Strawberry and Pistachio Mousse Cake

This is a large sharing dessert featuring a pistachio and almond striped joconde sponge, strawberry jam, strawberry mousse, strawberry jelly topping and chopped pistachios.

Baking a recipe for the first time never normally goes without a hitch, and this one was almost disastrous. The sponge, mousse and jam came together well, although made for a slightly larger dessert than intended (a bit of a monster!). However, when pouring on the jelly topping the liquid seemed to find gaps that didn't exist and ended up soaking into the sponge (the magic of photography hides all sorts). But, after removing the jelly, waiting for it to set more and trying to top the mousse again, it finally worked and finished off the dessert wonderfully. Ignoring minor issues of poor structural integrity, being now tied together in my freezer ready to be served for a picnic lunch at Royal Ascot, this was a great result. As they say, beauty lies in the imperfections.