosettes. |
| From the sixteen pieces of chocolate decor - select
the best twelve. This is done intentionally so as to not over populate
the top of the cake with the decoration. Arrange the selected pieces
of decoration by leaning them against the whipped cream rosettes,
to achieve the fan effect. Place one more rosette in the center where
all the chocolate decor pieces come together. |
| Refrigerate until served - allow several hours to
thaw. Cut with a clean hot knife - dipped in hot water. For best appeal
cut while still slightly frozen. For best taste and flavor of the delicate
fillings, serve completely thawed. |