Mango season is almost ending, with the onset of the monsoons here in Bombay. But there still are parts of the country where you’ll find mangoes in the markets.
The idea to make this cake happened spontaneously one day, when I thought to myself that chocolate and mango would work so well in a dessert together. A short bout of Googling later, I came across this recipe and I knew I had to make it one weekend. So I did.
The traditional approach when it comes to making mango desserts is to always use Alphonso mangoes. I believe this is a little unfair to the absolute abundance of different varieties of mangoes available in the country, each with it’s own special flavour, texture and sweetness.
Shimmery mango mirror glaze, over layers of chocolate and mango mousse(s?) and almond chocolate cake.
I used a combination of Alphonso, Totapuri, Badami and Lalbaugh mangoes to make the mango purée for this recipe (by basically hand-blending 3 parts alphonso with one part each of Totapuri, Badami and Lalbaugh). Weigh out roughly 200g cut mango (without the skin or seed, of course) for this.
This recipe was loosely adapted and converted from Berry Lovely’s immaculate version.
The Recipe
Ingredients
For the Almond Chocolate Sponge
3 eggs
75 g sugar
A pinch of salt
36 g dark chocolate
60 g ground almonds
For the Chocolate Mousse
130 g dark chocolate (70%)
3 egg yolks
7 g gelatine powder
50 ml heavy cream
50 ml orange liqueur like Grand Marnier
400 ml heavy cream
For the Mango Mousse
3 teaspoons gelatine
1 egg
1 egg yolk
80 g sugar
150 g mango purée
220 ml heavy cream
For the Mango Mirror Glaze
½ teaspoon gelatine powder
20 g sugar
20 ml water
40 g mango purée
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160° C. Line an 8″ springform pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate over a water bath. Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg yolks with 25 g of the sugar until the mixture turns frothy and pale yellow. Add the melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture slowly and stir to combine. Add the almonds.
- Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and then add the remaining 100 g sugar and beat until glossy and stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Use a cake cutter or wild knife skills to slice the cake into two, horizontally.
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To make the chocolate mousse, melt the two kinds of chocolate over a water bath. Whisk the egg yolks until creamy.
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In a small saucepan warm up the 50 ml heavy cream with the orange liqueur until almost boiling. Stir in the gelatine and then add the melted chocolate. Using a hand blender mix everything together until smooth. Then add the egg yolks (the chocolate mixture should still be warm, so it cooks the eggs, careful not to let the eggs scramble).
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Let the mixture cool a little. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mousse, when it is just starting to set. Set this aside in the fridge.
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To make the mango mousse, whisk together the egg, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl over a simmering water bath. Keep whisking until the mixture reaches about 70° C and it starts to thicken. Take off the water bath and pour the mixture through a sieve. Add the gelatine and mix until it dissolves completely.
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Add the mango purée and whisk until combined and the mixture starts to cool. Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and carefully fold into the mango mixture.
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Lay out the bottom half of the cake on a plate or cake stand. I usually let the springform remain around the cake at this point to hold everything in. Pour out and spread the chocolate mousse on this with a spatula or spoon.
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Place the second cake layer atop this. Spread the mango mousse over this and plane it out with a spatula. Sit this to chill in the fridge.
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To make the mirror glaze, boil the water and sugar in a small pot and add the gelatine. Add the mango purée and take the pot off the heat. Let this cool until lukewarm. Carefully pour over the cake and let set in the fridge for about 2 hours.
Great website! Will bookmark all recipes.
Hey! Where’s the recipe for the red velvet cupcakes? 🙂
Coming, coming…all in good time 🙂