Wow. This vegan mousse cake is so much work to make but is worth every second. The flavors and textures are spectacular and the cake itself is beautiful.
All the layers make for a stunning slice and are sure to impress anyone. The mirror glaze is quite simple and really pulls the whole thing together. I had some extra jelly, mousse, custard and so on, so I made some mini cakes as well.
The day I made the cake it was so hot it would start melting while I was taking photos so I apologize for the melted mousse and glaze.
The cake is inspired by the winning entremet of the Great British Bake-Off season 8. All I did was 'veganize' some of the elements and tweak a few things here and there. I find this easiest to construct over 3 days so I have split the instructions like how I would do it at home. Find a link to the original recipe down below.
from top to bottom the layers are;
set lemon curd
set custard
hazelnut florentine
blackberry jelly
almond orange sponge
everything is surrounded by a white chocolate lavender mousse
*note if you have extra of any of the elements of this entremet and don't want to waste them, check out this post for ideas
Ingredients (makes one 7"x 1.7" cake with some extra ;)
the lemon curd
1 tsp agar agar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
zest of 1 1/2 lemons
1/8 tsp turmeric (optional for color)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch
the honey custard
1/2 tsp agar agar
72 g maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla paste
234 ml coconut cream*
45 ml non dairy milk
1/8 tsp salt
blackberry jelly
1/2 tsp agar agar
200g blackberries
1 tbs lemon juice
27g non-dairy butter
62g sugar
57g coconut cream*
1 tsp cornstarch
hazelnut florentine
1/3 cup lightly roasted hazelnuts
2 Tbs non-dairy butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp flour
good pinch of salt
2 tsp non-dairy milk
the sponge
80g neutral oil
115g sugar
75g almond flour
35g flour
120g aquafaba
pinch of salt
zest of an orange
zest of a lemon
1/4 tsp vanilla paste
the mousse
8oz (226g) vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup (87g) white chocolate
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
2 Tbs dried lavender
1 1/2 cup (328g) chilled coconut cream*
3/4 cup (93g) powdered sugar
3/4 Tbs agar agar
2 Tbs (25g) sugar
2 1/2 Tbs (40ml) coconut water**
mirror glaze
3/4 Tbs agar agar
1/2 cup(100g) sugar
1/3 cup (112g) corn syrup
1/4 cup (59ml) water
1/4 cup (76g) sweetened condensed coconut milk
3.5oz (100g) white chocolate
* when I say coconut cream I mean the top (the creamy thick stuff) of what you find on a can of coconut milk.
**coconut water is the stuff under the coconut cream, if you have lots of extra coconut water it is great in smoothies! ;)
Instructions
Day 1
for the set lemon curd
1. Line a 6" cake pan with plastic wrap.
2. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch and 2 Tbs of the milk together, set aside.
3. In a pot whisk together the agar, milk, lemon juice, zest, and turmeric. Bring to a boil on medium heat and cook for 2 minutes. Then add sugar and cornstarch mixture and cook until it thickens. Take off heat and pour a 1cm thick layer into the lined pan. Put in the fridge for around 20 minutes (it should set pretty quickly) and then remove the curd layer from the cake tin and leave the curd in the fridge (with the plastic wrap).
for the honey custard
1. Line the same 6" cake pan with plastic wrap.
2. Put the maple syrup and vanilla paste in a pot on low heat, stirring occasionally until syrup thickens and darkens. Remove from heat and add cream, milk, agar, and salt. Cook until the mixture slightly thickens (2-3 minutes) and then pour a 1cm layer into the cake pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Remove the tin but leave the custard in the fridge.
for the blackberry jelly
1. Line the same 6" cake pan with plastic wrap.
2. Put blackberries and lemon juice on medium heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Mash the blackberries and strain out the seeds, return to the pot and then add the agar. Simmer for another 3 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the butter and sugar, return to heat until the mixture thickens.
3. Pour a 1cm layer into the cake pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Remove the tin but leave the jelly in the fridge.
Day 2
for the hazelnut florentine
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Blitz the nuts into a chunky cornmeal consistency. Melt the butter over medium heat, add the sugar, flour, and salt. Stir until the sugar is incorporated, then add the hazelnuts and milk. Stir until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool for 1 minute.
3. Use a little over half the mixture to form a circle a bit under 6" on the tray. Bake for 7-9 minutes, rotating halfway through. Once you take it out, immediately transfer to a cutting board and trim the hot florentine into a 6" circle. If the first one didn't work well you can use the extra batter for a second try, if not just bake the rest and enjoy some yummy cookies! :)
4. Let the florentine completely cool on a wire rack. Set aside for later.
for the sponge
1. Preheat the oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Sift half the sugar with all the flour and almond flour, set aside. In a separate bowl whisk the aquafaba and salt until soft peaks form. Slowly add the other half of the sugar a spoonful at a time until the 'meringue' reaches stiff peaks.
3. Sprinkle the flour mixture and the grated lemon and orange zest on top and start to fold by hand. When the flour is half-combined, trickle in the oil and vanilla. Fold to fully combine.
4. Evenly spread the batter onto the tray (a little less than 1 cm thick). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Let the cake fully cool before cutting a 6" circle out.
for the mousse
1. Separate the cream off the top of the chilled coconut milk, reserve the water and put the cream back in the fridge.
2. Pour the coconut water into a pot and heat until the water just starts to bubble around the edges, add the dried lavender and let it steep for 15-20 minutes (until the coconut water has the distinct flavor of lavender).
3. In the meantime beat the cream cheese until it is soft and creamy and microwave the white chocolate until it seizes up and caramelizes. Add the white chocolate chunks to the cream cheese.
4. Strain out the lavender and add the agar and sugar to the coconut water. Cook the mixture on medium high for a few minutes. The mixture will thicken to a paste as it cooks so as soon as a thick paste forms, add it immediately to the cream cheese and beat them together.
5. Whip the cold coconut cream with the powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Very gently fold in the cream cheese mixture and now you are ready to assemble!!!
to assemble
*tip, make sure the sides of the mold have been properly coated with the mouse and while you assemble tap the mold on the counter to make sure there are no big air holes
1. Place the mold on a small tray to make things easier.
2. Spread a very thin layer of the mousse on the bottom of the mold. Put the set lemon curd on top and then another thin layer of mousse. Then put the set custard, then mousse, then florentine and then mousse. Then blackberry jelly, then more mousse, finally the sponge and you are done! Place the mousse cake in the freezer overnight.
Day 3
for the mirror glaze
1. Place the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside.
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a sauce pan, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. Then add the agar and cook for another minute or so. Remove from the heat and add the sweetened condensed milk. Stir to combine and then pour the hot mixture over the white chocolate. Let it sit to melt the chocolate and then stir until the chocolate it completely melted and smooth. Let the glaze cool until it reaches approximately 100F. Then add the colorings of your choice.
3. Remove the frozen cake from its mold and place it on a wire rack over a baking tray. Pour the glaze over the cakes and let the excess drip off for 5-10 minutes. Refrigerate until serving.
Congratulations you did it! :)
Entremet inspired by Sophie's Ode to the Honey Bee Entremet (from the British Baking Show)
Lemon Curd recipe inspired by It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken
Hazelnut Florentine recipe inspired by Olive & Mango
Lavender Mousse inspired by Tatyana's Everyday Food
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