Last summer I made these passionfruit coconut flavored cakes. I liked the coconut mousse core of these summer cakes a lot and this is why I decided to make the coconut mousse again for a new cake recipe. The coconut mousse is the center of the new cake recipe that I am sharing today. I added a nectarine ragout in the middle of each mousse cake an almond sponge cake as a cake bottom and around the cake there is a thin layer of white chocolate coating. If you have never worked with chocolate and chocolate transfer sheets, do not be intimidated. Make sure that you have enough time on hand when tempering the chocolate.
Instead of using nectarines, you can also use peaches or mangoes which I think is a wonderful match for the coconut mousse, too. The mousse cakes are such wonderful summer cakes which taste light and are not too heavy. It is the perfect cake for hot days.



Makes 6 cakes (6 cm / 2.4 inches in diameter; 4,5 cm / 1.8 inches in height)

NECTARINE RAGOUT

  • 35 ml / 2 1/2 tablespoons peach juice
  • 75 g / 1/3 cup nectarine, peach or mango, peeled, cored 
  • 1/3 sheet / 1/2 g gelatin, soaked
  • 5 g / 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar, optional
  • Cut the nectarine, peach or mango into 3 cm / 0.8 inch cubes. 
  • Pour the peach juice into a small saucepan. If the nectarines are not sweet enough, add sugar to the juice and slightly heat the juice. Set aside and add the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the nectarine cubes and mix well. Fill the ragout into 6 little silicon molds (5 cm / 2 inches in diameter). Place the molds onto a board and freeze the molds for at least two hours.

ALMOND SPONGE CAKE

  • 55 g egg / medium sized
  • 15 g egg yolk / equals egg yolk of one medium sized egg
  • 45 g / 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 25 g / 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 30 g egg white / equals egg white of two medium sized egg
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 20 g / 3 tablespoons pastry flour, sifted
  • Preheat the oven to 190 °C / 375 °F.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
  • Place the egg, egg yolk and half of the granulated sugar in a medium sized bowl. Whisk the mixture until it has a pale color which takes about 2 to 3 minutes. 
  • In a separate bowl, add the egg white and the salt and whisk until almost stiff. Gradually add the rest of the granulated sugar and whisk until soft peaks. 
  • Add 1/3 of the stiff egg white to the mixture and mix well. Add the rest of the stiff egg white and the sifted flour and fold it it. 
  • Spread the batter onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread it to a 25 cm / 10 inches square. 
  • Bake the sponge cake for 5 to 7 minutes. 
  • Let the sponge cake cool completely. Carefully remove the parchment paper. Cut out 5 cm / 2 inches circles. 
  • You can prepare the sponge cake ahead of time and freeze the sponge cake. 

COCONUT MOUSSE

  • 110 g / 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 15 g / 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 15 g egg yolk / equals egg yolk of one medium sized egg
  • 2 sheets / 3 g gelatin, soaked
  • 40 g / 3 tablespoon coconut cream
  • 135 g / 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • Pour the coconut milk into a medium sized saucepan. Add the sugar to the coconut milk and bring the mixture almost to a boil. Set the saucepan aside. 
  • Place the egg yolk into a small bowl and whisk it. Add half of the hot coconut milk to the egg yolk and stir well. Pour the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan. 
  • Heat the mixture until it has reached 84 °C / 183 °F. Remove from the heat. Add the coconut cream and stir until the coconut cream is completely incooperated. Add the gelatin to the mixture and mix well again. Pour the mixture through a sieve and let the coconut mixture cool down to room temperature. 
  • Whisk the heavy cream until cream. Fold the whipped cream into the coconut mixture. 

ASSEMBLING

  • You will need cake rings, 6 cm / 2.3 inches in diameter. If you do not have cake rings, you can also use silicon muffin molds. 
  • Place a parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (the latter is better because it prevents any wrinkles) on a board and place the cake rings onto the board. Fill the cake rings 2/3 with the coconut mousse. 
  • Unmold the nectarine cores and gently press the cores into the coconut mousse. Then place the sponge cake on top of the nectarine core. 
  • Freeze the molds for at least 4 hours. 

DECORATION

  • 150 g white chocolate, tempered
  • Toasted coconut ships, nectarine cubes, celery cubes
  • Cut chocolate transfer sheets to the size of your cake rings, so you can wrap the sheets around the cake rings.
  • Spread evenly a thin layer of the melted chocolate onto the prepared chocolate transfer sheets. 
  • Unmold the cakes. Carefully wrap the chocolate sheets around the cake. Place the cakes in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Carefully remove the sheets from each cake. 
  • Decorate the top of each cake to your desire. I added a mint leave, toasted coconut chips, nectarine cubes and celery cubes.