Sweet Sixteen

Happy birthday to my baby sister who turns sweet 16 today...time does fly very fast *sigh*. One minute she's a baby and the next she's even taller than me! She loves anything chocolate so I thought of making her a rich chocolate cake but I wanted to make it extra-special being her 16th birthday and also because it's february (the season of love *wink*wink*). So I looked for a pinkish or reddish cake and lo and behold in searching for a strawberry mousse cake, I found out that the Daring Bakers made a Strawberry Mirroir way back in 2007. I had a clear idea of what I wanted, which was basically chiffon and strawberry mousse. The only thing I copied from the DB challenge was the mirror. Mine didn't come out as shiny as the others but I was very happy because the birthday celebrant was raving about her pretty cake.

CHIFFON CAKE:

cake flour 250 grams
granulated sugar 250 grams
salt 5 grams
baking powder 12.5 grams
vegetable oil 125 grams
egg yolks 6 pieces
water 187.5 ml
vanilla 6 ml
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egg whites 8 pieces
granulated sugar 125 grams
cream of tartar 2.5 grams

Sift cake flour in a bowl, add sugar, salt and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add vegetable oil, egg yolks, water and vanilla. Whisk until all ingredients are well-combined and no lumps remain. Set aside.
Using the whip attachment of a Kitchenaid mixer, whip egg whites on medium speed until frothy add cream of tartar continue mixing. Add sugar a little at a time and adjust speed to high. Whip until firm peaks, do not overbeat. Fold in egg whites into flour-egg mixture being careful not to deflate the foam. Transfer to 9" inch cake pan (bottom greased and waxed, leave sides --do not grease) Bake in a preheated 350 degrees Farenheit oven for 60 minutes. Do not open oven door. When done, invert pan on a cooling rack until cold. Remove from pan and decorate as desired

** this recipe produced (1) 9-inch cake and (1) 6-inch cake

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE

unflavored gelatine 10 grams

water, cold 1/4 cup

all-purpose cream, chilled 330 grams

refined sugar 1/4 cup

strawberries, fresh 300 grams

refined sugar 2 tablespoons

water 2 tablespoons

Sprinkle gelatin in water, leave to bloom then melt in microwave for 30 seconds, set aside until slightly cooled. With the whip attachment of the Kitchenaid mixer, whip cream and 1/4 cup sugar until cream doubles in size, do not overbeat. Combine strawberries, remaining sugar and water in blender and process until strawberry is pureed. Add to cream and continue whipping until well incorporated. Slowly add gelatin to mixture while mixer is running.

To assemble:

Slice cooled cake into 2 layers. Lay on cake plate and wrap with acetate (clear plastic) to make mold for the cake, you can cut 2 sheets of acetate into half crosswise and connect lengthwise with tape to create a clear mold around the cake base. Pour in mousse, chill for 10 minutes, place second cake layer and pour in remaining mousse. Spread evenly with a small offset spatula. Chill for 8 hours or until set. Pour in strawberry mirror mixture and chill until set. Decorate top as desired.

Strawberry Mirror (modified from the Daring Bakers)

2 TBSP water

1 TBSP unflavored gelatin

Few drops of red food coloring

Strawberry Juice

250 grams strawberries

37 grams sugar

37 ml water

1.Prepare strawberry juice.

2.Place water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over this mixture; set aside until spongy and soft.

3.Measure 1 ½ cups Strawberry juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer; pour over gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve gelatin. Tint to desired color with red food coloring. Place bowl over bowl of ice water and stir occasionally until the mixture is syrupy and just beings to thicken(do not let jell); remove from ice water.

4.When mixture is syrupy, pour a 1/16-inch layer over the top of cake. Refrigerate until set.Strawberry JuiceWash and hull strawberries; coarsely chop. Place strawberries in saucepan; crush to start juices flowing. Place over low heat; add sugar and water; simmer slowly 10 minutes. Pour juice and pulp through damp jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined colander and drain into a bowl for 15 minutes(Do not press down on fruit).