We have made it to week five in the nailed it or failed it series, and I'm almost too afraid to go anywhere near a scale! We are giving the Strawberry Mousse Cake a try this week. It's a basic sponge cake topped with layers of strawberry deliciousness. If you haven't been following along, you can catch up on week numbers one through four. In a nutshell, we are working our way through the cookbook by Chef Antonio Bachour, and enjoying every delicious moment of it.
Strawberry Mousse Cake
We had so much strawberry puree leftover from the Berry Brazo Gitano recipe, I figured we might as well stick with the berry recipes until we run out. This strawberry mousse cake has a lot of pieces to it. With so much cooling time between layers it can seem intimidating. But not one piece of this cake was difficult to make. If I were to make this for a home function, I'd plan for a Sunday Funday type of day. It's football season and between each layer I could hang out in front of the TV and enjoy the games.
After learning my lesson last week on my oven size I knew I had to at least cut the recipe in half. Even at a half sheet pan size, this recipe yields 48 small pieces (2x2 size). I'm also testing how well this freezes. I'm hoping I can do all the work upfront and reap the benefits later as I keep pulling out pieces of this over the next month. Yes, it was that good!
Ingredients
- Sugar
- Cake flour
- Baking powder
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Milk
- Strawberry puree
- Heavy Cream
- White Chocolate
- Unsalted Butter
- Gelatin
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Strawberry Mousse Cake
This recipe has several pieces to it and involves time for the layers to freeze and set.
- First, make the Sponge Cake. Next, make the Strawberry Ganache and pour evenly over the Strawberry Sponge Cake. Let it freeze until set.
- Next, make the Strawberry Mousse. Pour evenly over the layer of Strawberry Ganache. Freeze again until set.
- Next is the Strawberry Jelly. Pour the Strawberry Jelly over the layer of Strawberry Mousse and freeze again until set.
- Once that final layer is set, you can cut as desired.
- Add a garnish of strawberry foam and mini macarons! Chantilly cream is also a great option for a topping.
The Sponge Cake
If you don't want to spend so much time making all the components of this dessert, I'd recommend you start with the Sponge Cake. You can easily cut the baked cake in half, layer one half with Chantilly Cream and strawberries. Top that layer with the second half and do a quick piped decoration on top with the Chantilly cream. Each one of these components was delicious by themselves. That is what makes this recipe really flexible.
What is Invert Sugar?
It's a liquid sweetener made from table sugar, water and a small amount of acid from cream of tarter or citric acid. Invert sugar gives a more uniform sweetness. It also mitigates any problem of sugar crystals not dissolving. It's used in this ganache for the texture. We want it to be smooth and creamy without any sugar crystal textures. You can buy Invert Sugar from places like Amazon, but it will be hard to find in your local grocery store.
How to Make Strawberry Puree?
You’ll need 1lb of strawberries, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Wash, dry and stem the strawberries.
- In a food processor, mix strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice until liquid with pulp.
- Press through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds.
Now you have a strawberry puree!
Can I Use Powdered Gelatin Instead of Sheets?
Yes, you can. I see all kinds of conversions on the internet for this. I've found that one envelope of powdered gelatin is the equivalent of 3.5 sheets of gelatin. Both powdered gelatin and gelatin sheets should be dissolved in cold water.
Try out this Strawberry Mousse Cake and let us know how it turns out!
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Strawberry Mousse Cake
Ingredients
Strawberry Mousse Sponge Cake
- 13.25 oz granulated sugar
- 10.75 oz cake flour
- 3 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 5 oz vegetable oil
- 17.65 oz egg (approximately 9 large eggs)
- 7.25 oz milk
Strawberry Mousse Ganache
- 6 oz strawberry puree
- 1.75 oz inverted sugar
- 4.75 oz cream
- 21.25 oz Valrhona white chocolate melted
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter cubed
Strawberry Mousse
- .55 oz gelatin sheets approximately 5 sheets
- 17.75 oz strawberry puree
- 4.25 oz confectioner's sugar
- 17.75 oz heavy cream whipped to soft peaks
Strawberry Jelly
- 4 gelatin sheets
- 17.65 oz strawberry puree
- 3.5 oz granulated sugar
Instructions
Strawberry Mousse Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 360° F.
- Combine dry ingredients with oil and eggs in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and mix for six minutes on high speed.
- Add milk and mix for two more minutes on medium speed.
- Pour onto a ½ sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 19-22 minutes.
Strawberry Ganache
- Bring puree, inverted sugar and cream to a boil in a small pot.
- Slowly pour hot liquid over white chocolate and whisk until it is smooth.
- Continue mixing until the ganache reaches 95°F.
- Add cubed butter and blend with a hand blender to emulsify.
Strawberry Mousse
- Soak gelatin in ice water until softened; squeeze out excess water and set aside.
- Bring puree and sugar to a simmer in a small pot.
- Stir in gelatin to dissolve and set aside to cool before folding in whipped cream.
Strawberry Jelly
- Soak gelatin in ice water until softened; squeeze out excess water and set aside.
- Bring juice and sugar to a simmer in a small pot.
- Stir in gelatin to dissolve and set aside to cool.
Assembly
- Place half sheet of Sponge Cake into a half sheet pan frame. Pour a thin layer of Strawberry Ganache evenly over cake and freeze until set.
- Spread Strawberry Mousse evenly over ganache and freeze again until set.
- Pour Strawberry Jelly over mousse and freeze again until set before cutting as desired.
- Garnish with mini macarons and strawberry foam. You could easily top with a Chantilly cream if you aren't up for making the foam.
Notes
Nutrition
Here are a few of our favorite berry flavored recipes:
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Max says
Hi is this mousse recipe pipeable?