Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate Sponge cake (9" Round):

Large Egg Yolks - 4

Castor Sugar - 90g
Self Raising flour - 120g  (or 1 cup Plain Flour + 1  1/2 tsp. Baking Powder + 1/2 tsp Salt)
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Corn Oil - 50g
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp



Large Egg White  - 4 ½

Cream of Tartar - 1/4 tsp (or 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
Castor Sugar - 60g



Cocoa Powder - 30g
Hot Water - 120g (Stir and dissolve cocoa powder in hot water to form cocoa mixture)

Method:
1) Preheat oven at 180C.
2) Sieve all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and baking powder).
3) Beat egg yolks and sugar until sugar dissolve and become pale yellow color.
4) Add oil, vanilla essence and cocoa mixture into egg yolk batter and mix well.
5) Fold in dry ingredients gently into mixed egg batter with a balloon whisk.

6) Beat egg white with cream of tartar (or lemon juice) till bubbles form, then pour in sugar gradually till egg white becomes fluffy. Beat till Medium peak.
7) Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture. (see tips in chiffon cake on folding steps).
8) Pour into a lined cake tin.
9) Bake at 175C for about 40-50 min. or till cooked.
10) Off the oven and leave the cake with door ajar in oven for 10 min before removing (this will prevent cake from shrinking)
10) Overturn cake tin and removed cake from tin.
11) Turn cake back to normal position and let it cool on rack with the lined paper on.
12) Remove the lined paper when cake it cool and slice into 3 layers.





Chocolate mousse:


(A)
Gelatin powder - 1 tsp.
Hot water - 4 tbspn. (baine marie to dissolve gelatin)

(B)
Nescafe - 1 1/2 Tablespoon
Hot Water - 1 1/2 Tablespoon



(C)
Cocoa powder - 50g
Icing sugar - 80g



(D)
Dairy Whip Cream - 400g (Dairy will taste nicer but be softer. Non Dairy is more stable)
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp.
"Kahlua" or "Tia Maria" coffee liquer - 1 tbspn

Method:
1) Dissolve (A) gelatin in hot water using bain marie method.
2) Dissolve (B) Nescafe granules in hot water.
3) Mix #1 and #2 and stir in (C) to form paste and let it cool (not too cool else will form jelly)
4) Beat (D) whip cream over bowl of ice (this will allow the cream to be whipped faster and don't over beat else will separate to form butter)
5) Mix all the ingredients together and use it immediately to assemble the cooled cake.

Assemble the Cake


Prepared Chocolate Mousse
2 large ripe Del Monte Bananas - slice about 7-8mm each and coat with lemon juice
Cake tin bigger than baked cake (at least by 1cm).



Method:

1) Pour some mousse as the base of the cake tin.
2) Place 1st layer of cake on the mousse.
3) Pour additional mousse and top with sliced banana.
4) Follow by 2nd layer of cake.
5) Pour additional mousse and top with sliced banana.

6) Follow by 3rd layer of cake.
7) Pour remaining mousse to fill up gaps on the side of the cake tin.
8) Place "moussed" cake into refrigerator to set.

Decorate the Cake 

 

Ganache

Cocoa powder - 35g
Sugar - 4og
Dairy whipping cream - 150 g
Chopped dark chocolate or mini chocolate bits - 80g
Soften Butter - 30g
Fresh milk (15ml or more optional)


Method:
1) Bain marie whipping cream and dark chocolate till dissolve.
2) Add in cocoa powder and sugar till dissolve.
3) Add some fresh milk if find the chocolate mixture too thick.
4) Add soften butter before turning off the fire to create shine in the ganache.
5) Cool before pouring onto cake.
6) Use a warm towel to wrap the cooled tin or use air dryer to heat up the side and base for easy release of cold and set mousse cake from the cake tin.
7) Place the set mousse cake on wire rack over a baking tray.
8) Pour the cooled ganache over the mousse cake and let the ganache flows down the side smoothly.
9) Decorate the side with chocolate shaves or use a plastic film to wrap it.
10) Decorate the cake and put into the refrigerator till coating sets.
11) Slice with a warm knife and serve.

