Vegan Lemon & Blueberry Mousse Cake

I developed this vegan entremet for my friend's birthday. She absolutely loves blueberries, so I tried to come up with something that incorporated them.

To create a beautiful slice and pattern on the outside of the cake, I made blueberry half-spheres. Then I added in a hazelnut florentine for some crunch, and because hazelnuts go well with blueberries. From there, I wanted to add some zing, so I made a set lemon curd layer that balances the sweet and creaminess of the mousse. The mousse is delicately flavored with some vanilla bean paste and fresh lemon zest.

Traditionally, mousse is made fluffy with either whipped up egg whites or whipped up cream. Here, we use whipped up aquafaba for the fluffiness and light texture along with the thick coconut cream (that you get off the top of a can of coconut milk, my favorite brand if Aroy-D) for a creamy mousse.

When you take a bite with all the layers, flavors, and textures, you will be blown away by the cake's complexity. At the same time, it seems simple because all the ingredients are all so simple. You know what I mean?

You need at least two days to comfortably finish this cake. It is best if you can let it set in the freezer overnight, take it out to thaw in the fridge the next morning for at least 4 hours and then serve.

I actually think that a day or two in the fridge actually makes the flavors even better, so if you have the time to, maybe give it a day or to for the flavors to meld!

This cake is...

- light

- creamy

- fluffy

- tart

- sweet (balanced with a wee bit of salt and bitterness)

- colorful

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Ingredients (makes one 7.5" cake)

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for 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

for the blueberry half spheres

250g blueberries

1 tbs lemon juice

40ml water

1/2 tsp agar agar

57g coconut cream*

1 tsp cornstarch + 1 Tbs water

27g non-dairy butter

62g sugar

for the lemon cake

150g sugar + zest of 2 lemons

180g water

60ml neutral oil

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon extract

165g flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

for the 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 water

for the mousse

156g full fat coconut milk

87g vegan white chocolate

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

zest of one lemon

3/4 Tbs agar

25g sugar

70ml water

2 tsp lemon juice

400g coconut cream

93g powdered sugar

100g aquafaba (chickpea water)

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Instructions

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Day 1 (making everything)

Make the lemon curd;

1. Line a 7.5" 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 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).

Make the blueberry half spheres;

1. Get out a 1.5" half sphere mold.

2. Put blueberries, lemon juice and water together in a sauce pan on medium heat and simmer for 7 minutes. While it is cooking, mash the blueberries into a puree. Once the 7 minutes is up, add the agar. Simmer for another 3 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the butter, sugar, cornstarch mixture and coconut cream return to heat until the mixture thickens.

3. Pour into the mold and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the lemon cake;

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, line a 8x8 or 9x9 square pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together to make an aromatic lemon sugar. Mix in the water, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and lemon extract. Then sift in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix gently until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a tooth pick come out clean.

3. Allow the cake to cool at room temperature before cutting out a 7.5" round of cake. Then, remove the cake from the pan and line the sides with acetate. Then place the cake round in the acetate lined tin. Set aside.

Make the florentine;

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Chop 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 water. Stir until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool for 1 minute.

3. Use over half the mixture to form a circle a bit under 7.5" 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 7.5" 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.

Make the mousse;

1. Put the white chocolate in a large bowl. Heat up the coconut milk, once it approaches a bare simmer, pour the hot milk over the white chocolate. Let it sit for 2 minutes before stirring to form a smooth ganache. Mix in the vanilla paste and lemon zest. Set aside.

2. In a large sauce pan cook the agar, sugar, water and lemon juice on medium heat. After a couple minutes the mixture should thicken into a thick paste. Once it does, pour in the white chocolate mixture and stir to combine, then add in the coconut cream and powered sugar. Turn on the heat again and cook until the mixture approaches a simmer. Set aside.

3. Whip up the aquafaba to soft peaks. Gently fold the aquafaba into the white chocolate/agar mixture.

Now it's time to quickly assemble (before the mousse sets)

Start with the cake round in the bottom of the acetate lined pan. Put a thin layer of mousse, then the hazelnut florentine, another thin layer of mousse before putting on the spheres. Pour enough mousse on to completely cover the spheres. Top with the set lemon curd layer. Place the cake in the freezer to set overnight.

Day 2 (serving)

The next morning take the cake out of the freezer and allow it to thaw in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving. You can decorate with flowers (like I did) or some fresh fruit.

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Lemon Curd recipe inspired by It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

Hazelnut Florentine recipe inspired by Olive & Mango