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Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons … Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & Basil

2012/01/24 / 42 Comments

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.”
Benjamin Franklin

Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake & Vanilla Bavarian Mousse... with Razzle Dazzle Macarons 1Some days I just dazzle myself with my efficiency, days that are few and far between, but it gives me confidence that I can still achieve quite a bit on better days!! It was a cake for my SILs birthday, AND macarons, all done on fast track. Inspiration came from our MacTweets theme for January and the Bavarian mousse on this Chocolate Bavarian Mousse Cake; that is how this Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons came about to be.Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle MacaronsOn a day like this I raced and baked a sponge, made a Bavarian cream, then a mousse, layered a cake and even had it chilling in a couple of hours!! Even more dazzling … got the macs piped even as the kids grumbled getting out of bed and into the shower; ffound ‘feet’ before 8am, just after I had banished the kids to school!! Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle MacaronsCake demoulded, ganached and snazzed up with my macs and I was a happy baker! The ganache wasn’t in my plan, limited as it seemed because of the time crunch, but the daughter begged for chocolate to be included in the master plan. I think the cake would have looked beautiful without the dark chocolate hues, but teens need to be kept happy, so…Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle MacaronsThe macarons ran with the basic colours of fruit in the cake, pink for strawberries and green for kiwi. I was lucky to find feet so early in the morning. For the boost of mac-confidence I have to applaud the uber talented Stella @ BraveTart…and she is brave. She bakes mean {read GORGOEUS!!}  macarons, and did away with many mac myths in a second.Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons; Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & BasilReading her post made me feel ultra confident, and a day old egg white out of the fridge did yield the frills or feet! I also dumped the granulated sugar in with the whites and whipped them altogether, but this time wasn’t nervous. Bravery is a strong emotion, and I was rewarded in under 10 minutes …pretty little mini macs.Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle MacaronsThe sponge is a basic one, a 3 egg recipe that lives in my head… 3 eggs + 1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup flour. Minimal ingredients {with the seed of 1/2 a vanilla bean} and minimal fuss that results in a light airy sponge. This is my to-go recipe for a Swiss roll too!Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons; Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & BasilI did try to rustle up some shimmer and glimmer to jazz the macarons to meet the razzle dazzle theme, but the shimmer is rather muted! Well the thoughts {and my morning} dazzled in any case. The macarons were sandwiched with some dark chocolate ganache reserved from the frosting.Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & BasilBavarian is fast becoming my choice of filling in cakes, one that finds its roots in a crème anglaise of sorts, as we still moan the lack of local whipping cream in India. The mousse compliments fresh fruit beautifully, and is delicately flavoured with vanilla bean. It was a little less firm in the filling as I used kiwi too {I think the high citric content in kiwi interferes with the setting of gelatin}. It did set though, but just. Next time I might stick to just strawberries to get a firmer mousse … like the one below!Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & BasilThe weather that whole day {week actually} was cold and rainy, hence the cake pictures aren’t bright and happy. I had some mousse left over as the cake was taller than my desert ring, so I set some in glasses. I absolutely love the idea of doing individual portions like these that can be made ahead, and dressed up with seasonal fruit, as in this case strawberries perked up with some fresh basil!Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & BasilThese were GOOD, oh so good! The Bavarian set perfectly, the little vanilla bean specks flavouring it beautifully. I topped the goblets with a strawberry puree, like the one layered in these White & Dark Chocolate Desserts with Strawberries. To add colour and flavour, I snipped in some fresh basil which I am fortunate to have these days. I left these in the fridge for a couple of hours again, and the strawberry, lime and basil flavours matured nicely!Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & BasilThe play of textures and the visual appeal was great! Dolled up with a macaron and I have never heard the fridge door opening SO MANY times! The kids were constantly in and out of the kitchen to look at it longingly. The minute dinner was done, it was a race to the fridge again. Door opened again! “Now?”

Do you want to join us making MACARONS?

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If you do, you are most welcome to join us  for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally do the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!

