Lemon, Ginger and Rhubarb Mini Mousse Cakes

 

I haven't baked for while, but seeing as I had a day off work, I thought I had better continue with my bake off challenge. Therefore, I decided to delve into 'proper' baking by making something that refreshed my technical skills. This is a mini mousse cake featuring a joconde sponge, rhubarb jam centre, ginger custard and lemon mousse. This is a great tasting dessert, however the decor paste needs a bit of perfecting as it led to some cracks in the sponge when inserted into the dessert moulds. Definitely one to be practised and perfected, but 

Recipe - Makes 4

For the decor paste:

• 30g margarine, softened
• 35g icing sugar
• 1 egg white
• 40g plain flour
• Yellow food colouring

For the joconde sponge:

• 1 egg white
• 10g caster sugar
• 1 egg 
• 40g ground almonds
• 35g icing sugar
• 10g margarine, melted
• 10g plain flour

For the filling and decoration: 

• 4 tbsp homemade rhubarb jam 
• Peel of 2 lemons, thinly sliced
• 40g sugar
• 50ml water
• Sugar, for sprinkling

For the ginger custard:

• 120ml soya milk
• 1/2 stem ginger, chopped finely
• 1 egg yolk
• 20g caster sugar
• 10g cornflour

For the lemon mousse:

• 1 gelatine leaf
• Zest and juice 1 lemon
• 1 egg, separated
• 50g caster sugar
• 100ml double cream

Start by making the decor paste. Cream the margarine and icing sugar until softened and combined. Add the egg white and whisk in, then fold in the flour and enough food colouring to form a bright yellow colour. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with an 0.5cm plain nozzle. 

Grease and line a small swiss roll tin with baking paper. Pipe dots of the decor paste in lines across the lined tin and freeze for 20-30 minutes.

To make the joconde sponge, whisk the egg white in a clean bowl to stiff. Add the caster sugar and whisk to incorporated. Cover and set aside. Combine the icing sugar, egg and ground almonds in another bowl and whisk to thickened and a trail is left when the whisk is lifted. Sift in the flour and fold in, then tip the butter down the side and do the same. Add one third of the egg white and fold in to break down the mixture. Tip in the rest and mix in gently until no streaks of white can be seen. Pour on top of the decor paste in the lined tin and gently spread out with a palette knife. Bake at 200C for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and the cake springs back when pressed. Remove and turn onto a wire rack, peeling off the baking paper. Leave to cool. 

Meanwhile, prepare the custard and decorations. For the candied lemon peel, heat the sugar and water together in a pan. Add the lemon peel and boil for 2-3 minutes. Spoon out into a bowl of sugar. Toss and layout, then leave to dry. 

For the custard, put the soya milk and stem ginger in a pan and gently bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg and caster sugar together until pale, then add the cornflour. Pour over the hot milk mixture and whisk to combined, then return to the heat and whisk until thickened. Chill until needed. 

When the cake is cooled, trim the edges of the sponge to neaten and cut 2.5cm high strips that are long enough to line the inside of an individual dessert ring. Ensure there are four strips, then cut out 4 circles to fill the centres. Gently curl each of the sponge strips and place inside baking paper lined dessert rings, pressing to the sides to a tight fit. Put a cake circle in the centre then place each onto a plate or tray. 

Make the mousse by soaking the gelatine in a small cup of water for 5 minutes. Heat the lemon zest and juice in a pan. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolk and sugar to pale. Remove the lemon mixture from the heat, squeeze the water out of the gelatine and whisk into the lemon mixture. Pour the lemon and gelatine mix into the egg and sugar, and whisk to combined. Leave to cool. 

Once cooled, separately whisk the cream to soft peaks and the egg white to stiff peaks. Spoon one third of the cream into the lemon and egg mixture and fold in, followed by the following two thirds in two parts. After this, repeat with the egg white mixture. 

Put the mousse cakes together by spooning 1 tbsp of the rhubarb jam into the cake round. Put the custard in a piping bag and pipe on top of the rhubarb jam to form a mound, making sure that you leave 0.5cm rim around the edge. Pour over the lemon mousse and place in the fridge to chill. 

Once set, remove from the fridge and gently unmould then top with a few pieces of candied lemon peel to decorate.