Coffee, Caramel and Chocolate Mousse Cakes & Mock Caviar

The idea for these cakes came from a photo I saw a while ago on flickr. The recipe for the chocolate sponge is from From BA to Paris, the caramel and coffee mouse recipes are from Sweets and Loves and I found the the mock caviar recipe from Sprinkle Bakes.

Coffee, Chocolate & Caramel Mousse Cakes

Ingredients:
For the chocolate cake layer:
5 eggs, separated
100g plain flour
90g caster sugar
10g cocoa powder
For the coffee mousse:
60g egg yolk
60g caster sugar
5g custard powder
5g powdered gelatine
250g milk
10g instant coffee
250g whipping cream, whipped to medium-firm peaks
For the caramel mousse:
140g caster sugar
160g whipping cream
50g unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
4g gelatin
160g whipping cream, whipped to medium-firm peaks
20g granulated sugar

Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 180°C/ 350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a baking sheet (approximately 38x27cm), leaving some paper hanging over two of the sides.

2. Whisk the egg whites to medium-firm peaks.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift and whisk in the flour and cocoa powder. Carefully fold in the egg whites and once well incorporated, pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back a little when pressed. Remove the sponge from the sheet once cooked and leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. For the coffee mousse, soften the gelatine in cold water. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale, then whisk in the custard powder. Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan and stir in the coffee. Pour the milk and coffee mixture into the egg yolk mixture and mix well. Transfer the mixture into a saucepan and bring to 80C. Remove from the heat and cool in an icy water bath. Once cool, fold in the whipped cream.

5. For the caramel mousse, dissolve the gelatine in some cold water (according to packet instructions). Make the caramel by heating the sugar in a medium sized saucepan over a gentle heat until melted and amber in colour. In a separate saucepan (or in a heatproof bowl in the microwave), gently heat the whipping cream and gradually mix it into the browned sugar. Remove from the heat and cool in an ice bath. Once the caramel is 40C, mix in the butter, salt and softened gelatine. Once well mixed in, pass through a sieve and fold in the whipped cream and sugar.

6. To assemble, cut out evenly-sized disks (or rectangles) from the chocolate sponge. Slice each portion in half horizontally to produce two thin layers for each cake. Sandwich the layer pairs together with the coffee mousse. Place the sponge-mousse sandwiches into pastry rings and cover with some caramel mousse, ensuring the caramel mousse layer is about twice the height of the sponge/coffee mousse layer. Smooth the tops and refrigerate until set.

Mock Caviar

Ingredients:

approximately 500ml vegetable oil

4tsp powdered gelatine

3tbsp cold water

105ml hot liquid- i.e. coffee

ice

60ml salt

Method:

1.Place the oil in an appropriate container (jug, saucepan, etc) and refrigerate overnight.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the gelatine and water and set aside to firm up. Pour the hot liquid over the set gelatine and stir to dissolve. Transfer the mixture to a squeeze bottle and leave it to stand for a few minutes, or until just warm.

3. Fill a basin/large bowl with cold water, ice and the salt. Rest the container of oil inside the water bath, without letting water enter the oil container.

4. Slowly drop the gelatine mixture into the oil- you may need two or three drops to make each ‘caviar’ blob. Once all the mixture has been used up, leave the droplets for at least 3 minutes before scooping out with a spoon and draining excess oil with a sieve. Store in a jar or air tight container, covered in some of the remaining oil, in the fridge until ready to use (up to 10 days).