Strawberry cake with chocolate & salted caramel mousse and almond sponge – Birthday cake part 1

It was some time ago (because I always fail to catch myself up) that we celebrated the birthdays of my son and daughter together, so I had to bake two cakes. They ordered the following: my daughter wanted a strawberry cake (what else in the middle of autumn?), and my son asked for a peach cake. So here comes the recipe of Zselyke’s cake.

Strawberry cake with chocolate & salted mousse and almond sponge

- 750 g strawberry, peduncles removed and cut into halves (if we have larger strawberries)

- 6 tbsp. strawberry jam

For the almond sponge:

- 10 tbsp. flour

- 12 g baking powder

- 10 tbsp. almond, toasted and ground

- 10 eggs

- a pinch of salt

- 10 tbsp. sugar

- 1.5 tsp. almond extract

For the chocolate & salted caramel mousse:

- 240 g sugar

- 120 g butter

- 900 ml whipping cream

- 1 level tsp. salt

- 200 g milk chocolate, chopped

- 2 leaves of gelatine (4 g)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.

2. For the almond sponge sift the flour and the baking powder into a bowl and mix them with the almond.

3. Start beating the egg whites with the salt, then gradually add the sugar, as well, and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add the egg yolks as well, while stirring the mixture constantly. Finally add the almond extract, as well.

4. Fold the dry ingredients into the whipped eggs, and pour the mixture into a round cake pan (22 cm in diameter) that has been greased with butter and sprinkled with flour. Reduce oven temperature to 160°C, and bake the sponge until it turns golden brown. Remove it from the baking pan and let it cool down to room temperature on a cooling rack.

5. For the mousse warm 400 ml whipping cream in a pan. In another pan caramelize the sugar together with the butter, stirring constantly. When the caramel is golden brown, add the warm whipping cream, and warm the mixture until it is completely smooth. Remove from the stove and add the chocolate and stir it, until it melts completely.

6. Soak the gelatine leaves into ice cold water for 4 minutes, then press out the excess water from them. In the meanwhile, warm 100 ml whipping cream, remove from the stove and dissolve the gelatine leaves in it. Then mix it to the chocolate mixture. Wait until it cools to room temperature.

7. Whip the remaining whipping cream and fold it into the chocolate mixture.

8. Cut the sponge into three layers. Place the first layer back to the cake pan, spread 2 tbsp. strawberry jam on it, put some strawberries, then pour some of the mousse onto the strawberries. Then place the second layer of almond sponge on it, then strawberry jam, strawberries, and mousse again. Proceed this way, and finish the cake with a layer of mousse. If the cake pan is not tall enough, use a second pan on the top of the first, as well. Put the cake into the fridge until the mousse sets (several hours).

Stay tuned, I am going to post Csani’s cake, as well.