Cubed Mango Mousse Cake

Modified from my previous Mango Mousse Cake with Toasted Almonds, here's my Cubed Mango Mousse Cake! This is so pretty and a big hit with my family, the fav boy's family (another version) and my friend's mum (another version) for her birthday (: Am pretty glad that I assembled this cake, plus two others and a Chocolate Mango Cake all in 4 hours!

This cake will take about 3 hours to bake and yields one 7" square cake. The images for this cake are for a round cake but the assembly and ingredients are the same except for the final steps. 

Cubed Mango Mousse Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

SPONGE CAKE

4 eggs (60g each)

100g sugar

100g plain flour, sifted

100g melted butter

MANGO MOUSSE

3 tbsp water

15g good quality gelatin

(If using Bake King, which is weaker, use 50g)

250g Mango puree

(Can use 'remains' from parts of mango that's not been used)

250g whipped cream 

FRUIT GLAZE

50ml water

1 1/2 tbsp gelatin

 (If using Bake King, use 3 tbsp)

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

2 mangoes, cubed

(Total recipe calls for about 4 mangoes.. it's good to have 5 just in case it's insufficient)

Steps:

SPONGE CAKE

Cake station! Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

The butter.. using my salted Liv butter which I bought plenty of in the recent promotion! (:

Sieve the flour!

100g of plain flour!

Melt the butter in the microwave oven for about 1 min. It doesn't have to be fully melted. 60-70% melted's good enough cos when you stir it, the rest of the butter will melt. (:

The sugar.

Add 4 eggs to the sugar.

Whisk on high!

Whisk it till STIFF PEAKS form! This took me like 7 - 10 mins on my Philips Hand-Held mixer.. If your hand-held mixer's over heated, let it cool down a lil' before continuing. I believe that larger mixers like KitchenAid and Kenwood have no issues with this.. Geesh.. me want one KitchenAid! 

This is still too 'soupy'.

This is much stiffer and better!

The egg and sugar mixture. 

Next, using your bare master hand, FOLD in the flour and melted butter.. Here's a video I've shot to help you better understand the process! (:

Some people prefer using a spatula, some a whisk (not recommended though I use this for my choco cakes) but since my instructor recommended hand-folding, I gave it a try (: Try to fold the components in gently as the egg are prone to deflating! Ensure that mixture is well folded with no lumps or butter stuck to the bottom of the mixing bowl (very common with spatula folding in).

All folded in! (:

Grease and line a 7" square pan.

Pour the batter in. DO NOT scoop and scrap the last parts of the batter left in the mixing bowl into the pan as that's the greasiest and flour-ful part of batter that's usually not well mixed. It'll make the middle of your cake much oilier and possible flour-ier. "Drop" the cake tin on the table from a height of 5cm to 'hit' all the air bubbles out from the cake. Bake for 30 minutes or till cooked. Test the middle of the cake with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it's ready! (:

MANGO MOUSSE

Fresh Thai Mangoes! (: Please use firm but ripe mangoes as they'll turn out prettier! (:

Peel the mangoes! Cut and weigh 250g. 

Blend them in a blender or food processor for the mango mousse. No water or no sugar needed!

Blended! (:

Dice up 1 or more mango for the mousse.

Dissolve the gelatin in water for the mango mousse. Bring to boil and allow all gelatin powder to dissolve. This gelatin mixture helps firm up the mousse in the cake (: Allow mixture to cool.

Remove baking paper from cake and allow to cool. 

(Pardon the image.. it's meant to be a square cake for this recipe)

This cake is assembled with a square cake ring to achieve sharp and neat corners. Mousse cakes are best assembled with a cake ring so do invest in one! This is especially so if you bake a lot of layered cakes! (:

Slice the cake into 3 layers. You may do so freehand or you may use a cake leveler. (: This is my base layer.

Place base layer in the cake ring.

Whisk the whipping cream! If time and space permits, chill your mixing bowl (best to use metal bowls) and mixing whisks in the freezer for 15 mins to allow the whipping cream to 'rise' as much as it can. Or, just make sure that your kitchen is cool and that your whipping cream was kept real cool in the fridge (:

Add the mango puree and gelatin mixture into the mango mousse and mix well. Chill it for 5 mins before use! (: 

My work station! (:

Add some mango mousse onto the base layer of cake! I added 3 spatula dollops of mango mousse! Add 1/2 of the mango cubes on top of it and add 1/2 more dollop of mango mousse. You can use an angled spatula or even a flat spatula. I'm using the MEGA spatula I bought from Richard Goh! (:

Add the middle layer of cake.

Add more mango mousse and mango cubes! This is so pretty! (:

Top off with more mango mousse before adding the final layer of cake.

Final layer!

Add the remaining mango mousse on top of the cake and spread..

Smooth out the mango mousse. Freeze the cake for 30 mins to let it set. 

FRUIT GLAZE

The mango mousse that has been set! I used the back of my parring knife to run along the sides of the cake ring to 'free' the cake. 

Using printed book wrap cut to the height of the cake, run it around the sides of the cake and secured with sticky tape. Cut the rest of the mangoes into cubes and arranged it on top of the cake. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to allow the mangoes to cool, which will aid the setting of the fruit glaze.

In the meantime, soak the gelatin in the water for 2 minutes before double-boiling it with the sugar. Your gelatin should be of almost 'glue-ish' texture as it's gonna prevent your fruits from drying out. Allow to cool before applying on arranged fruits. Should it be too watery, add more gelatin powder. Should it be too glue-ish, add a lil' more water.

Should the glaze be 'set' before use, warm it up in the double boiler till it's 'smooth' enough for application.

Brush/tap the fruit glaze to cover all the mangoes before chilling in fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy your Cubed Mango Mousse Cake! (:

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: