Creamy and delicious: Layers of vanilla cake, white chocolate mousse, fresh raspberries and raspberry puree! A bit more time to make than your 'standard' cake, but well worth the effort.
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Why you will love this cake
My bakery clients often ask "can you make the cake not too sweet" I know where they are coming from as so many bakeries use fillings packed with powdered sugar which results in an ultra-sweet cake. How sweet you like your icing is a personal preference but I find most of my clients prefer mousses and pastry creams for their cake fillings. This mousse recipe is creamy, delicious, not 'too-sweet' and it holds its shape well for fillings and decorative work.
Ingredients
- White Chocolate: Use a high-quality white chocolate for this recipe.
- Heavy Cream: Use the highest percentage cream you can find. Most creams in the grocery store are 36% but I prefer a 40% when I can find one.
- Powdered Gelatin: Sprinkle your gelatin over cold water and allow it to set before starting the mousse. If using sheet gelatin you will need 3 sheets.
- Granulated Sugar: Just a wee bit for some needed sweetness - this is a dessert, after all!
- Egg Yolks: You need 6 egg yolks for this recipe - be sure to save your egg whites for omelets, meringues, macarons, etc...
- Vanilla Cake: You need 2 thin layers of an 8" vanilla cake to assemble this dessert (note: lemon flavor also works nicely). I recommend my vanilla cake recipe. A half-batch of the vanilla cake recipe will produce enough cake for this mousse cake.
- Raspberry Preserves or Puree: Store-bought preserves are fine to use but if you are a purist, certainly make your own! Not a raspberry fan? No problem - substitute strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc...
- Fresh Raspberries
How to temper eggs
What is 'tempering?' Simply put it is a technique used to stabilize ingredients by carefully heating and cooling them. When tempering eggs for this recipe you are combining hot cream and egg yolks. Do this slowly and whisk the egg yolks constantly as your pour the hot cream into the bowl. This will help create a stable base for the mousse.
Whenever I have new interns at the bakery, they tend to get a little nervous when it comes to tempering eggs. It is really quite simple and if you watch my video you will be a pro in no time!
Cake assembly
This cake is assembled using a 9" springform pan. Follow the steps listed below to assemble your cake:
- Place one cake layer into your springform pan.
- Apply ½ cup of the raspberry preserves to the top of the cake and spread evenly.
- Place raspberries on top of the preserves.
- Pour half of the finished white chocolate mousse over the raspberries.
- Gently tap the cake pan on the countertop to release any air bubbles trapped in the mousse.
- Add the second layer of cake over the top of the white chocolate mousse. Gently press the layer down with your hands.
- Apply ½ cup of the raspberry preserves to the top of the cake and spread evenly.
- Pour the remaining mousse into the pan. (Note: depending on the size of your cake layers, you may have leftover mousse. If so, use this for parfaits or let it set up and you can add decorative piping work around the top of your mousse cake).
- Gently tap the cake pan on the countertop to release any air bubbles trapped in the mousse.
- Place the cake in the refrigerator until the mousse is well set. This will take approximately 2 hours. My preference is to leave the cake in the fridge overnight.
Unmolding and finishing
- To unmold the cake:
- Place an offset spatula in a cup of hot water.
- Removed the cake from the fridge. Run the hot spatula around the inside of the cake pan.
- Gently release the latch on the springform pan.
- Dip the spatula in hot water again and run it around the side of the cake to smooth create a smooth finish.
- Use your imagination to decorate the cake. Following are some ideas.
- Drizzle with raspberry preserves.
- Use any leftover mousse that has set up to pipe a border around the cake.
- Place fresh raspberries and sweetened whipped cream on the cake top.
White Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberries Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Powdered Gelatin
- 3 tablespoon Cold Water
- 21 Ounces White Chocolate, finely chopped
- 6 Large Egg Yolks
- 4 tablespoon Granulated Sugar (¼ Cup)
- 6 Fluid Ounces Heavy Cream (¾ cup) - for tempering eggs
- 16 Fluid Ounces Heavy Cream (2 cups) - for whipped cream
- 2 Layers Thin Layers of Vanilla or Lemon Cake See our Vanilla Cake recipe
- 1 Cup Raspberry Preserves or Puree
- 1 Pint Raspberries
Instructions
Make the White Chocolate Mousse
- Sprinkled gelatin powder over cold water. Set aside and allow to thicken.
- Place white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and granulated sugar.
- Gradually bring ¾ cup of the heavy cream to a simmer.
- Slowly pour the hot cream into the yolks/sugar mixture, whisking constantly while pouring.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat gently. Stir continuously until it thickens (approximately 170° F). Remove from heat and add the dissolved gelatin. Mix until gelatin melts.
- Pour the hot cream/egg mixture over the white chocolate. Let rest for a few minutes then stir until smooth. Allow mixture to cool for 15 - 20 minutes prior to adding the whipped cream in the next step.
- Whip 2 cups of heavy cream to medium peaks. Whisk ¼ of the cream into the white chocolate mixture, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream.
Assemble the Cake:
- Place one layer of the vanilla cake in the bottom of a 9" springform pan.
- Pour ½ cup of the raspberry preserves over the vanilla cake layer and spread evenly using an offset spatula.
- Place raspberries on top of the raspberry preserves.
- Pour ½ of the White Chocolate Mousse over the raspberries. Tap the pan lightly on the countertop to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Place send layer of vanilla cake on top of the white chocolate mousse. Press down gently.
- Pour ½ cup of the raspberry preserves over the vanilla cake layer and spread evenly using an offset spatula.
- Pour the remaining ½ of the White Chocolate Mousse over the raspberries. Tap the pan lightly on the countertop to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Place cake in refrigerator until set (approximately 2 hours).
- Unmold the cake and place on a serving platter.
Notes
- Any leftover mousse may be frozen for up to two months - or make white chocolate parfaits with berries.
Pauline says
We made this with the kids and I used blackberries. Really tasty and also one of the prettiest cakes I've made ??
Helen at the lazy gastronome says
This cake was absolutely fabulous. It’s pretty easy to make, and it presents so well at a party. The guests loved it.