With all the things going on in my life, I've been baking less than I'd like to. So when Tania requested for Durian cupcakes for her birthday, I wasted no time in agreeing without hesitation.
But, where are the durians??? Are they still plumping their succulent flesh on the tree branch? Seems like the king of fruit was still comtemplating his fate, in hiding! I could not find a single thorny fruit! Plan B was whipped out and the lucky tropical fruit chosen was the delectable mango.
I made a basic vanilla cake, layered it with layers of mango mousse, added fresh passionfruit and fresh chunks of mango. The cake was covered in light whipped cream, coated lightly with roasted pistachos and topped with a sprig of fresh mint. Voila!
At the restaurant, I asked the waiter to put the cake in the chiller. He went ahead to put in in the display cabinet, making it look like one of the cakes for sale. I got a cheap thrill out of it! :) It really dressed up my cake and glammed it up!
The mango mousse and passionfruit worked together really well. The lightness of the whipped cream balanced off with the richness of the vanilla cake. The chilled cake tasted really fresh and yummy.
Mango Mousse
adapted from http://chefwantobe.blogspot.com/2010/06/mango-mousse-cake.html
17g gelatine powder
60g hot water
250ml whipping cream for mousse
3 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 cup fresh mango
1 tsp honey
Instructions:
1. mix whip cream & icing sugar. Whip until mousse stage.
2. Save 100ml for topping.
3. Dissolve gelatine in hot water. stir well.
4. Puree fresh mango with honey.
5. Mix gelatin mixture to pureed mango. Stir well. Mix to 150 ml whipped cream.
6. Chill until ready to use.