Mandarin Orange Chiffon Cake

Make 1 x 20 cm chiffon tin cake

Ingredients:
(A)
Egg yolks (about 20g each) - 5
Corn oil - 80 ml
Orange Juice - 160 ml
Grand Marnier OR vanilla essence - 1 tablespoon (15ml) this is optional
Orange zest - 1 orange
Cake flour (sieve) - 130g

(B)
Egg whites (about 30g each) - 5
Cream of tartar - 1/4 tsp
Caster sugar - 75g

Steps:
1) Preheat oven at 160C.

2) Whisk egg yolk, orange juice, oil, Grand Marnier or vanilla essence and orange zest until well combined.

3) Fold in cake flour and mix well till all flour is mixed well to form a thick batter.

4) In a clean dry bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy.

5) Add in sugar gradually and continue to beat until just before stiff peak.

6) Take 1/3 of egg whites and mix well with egg yolk batter with hand whisk.

7) Repeat the above step with remaining egg whites and fold gently untill you get a light foamy batter (texture is in between egg yolk batter and egg white batter). Note: Do not overfold which will turn into same viscosity as original egg yolk batter. This cause the cake to be dense and not rise as high.

8) Pour into a 20cm tube pan.

9) Use a spatula to gently cut the cake in the position of the middle of the cake batter at the direction along the tin's circumference for 1 or 2 complete cycles. Note: This step is to futher even out the batter without over folding and helps to flatten big bubbles in batter.

10) Lift up the cake tin and give it a few gentle bangs (I usually do it upto 10 counts depending on the bubbles release from the action). Note: This is to further eliminate bubbles in batter to produce a finer and closer cake crumb texture.

11) Bake for 50 - 60 mins at 150 degree or until inserted skewer comes out clean OR gentle tap on the cake top. If finger dents are formed and cake remain dented fm the tap, means cake is still dense. If the finger dent slowly rise up after the tap, meaning the cake is ready.

12) IMMEDIATELY remove from oven and REVERSE the cake tin onto a rack to let it cool. Note: This is to prevent the cake from shrinking.

13) Unmould the cake only when it is cool and Bon Appetit!

Note:
1) This recipe yields a v moist chiffon cake due to its high liquid to dry ingredients ratio. Thus, paying attention to the notes is important. Also, temperature setting depends on each individual oven. However, suggestion for high liquid recipe to bake at lower temp 140 - 150 is possible but longer time. Refer to the finger tap steps for testing of cake readiness as it is very reliable.

2) Pls adjust recipe accordingly to 7 eggs for 23 cm chiffon tin.

Lemon Curd

Make 1 bottle of 600ml.

Ingredient
lemon zest x 3 teaspoon
lemon juice x 8 to 9 tablespoon
sugar x 330g
egg x 3
egg yolk x 1

butter x 135g


Steps
1) Mix egg, egg yolk, sugar and lemon juice together.
2) Baine marie over low heat and stir continuously.
3) Cook until mixture started to be thick, add lemon zest.
4) Continue cooking untill thick and add butter.
5) Pour and store lemon curd in hot sterilised bottle for future use.

Tips :
- Add additional egg yolk for thicker constinuency of lemon curd.
- May use Meyer lemon if in season as more fragrance.
- May play around with flavour for orange or yuzu curd for baking or macaron filling.

Blueberry Lemon Jam

(make 4 x 8 oz jars)

Ingredients:
1 lemon 
1/3 cup water
1 and 1/4 cup sugar (split into 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup)
1 kg blueberry

Steps:
1) Wash container and boil in hot water. Place container with lid seperately in hot oven (around 100 degree) to sterilise container for 5 mins or untill containers are dry.

2) Wash and scrub lemon skin to remove chemical reside on it.

3) Skin the lemon and keep the lemon rind and set aside. Ensure the rind is only the yellow portion and does not contain the white section else it will be bitter.

4) Extract juice from lemon and and set the pulp aside.

5) Combine the lemon juice, water and 1/2 cup of water and cook over medium heat till boil.

6) Continue to cook untill lemon rind is transparent (approximately 20 mins).

7) Add remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and blueberries.

8) Stir occasionally and cook untill mixture thicken.

9) Add 1/8 or lesser teaspoon of gelatin to the mixture if you want thicker constituency.

10) Remove container from oven and immediately scoop cooked jam into it.

11) Place lid over filled container but do not tighten it untill is slightly cold.

Note: Any unconsumed jam can be kept in freezer for more than 3 months though doubt it will take that long to finish the jam.