Summer Berry Mousse Cake Food

ICED BERRY MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Beat the butter with the sugar, then beat in the flour, baking powder, vanilla and eggs. Pour the batter into a lined 24cm loose-based cake tin and bake for 30 mins or until risen and cooked through.
• Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack, leaving the base paper on the bottom of the cake. When the cake is completely cool, cut it in half horizontally. Clean the tin and line with cling film. Put the top of the cake into the base of the tin.
• To make the mousse, put the berries in a pan over a low heat and bring gently to a simmer, you shouldn't need any extra liquid as they release juice. Sweeten to taste with icing sugar - you want a slightly tart flavour as they will be later mixed with a sweet meringue. Whizz with a stick blender or pop into a blender and purée, then sieve. You should end up with about 250ml purée. Soak the gelatine in water until floppy, stir into the hot berry purée and set aside to cool.
• Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then whisk in the caster sugar in 4 batches. Continue whisking until you have a stiff, glossy meringue. Fold in the berry purée followed by the cream. Pour onto the sponge base, then carefully lay the other piece of sponge on top, paper-side up. Freeze until 40 mins-1 hr before you need it, then remove from the freezer and peel off the paper. Remove the tin and cling film. When you are ready to serve, dust the top with icing sugar.

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.

MIXED BERRY MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a pan of simmering water, add the mixture of frozen berries and half the amount of sugar. Cook the berries until they feel soft.
• When the berries are soft, turn off the heat. Drain, keeping the juice. With the drained berries, using a processor, pulse the berries into a thick mixture, pour into a bowl and leave to cool
• Separate the eggs. Using the egg whites only and the 1/2 - 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice (depending on your own taste), in a clean food processor whisk until soft peaks form. At this stage add the last of the sugar. Whisk until firm peaks form - when the whisk leaves deep markings in the white mixture.
• Add 1 spoonful of the egg white to the mixed berries. stir the egg white in quickly until all combined.
• Now gradually fold the rest of the whites into the berry mixture. Do this slowly and carefully. Doing this too quickly will knock out all the air from the whites. Do not combine all the mixture, leave some of the whites still showing.
• To serve, spoon the mixture into 4 tall glasses. Leave to set for 2-3 hours in the fridge. You can leave them to set over night. Once set drizzle the kept berry juice over the mousse, and top with fresh berries. The berry juice is also ideal for making smoothies, Jelly, and ice cream with :) enjoy.

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.