Mango Cheese Mousse Cake

hi guys, i'm back! for now at least :p today's my hubby's birthday and he really loves tropical flavors so i decided to make him something i came across a taiwanese pastry book. this is actually the 1st time i've made an entremet using something other than japanese and french books so i wasn't very confident about the outcome. true enough, i spotted quite a few mistakes along the way and this cake is a result of some major tweaking.

from bottom : coconut dacquoise, spiced pineapple coulis, mango caramel compote, mango cream cheese mousse, mango glaçage

first of all, the serving size was indicated wrongly. recipe was actually enough to make two cakes instead of one so i had alot of leftovers. secondly i had great expectation about the dacquoise coz i expected it to be moist and chewy just like pierre herme's hazelnut dacquoise in his plaisir sucre recipe but it wasn't. it was more cake-like. it wasn't bad, just not something i had in mind. the mango cream cheese mousse used too much italian meringue and whipping cream to lighten so i cut them down by quite abit. lastly, the mango glaze was way too diluted. i had to add 3 gelatin sheets in the end but it was still watery. i also added a brandy soaking syrup to the dacquoise else it would be too dry.

all in all, i wasn't too crazy about it though i thought the mango compote was quite good. hubby loved the cake to bits and even asked for second helpings! i guess thats all it matters since he's the birthday boy but it really makes me think twice about using a taiwanese recipe in future :(

(makes two 6" round cakes)

for the coconut dacquoise :
87.5g egg whites
25g sugar
70g powdered sugar
67.5g desiccated coconut
17.5g cake flour, sifted

- whisk egg whites and sugar in a bowl until stiff peaks then fold in coconut and flour. spread mixture onto two 5" round baking tins lined with baking paper. sift powdered sugar over and bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 15 mins. leave to cool.

for the brandy soaking syrup :

50ml simple syrup

some brandy or rum

for the mango caramel compote :
150g mangoes, diced
12g sugar
10ml whipping cream
5ml brandy

- put sugar in pot and make a blonde caramel. add in cream followed by diced mangoes and cook until liquid evaporates. add in brandy then remove pot from stove.

for the spiced pineapple coulis :
100g pineapple puree
40g apricot puree
pinch of anise powder
10g sugar
6g sheet gelatin
120g mango compote

- heat pineapple puree until boiling then add in anise and sugar. stir until sugar dissolves then turn off heat. soak gelatin in iced water until softened then add into the pineapple puree. cool mixture over ice bath until 28C. add in apricot puree, mix well and pour mixture into two 5" mousse rings lined with cling wrap then scatter mango compote evenly over. freeze until firm.

for the mango cheese mousse :
50g egg yolk
85ml 30B sugar syrup
210g cream cheese, softened
150g mango puree
100g italian meringue
10g sheet gelatin
10ml passionfruit puree
200ml whipping cream, whisked til soft peaks

- whisk together mango puree, passionfruit puree and cream cheese until well combined.

- heat sugar syrup in a pot until boiling. place egg yolks in a bowl then drizzle over the syrup bit by bit. whisk until combined then return it to the pot and heat until 84C. add in soaked gelatin and whisk mixture until thick and pale.

- fold italian meringue into the yolk mixture then fold it into the mango cheese mixture. fold in whipped cream bit by bit until lumps disappeared.

for the mango glacage :
150g sugar
12.5g pectin powder
25g glucose syrup
300ml water
270g mango puree
6g gelatin sheets, soaked

- combine pectin and sugar in a pot then add the rest of the ingredients and heat until boiling. remove from heat and stir in soaked gelatin. cool over an icebath until 25C. use immediately.

- to assemble, place dacquoise at the bottom of the mousse ring. soak with syrup then add some mousse, freeze until firm then place the pineapple coulis layer on top. top up with more mousse until rim and level off with spatula. glaze, refrigerate until firm then decorate as desired.