Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

This mousse cake is specially made for one of my aunt who turns 58 this year. I love using strawberries in my cake making and decorating. However, sweet strawberries are not easy to come by. Those available at regular supermarkets may appear red and juicy, but once a bite is taken, the taste is usually disappointing. The gourmet range is a better bet, but not only do they cost a lot more, they are also not readily available. Hence, I like to stock up imported IQF version in my freezer, which make it readily available whenever I need them.

Having said the above, IQF fruits are usually good when making components which uses a puree, or when mixing into your yogurt or ice cream. They are not ideal for decorating as once defrosted, the texture tends to be soft and the fruit tends to weep. The garnishing and decorating still have to depend on fresh ones.

The cake comprised of two layers of chocolate sponge, with strawberry slices and mousse in the centre. The cake is then topped with another layer of mousse, with strawberry slices arranged in a circular pattern on top. Finally, when the mousse is set, a jelly layer is poured on top to embed the strawberries and also to create a nice see through effect.

For personal taste preference, I like to pair this mousse cake with chocolate sponge, rather than vanilla. Like the mango mousse cake in an earlier post, I find some fruits go better with chocolate. These are banana, mango and strawberry.



I simply love the top view of the cake, however, choosing similar sizes and shapes for the strawberries will create some wastage. 



The IQF strawberries gives a nice natural colour to the mousse. 

 


FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2011

Addendum:
When I made my aunt's cake, I knew the strawberry wasn't sweet and was more on the sour side. However, I went ahead with it as that was the last box I could get hold of at the supermarket. A week later, I made another exact cake, using the same batch of ingredients, including the strawberries for my brother's house warming.

Yes, I managed to keep the strawberries fresh, despite a week long. All thanks to the new fridge I bought beginning of the year, specially for my baking needs. With right temperature control and careful handling, I had managed to keep most of my ingredients fresh and perishables for longer period. Another factor is that most of our imported fruits are harvested when they are still pretty raw, thus longer shelf life, but unfortunately short in taste.

The mousse, made from the IQF strawberries tasted really good. However, the overall taste of the whole cake was below the notch, due to the sour strawberries slices. I come to conclude, never ever make a cake with strawberries if sweet ones are not available. It really spoils all the effort you've put in, no matter how pretty it looks, or how fragrant it smells.