[print_this]Recipe: Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons
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Summary:A marriage of flavours and textures, 2 desserts, one basic mousse. Add in some fresh seasonal fruit, top with macarons and you have … Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons, & Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & Basil

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes {plus setting/chilling time}
Ingredients:

  • Vanilla Sponge
  • 6 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar {I used granulated}
  • 1 cup plain flour, sifted
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped {or pure vanilla extract}
  • Basic Sugar Syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
  • 4 egg yolks {large; 5 if small}
  • 300ml whole milk
  • 200ml low fat cream, room temperature
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • 75gm sugar
  • 1 1/4 tbsp gelatin {increase in warm weather}
  • 200ml cream, chilled
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • Chocolate Ganache
  • 200gm dark chocolate bits {or chopped}
  • 200ml low fat cream
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Fruit for filling
  • 300gm strawberries, chopped {reserve 3-4 for garnishing
  • 2-3 kiwi, peeled, chopped {reserve 1/2 for garnishing}
  • Vanilla Macarons
  • 1 egg white, aged a day
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
  • 1/4 tsp egg white powder
  • 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Strawberry Puree for the Bavarian Mousse Goblets
  • 300gm strawberries, chopped fine
  • 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar {increase/decrease as per tartness of strawberries}
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 6-8 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
  • 1tbsp water

Method:

  1. Vanilla Sponge
  2. Preheat oven to 190C. Line the base and sides of a 9″ round tin with baking parchment.
  3. Beat eggs, vanilla bean and sugar over simmering water until the eggs are thick and mousse like, about 7-10 minutes. Once they triple in volume, remove from water, and continue to beat until the mixture cools dwon {about 5 minutes}
  4. Fold the flour in carefully, in figure 8 moves, to ensure you don’t release the air.
  5. Turn into prepared tin, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is light golden and springs back when touched.
  6. Remove from tin, take off parchment, and coole completely on rack.
  7. Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
  8. Bloom gelatin in 2-3 tbsp of water. Place in a bowl of hot water to dissolve fully.
  9. Whisk the yolks with the sugar in a bowl.
  10. Heat cream, milk and half the sugar {15gm} until simmering. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar with a balloon whisk, and add 1/3rd of the hot milk mixture over it, whisking continuously until well combined. Pour this back into the pan with the remaining milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cream is thickened and coats the back of the spoon. {Don’t allow it to boil}. It is important to constantly stir to prevent the bottom from curdling or burning. If that happens, take a balloon whisk and whisk vigorously. If you fear your custard curdled too much, remove from the heat and pass it through a fine sieve before proceeding with the recipe.
  11. Thermomix: Place all ingredients in TM bowl, and cook at 90C, Speed 3 for 7 minutes.
  12. Remove from heat immediately and stir the gelatin well into this hot mixture well, then quickly strain this into a bowl. Cool over a bowl of crushed ice, stirring frequently.  
  13. Once cool, beat the remaining 200ml chilled cream to soft peaks, and gently stir into the mousse.
  14. Chocolate Ganache
  15. Chocolate Glaze
  16. Place chocolate in a bowl.
  17. Heat the cream and honey in a pan until simmering. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup ganache in a piping bag for macarons.
  18. Assembling Torte
  19. Cut the sponge horizontally into 3 layers. Place in dessert ring on serving platter. {Dessert ring should fit nice and snugly. I use this adjustable dessert ring I bought in Sydney.} Place one layer of cake, top with the strawberries and kiwi, then half the Bavarian mousse. Repeat with the next layer. Cover and chill overnight for the Bavarian to set.
  20. Unmold from the dessert ring, frost with the ganache and garnish as desired. Chill until ready to serve.
  21. Vanilla Macarons
  22. Preheat oven to 140C.
  23. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  24. Blend the powdered sugar, almond meal, vanilla powder and egg white powder briefly in the bowl of your food processor to mix. {you can sift it too}
  25. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg white and the granulated vanilla sugar till it becomes firm and holds peaks, about 2 minutes.
  26. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg white with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and falls in ribbons like molten lave, stop folding. {Do not overmix}
  27. Using a teaspoon, or piping bag, drop / pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
  28. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest for about about 15 minutes {to an hour}.
  29. Bake them for about 15 minutes until the shells feel firm to touch.
  30. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
  31. To assemble macarons
  32. Match equal halves of macarons, and keep together.
  33. Pipe a tiny bit of the reserved ganache from above on the flat side of the macaron and sandwich with another half of the same size, squeezing gently. Leave to set.
  34. Strawberry Puree for the Bavarian Mousse Goblets
  35. Lightly crush the chopped strawberries with the powdered sugar with a fork until the strawberries release their juices. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and reserve in a bowl in the fridge. Distribute over the glasses once Bavarian is set, and chill until served.

Notes: I bake my macarons on the upper shelf in my oven, using just the lower element for heat. I also use double baking trays.

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About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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