Strawberry and White Chocolate Mousse Tart (BA April 02)

[clairea]

Has anyone made this? I need to take a dessert to a dinner party with people I don't know well on Saturday, and it needs to be impressive because DH has been talking up my cooking skills (I need to remind him not to do this!). I really wanted to try the Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd from the same issue, but I know people had mixed results with that, so I was thinking about this instead.

I should probably go with something tried and true, but I don't make desserts very often so like to try something new when I do.

[Gilgamesh37]

Can't say I've made this (I'm so far behind, I haven't even had time to flip through this issue yet!) but if you don't make this and want something simple yet elegant and impressive (and that will blow the doors off of any chocoholics in the group) let me know--I have a chocolate ganache torte with a pecan/sugar crust that's really easy and very delicious (but it needs to chill 24 hours first).

[funnybone]

I have not tried this one yet, but I just got the recipe in an email from www.bhg.com - it looks great! I may make it this weekend! :)


http://images.meredith.com/bhg/images/recipe/l_1263.jpg

Raspberry Mousse Cake

Create this spectacular dessert for a special celebration.
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups frozen lightly sweetened red raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice or orange liqueur
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cups fresh red raspberries



1. Grease and flour two 9x1-1/2-inch round baking pans. Stir together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl beat egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in first 1/2 cup sugar on low speed; beat in water and lemon juice. Wash beaters.

2. In mixing bowl beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add second 1/2 cup sugar; beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in the yolk mixture. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Divide batter between pans.

3. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until top springs back when touched. Remove from pans immediately. Cool. Split layers in half horizontally. Place thawed berries in a blender container. Cover; blend until smooth. Strain to remove seeds. Stir in the 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside. In a 1-cup heat-safe measure combine orange juice or liqueur and gelatin; let stand 5 minutes. Place measure in a saucepan filled with 1 inch of water. Heat until gelatin dissolves, stirring constantly. Beat whipping cream and 3 tablespoons sugar to soft peaks. Gradually add gelatin mixture, beating to stiff peaks. Reserve 3-1/2 cups of the whipped cream. To remaining whipped cream, fold in berry puree and 2 cups of the fresh berries.

4. Place a cake layer on a platter; top with 1/3 of the berry mixture. Repeat twice. Top with last layer. Frost cake with reserved whipped cream. Cover; chill 6 hours or overnight. To serve, garnish with remaining fresh raspberries. Makes 12 servings.

Make-Ahead Tip: Bake and cool cake. Fill and frost the cake. Cover and chill 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with fresh berries before serving.


Nutritional facts per serving
calories: 401 , total fat: 25 g , saturated fat: 14 g , cholesterol: 153 mg , sodium: 90 mg , carbohydrate: 41 g , fiber: 3 g , protein: 5 g , vitamin A: 37 % , vitamin C: 27 % , calcium: 5 % , iron: 7 %


It's high in fat, but it does not contain butter. I am assuming the the frosting is the main culprit for fat with all that whipping cream. I'll have to enter it in MC and play around with it.

[funnybone]

If anyone is interested, besides me, I entered the recipe into MC - the whipping cream is the fat bearer. I replaced it with Cool Whip Lite (I know it's not the same) but this is the nutrtional content:


MC - as per original recipe
Per serving: 454 Calories (kcal); 24g Total Fat; (46% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 57g Carbohydrate; 152mg Cholesterol; 157mg Sodium

MC - replacing 4 cups cool whip for the whipping cream
Per serving: 303 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (14% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 60g Carbohydrate; 71mg Cholesterol; 151mg Sodium

[Linda in MO]

The cake looks delicious, funnybone. Please post a review after you try it. I think you would need 6 cups of Cool Whip to replace the whipping cream. Doesn't it double when you whip it?? Not positive though.

[Joyce]

Gilgamesh37, if you don't mind, I would love the recipe for the chocolate ganache torte. We go to a restaurant called South End Brewery (I understand their beer is now sold nationally) and they have the greatest torte that has the same name. They serve it in a pool of caramel sauce!

[funnybone]

Originally posted by Linda in MO
The cake looks delicious, funnybone. Please post a review after you try it. I think you would need 6 cups of Cool Whip to replace the whipping cream. Doesn't it double when you whip it?? Not positive though.

I will let you know hot it turns out. :) I wasn't sure of the qty of cool whip, so I put in 4 cups as a guide. I also find that most times I use less frosting than called for - I guess I don't slather it on as they would like me to. I hope to make this this weekend, as DH is gone until Friday, but then we are supposed to go out for dinner on Sat. Oh, well - what's an extra cake lying around the house anyway. :D

[Leonard]

clairea: I made the "Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd" from BA. I do admit to cheating on the recipe. I was afraid of making the lemon cake from scratch. Some often the cakes are dense and heavy in texture. I used Duncan Hines "Lemon Supreme" cake mix. It has a very mild lemon flavor. The rest of the recipe, (raspberry curd filling and whipped cream frosting & decorations I did from scratch. No one knew. My DH showed our guests the picture of the cake in the magazine next to mine and all I heard was "WOW, that looks exactly like the picture"!! It was delicious and Oh so beautiful!

[clairea]

Thanks for all the ideas.

Gilgamesh37 -- I would love the recipe for the Chocolate Ganache Tart. I don't think I will make it this weekend because the hostess requested something "kind of fruity", but it definitely sounds like something I would like!

Funnybone -- the cake you posted looks great too. I may try that, since I have always had good luck with BHG recipes.

Leonard -- thanks for the idea of using a cake mix with the BA cake. If I make that one I think I will do the same since it sounds like the problems were with the cake, not the filling, and I don't really have time to mess around with a cake that may not work this weekend.

And I'm still thinking about the strawberry and white chocolate mousse tart! So many desserts, so little time . . .

Claire

[Gilgamesh37]

My apologies to someone somewhere, because I've lost the attribution information for this recipe. I think it was from an Inn in Oregon somewhere.


CHOCOLATE GANACHE TORTE

Crust:

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
3 cups pecans


Filling:

2 2/3 cups heavy cream
1 ½ lbs chopped semi-sweet chocolate
1 egg yolk


Whirl pecans in food processor. Slowly add sugar until incorporated. Stir in butter by hand until mixed. Pat into bottom of greased 9 or 10 inch springform pan and bake at 350 until brown (about 25 minutes. You may not need all the mixture—you don’t want the crust too thick. Be especially careful not to make it too thick in the “elbow” between the bottom and the sides) Cool crust completely.

When crust is cool, scald cream and pour over the chocolate in a large bowl, stirring until blended. When the mixture has slightly cooled and all the chocolate is melted, whisk in one egg yolk. Pour into crust and chill until firm (overnight).

This unmolds really well. It cuts surprisingly well, though you might want to do the knife dipped in hot water trick. It would be good with a raspberry sauce, but it’s impressive enough to stand on its own. And it’s rich enough that you could cut it in 16ths and no one would feel shortchanged.