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A little taste of France! This elegant blackcurrant mousse cake is made with a light Genoise sponge, a delicate, airy blackcurrant mousse and a thin layer of glossy cr\u00e8me de cassis jelly. The mousse is made with Italian meringue, which gives it a wonderfully light, silky texture. It may look like an elaborate dessert, but it’s actually much easier to make than you’d expect. The only slightly time-consuming part is pushing the blackcurrants through a sieve to remove the seeds and skins \u2013 luckily, I had a special mixer attachment to do the job for me ;). It’s a lovely summer dessert: light, beautifully balanced, not too sweet and full of fresh blackcurrant flavour. Absolutely delicious!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note: You will need just one thin layer of Genoise sponge for this dessert. The remaining sponge can be frozen for another occasion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ingredients for the Genoise sponge:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
• 4 medium eggs<\/li>\n
• 125 g caster sugar<\/li>\n
• 125 g plain flour<\/li>\n
• 25 g butter, melted and cooled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  All the ingredients should be at room temperature. Remove the eggs from the fridge in advance and place them, still in their shells, in a bowl of very warm (but not boiling) water for about 30 minutes to bring them to room temperature. If the water cools, replace it with fresh warm water as needed. Sift the plain flour and set aside. Melt the butter and leave to cool. Grease the base of a 23 cm springform tin with butter and line it with baking paper (do not grease the sides).<\/p>\n

  Crack the warmed eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the sugar. Using the whisk attachment, beat on the highest speed until the mixture is pale, very thick and fluffy, and has at least tripled in volume. This should take about 7\u201310 minutes in a stand mixer or 10\u201315 minutes with a hand-held mixer. The mixture is ready when it falls from the whisk in a thick ribbon that remains visible on the surface for a few seconds.<\/p>\n

  Sift the flour into the egg mixture in three batches, gently folding it in with a hand whisk after each addition, just until combined. When adding the final batch, incorporate the cooled melted butter, first mixing it with 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture. Fold everything together gently. Important: Be very gentle when mixing. This sponge rises entirely thanks to the air incorporated into the eggs during whisking. If you mix too vigorously and knock out too much air, the cake won’t rise properly. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and gently level the surface with a spatula.<\/p>\n

  Bake at 175\u00b0C for about 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The sponge should be nicely golden and springy to the touch. As soon as it is baked, remove the tin from the oven and drop it onto the floor from a height of about 30 cm (leave the sponge in the tin). This helps prevent the cake from sinking and keeps it nice and even.<\/p>\n

  Once completely cooled, run a sharp serrated knife around the edge of the sponge to release it from the tin. Remove from the tin and cut horizontally into three layers. You will need just one layer for this dessert; the remaining two can be frozen for another occasion.<\/p>\n

  Ingredients for soaking the sponge:<\/span><\/p>\n

  \n
  • 50 ml cr\u00e8me de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Ingredients for the blackcurrant mousse:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
    • 6 tsp (18 g) powdered gelatine<\/li>\n
    • 400 g blackcurrants, fresh or frozen<\/li>\n
    • Italian meringue (recipe below)<\/li>\n
    • 150 ml double cream (36% fat), chilled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Sprinkle the powdered gelatine over just enough cold water to cover it and leave to bloom for 10 minutes. Then heat gently over a low heat, stirring constantly, until completely dissolved. You can also do this in the microwave. Do not allow the gelatine to boil, as this may affect its setting properties. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.<\/p>\n

      Blend the blackcurrants into a pur\u00e9e, then pass through a sieve to remove the seeds and skins. Transfer half of the pur\u00e9e to a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, add the dissolved gelatine and stir thoroughly. Mix with the remaining blackcurrant pur\u00e9e and leave to cool completely.<\/p>\n

      Gently fold the cooled Italian meringue (prepared according to the recipe below) into the blackcurrant pur\u00e9e using a spatula or hand whisk, until the mixture is smooth and no streaks remain. Whip the double cream until stiff peaks form. Add it to the blackcurrant mixture and gently fold together with a hand whisk until you have a smooth, light and fluffy mousse.<\/p>\n

      Ingredients for the Italian meringue:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
      • 190 g sugar + an additional 30 g<\/li>\n
      • 45 ml water<\/li>\n
      • 3 medium egg whites (105\u2013110 g)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Place 190 g of sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Insert a sugar thermometer and cook over a medium heat (important: do not stir at any point!) until the syrup reaches 118\u00b0C (245\u00b0F), up to a maximum of 120\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

        Meanwhile, when the syrup reaches 100\u00b0C, start whisking the egg whites. Whisk as you would for a meringue, until stiff peaks form. Towards the end, gradually add the remaining 30 g of sugar, one teaspoon at a time, whisking continuously.<\/p>\n

        As soon as the syrup reaches the required temperature, remove it from the heat and slowly pour it into the whisked egg whites in a thin, steady stream, keeping the mixer running on low speed. Take care to pour the syrup into the egg whites rather than onto the sides of the bowl. Once all the syrup has been added, increase the mixer speed to maximum and continue whisking for 5-8 minutes, until the meringue has cooled.<\/p>\n

        Ingredients for the Cassis glaze:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
        • 150 ml cr\u00e8me de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)<\/li>\n
        • 50 g sugar<\/li>\n
        • 2 tsp powdered gelatine<\/li>\n
        • a few reserved blackcurrants, for decoration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          If using powdered gelatine, sprinkle it over just enough cold water to cover it and leave to bloom for 10 minutes. Then heat gently over a low heat, stirring constantly, until completely dissolved. You can also do this in the microwave. Do not allow the gelatine to boil, as this may affect its setting properties. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.<\/p>\n

          Place the cr\u00e8me de cassis and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is almost boiling. Remove from the heat, add the dissolved gelatine and stir thoroughly until combined. Leave to cool to room temperature, making sure the glaze does not begin to set before you use it.<\/p>\n

          To assemble:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Place the sponge layer inside a springform tin ring or an adjustable cake ring. Brush with 50 ml of cr\u00e8me de cassis. Spread the blackcurrant mousse over the sponge and smooth the surface. Refrigerate until the mousse has set completely.<\/p>\n

          Dip a few reserved blackcurrants into the Cassis glaze and set aside. Gently pour the remaining glaze over the set mousse. Once the glaze begins to thicken, arrange the glazed blackcurrants on top. Refrigerate until completely set, preferably overnight.<\/p>\n

          To remove the cake from the tin, carefully run a long, sharp knife around the edge to release it from the ring. Alternatively, you can gently warm the ring with a hairdryer to help the mousse come away more easily. Cut with a sharp knife dipped in boiling water and wiped completely dry before each cut.<\/p>\n

          Enjoy!<\/p>\n

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          Recipe source: ‘Patisserie Maison’ Richard Bertinet<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          A little taste of France! This elegant blackcurrant mousse cake is made with a light Genoise sponge, a delicate, airy blackcurrant mousse and a thin layer of glossy cr\u00e8me de cassis jelly. The mousse is made with Italian meringue, which gives it a wonderfully light,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21,442],"tags":[169,444,104,97,152],"duration":[],"tag_group":[],"class_list":["post-20296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-all-over-the-world","category-fruit-cakes","category-meringue-cakes","tag-blackcurrant","tag-blackcurrant-liqueur","tag-double-cream","tag-egg-whites","tag-gelatine-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n