Summer Berry Mousse Cake Recipes

SUMMER BERRY MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Put the biscuits in a plastic food bag and crush using a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a medium pan, then stir in the biscuits. Tip this mixture into a loose-bottomed 24cm round cake tin, about 5cm deep and press down evenly. Chill.
• Make the mousse: submerge the gelatine leaves in a large bowl of cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Heat the single cream in a small pan until it just comes to the boil. Take off the heat. Lift the gelatine leaves out of the water and give them a good squeeze to get rid of the water. Stir into the hot cream one by one - they will dissolve immediately. Leave to cool slightly.
• Beat together the fromage frais, sugar, orange zest and juice with a whisk or wooden spoon. Stir in the cooled cream and gelatine mixture and the raspberries. Crush just a few of the raspberries against the sides of the bowl and stir again to ripple through, leaving most whole.
• Whip the double cream lightly to soft peaks, then fold it into the raspberry mixture. Pour into the cake tin and leave to chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight, until set.
• To make the sauce, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Chill until ready to serve. (The sauce and the mousse can be made up to a day ahead).
• To serve, run a knife between the mousse and the tin, lift it out of the tin and take it off its base. Put on a serving plate and pile a mixture of fruits on top to decorate. Dust with icing sugar and serve with the sauce.

LIGHT BERRY MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a blender, combine water and gelatin. Cover and process until gelatin is dissolved. Blend in ice cubes until partially melted. Add strawberries; process until blended. Pour into a bowl; fold in whipped topping. Chill for 2 hours.

SUMMER BERRY CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• To prepare cake, first heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or spray a 10-inch springform pan, and line bottom with parchment paper.
• Using an electric mixer at high speed, whisk eggs and sugar together until they triple in volume, becoming thick and airy. Add vanilla and lemon zest, and whisk to combine. Reduce speed to medium-low, and gradually add flour. Remove bowl from mixer, give a final fold with a spatula and pour into prepared cake pan. Bake until risen and light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack 10 minutes, and remove sides from pan.
• When cake is cool use a long, thin knife to split it into 2 thin disks. Place bottom half cut side up on a serving platter; place other half cut side up on a large piece of foil. In a blender, combine 2 cups strawberries, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice. Purée until smooth. Set aside 1/4 cup purée, and divide remaining purée between two cake layers, pouring over cut sides and spreading with a rubber spatula.
• In a large bowl, combine reserved 1/4 cup purée with 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup blackberries, 1/2 cup red raspberries and currants or golden raspberries. Fold gently to mix.
• Whisk heavy cream with vanilla until thick but still soft. Spread half over cake sitting on serving dish. Top with fruit mixture, and place remaining cake half on top, cut side down. Spread remaining cream on top. Cut strawberries into halves or quarters, and place in a bowl. Add remaining 1/4 cup each of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, and toss to mix. Arrange berry mixture on top of cake, and dust with confectioners' sugar.

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Make the mousse: Puree halved strawberries in a food processor. Pass through a very fine sieve into a bowl (you should have about 1 cup puree). Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice; set aside.
• Melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth; set aside.
• Put 1/4 cup cool water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over top; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add gelatin mixture, and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Pour into bowl with the melted chocolate, and stir until smooth. Whisk in 3/4 cup strawberry puree; reserve remaining 1/4 cup puree.
• Put remaining 1 3/4 cups cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until medium peaks form. Whisk one-third of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream using a large rubber spatula. Refrigerate 1 hour. Stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice into the sliced berries. Fold berries into mousse; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the cake: Coat a 12-by-18-by-1-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper, and spray parchment. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.
• Put eggs, egg yolks, and sugar into the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture is warm and the sugar has melted, about 2 minutes. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until egg mixture is pale, thickened, and has cooled, about 6 minutes.
• Remove bowl from mixer; sift together flour and salt over the top of egg mixture, and sprinkle with lemon zest. Using a large rubber spatula, carefully fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture, cutting through center and lifting gently over sides. When the flour is almost incorporated, pour butter down side of bowl, and gently fold in to incorporate.
• Pour batter into prepared baking sheet; smooth top. Bake until center springs back when lightly touched, 7 to 12 minutes. Invert, and unmold cake onto a parchment-lined wire rack; peel parchment from cake, and let cool completely.
• Assemble the cake: Cut cake crosswise into 3 rectangles. Set one layer, top side down, on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with half of the remaining strawberry puree. Spread a 3/4-inch-thick layer of mousse over the top (about 2 cups mousse). Top with second cake layer, top side up. Brush with remaining strawberry puree, and spread with a 3/4-inch-thick layer of mousse. Place third cake layer on top, top side up. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Trim sides of cake to be straight.
• Make the ganache: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour hot cream over the chocolate in a medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir in salt and lemon juice. Let stand until ganache is pourable and has cooled slightly. Pour ganache over top of cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Refrigerate assembled cake 1 hour before serving. Using 2 large spatulas, transfer cake to a serving platter. Garnish with strawberries.

SUMMER BERRY STACKED SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trace an 8-inch circle onto two pieces of parchment paper. Line two baking sheets with the paper, writing-side down.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, cream and egg in a liquid measuring cup.
• Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is the size of small peas. Make a well in the center and pour in the liquid. Stir the mixture together until just combined, then use your hands to knead it a few times until the dough comes together. It will be the texture of thick cookie dough.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces, place each onto one of the prepared baking sheets and use lightly damp hands to press it into a circle just inside the traced line. (Do your best to pat the tops flat while keeping the edges perpendicular to the pan.) Chill the dough on the baking sheets in the refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes (dough can be chilled up to 4 hours). Just before baking, sprinkle each round with 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar.
• Bake the shortcakes until golden and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool completely.
• While the shortcakes are cooling, macerate the berries and make the cream: Add berries, sugar, lemon and vanilla to a large bowl. Use a fork to gently mash up to 1/4 cup of the berries. (This doesn't have to be exact, but you want to create a little bit of liquid if your berries aren't naturally super juicy.) Stir gently to combine and let sit for about 30 minutes.
• For the cream, add the yogurt, sugar, vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add the heavy cream, and whip until very firm peaks form. (You can complete the shortcakes, cream and berries up to 4 hours in advance, refrigerating the cream and berries until ready to serve.)
• To serve, place one of the cooled shortcakes on a serving plate. Top with half of the cream followed by half the berries. (Don't spread the cream quite to the edges, as it will spread when you add the other shortcake.) Repeat with the remaining shortcake, cream and berries. If there is a lot of extra berry juice left in the bowl, serve it alongside the cake.
• Slice the cake with a long serrated knife and serve. The shortcake can be layered up to about 1 hour in advance and stored in the fridge. It will soften as it sits.