A Mousse Cake

It was Papa's birthday... :)  Thinking about something new to try, I came across this site   http://www.sugarhero.com/chocolate-raspberry-mousse-cake/  ...It looked awesome... A mousse cake.. :P
I have eaten this dessert several times and have always wanted to give it a go. The addition of gelatine did not appeal to me... and searching for an agar version was not fruitful either. The only information I got was to add 1 Tsp of agar powder or a tablespoon of flakes for every cup of liquid/cream.. I had no agar powder nor the flakes. . Just the strands. Having no alternative I decided to experiment. Somehow I managed to get a cake which was firm enough to slice when chilled but soft when brought to room temperature.... Thus a long post on my first experience with agar. Next time I would try with more quantity of agar.. to try if it would remain firm at room temperature.













       The layers ... brownie, chocolate mousse, cream cheese, ganache...

                       
It all starts with a fudgy layer of brownie ...recipe here
I made it in a 7 inch pan this time.

 Give a wrap of baking paper around the brownie..securing it with tape. Put the cake ring on.                                                                              


                                                                                                                 
The Mousse layers...

Chocolate layer:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 teaspoons of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g dark chocolate (mine is Galaxy)
80g milk chocolate
agar 2 teaspoons powder/ the strands as shown in the picture

It has to be soaked in a cup of water for 15-20mins








Beat the cream till soft peaks form..add the vanilla and sugar and whip until dissolved.

Melt the chocolate . Bring the agar to a slow boil ...for about 10-15 mins till dissolved, stirring frequently. Take off the flame and bring down the temperature a little by stirring to avoid setting. Add the hot agar mix to the melted chocolate spoonful at a time..  if the chocolate seizes(mine did) continue adding the hot agar mix little by little and stir till the chocolate is free of lumps. (I read that to prevent the chocolate from seizing you can add a teaspoon of water to it before melting) 

Stir your mix constantly as you bring down the temperature because you don't want to set your agar before adding the cream. Add the cream in 3 additions folding in carefully to avoid loosing the fluffiness.

Your mix should look like this. Pour it over the brownie. Smoothen the top. Refrigerate till it sets. 

Note:You need to work very quickly with agar or it will set before you pour over the brownie. 

The cream cheese layer:                                                                                                                     200g philadelphia cream cheese                                                                                                    

4 table spoons honey+ a tablespoon of sugar                                                                                 

1 cup of heavy whipping cream.                                                                                                    

3 tablespoons of granulated sugar                                                                                                  

A teaspoon of vanilla extract or Bailey's Irish cream                                                                    

     2 teaspoons of agar powder/agar strands as shown in the earlier picture(soak it in a cup of water for 15-20mins)

Beat the cream till soft peaks form..add the vanilla/ Irish Cream and sugar and whip until dissolved. 

Bring the cheese to room temperature and add the honey. Mix well. 

Bring the agar to a slow boil ...for about 10-15 mins till dissolved, stirring frequently. Take off the flame and bring down the temperature by stirring to avoid setting. Add the warm agar to the cheese mix a spoonful at a time stirring to avoid setting the agar. Fold in the cream in 3 additions.

Pour over the chocolate mix and smoothen the top.Refrigerate till it sets.. ( I left for 2 hours)

The moment of truth!! Unmold from the ring. It has set !!!... :) :) 

(the chocolate layer has set well.. the cream cheese layer need more agar I think)

Pour over the ganache ...recipe here

Refrigerate till you use it. ....:)