Mousse Cake

Finally second semester had start. In this semester, we will learn more mousse cake.

Mousse cake is a very popular and famous. Its texture is soft and smooth, and very nice to eat. But the making method is very complicated. The most important thing to make this cake is have to make sure that the mousse is well set and wouldn't melt too fast. Beside that, hygiene is also very important while making mousse cake, because the mousse will not going to bake, and it is also a high risk food with high in moisture and protein.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

A very easy and normal mousse cake. It's mousse is use chocolate, gelatin, meringue and cream to structure it. Gelatin is a refined product obtained by boiling the protein "collagen", contained in the bones and tissues of animals (click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin for more information). It can help to set the mousse when adding it in, but fruit like fresh pineapples and kiwi contain enzymes which can prevent the gelatin from setting. Meringue is made by beating egg white and sugar. But the meringue use in this cake is Italian merringue, which heat water and sugar together until sugar dissolves, before add in beaten egg white. It is because to kill the bacteria which found in egg white.

Strawberry Yoghurt Mousse Cake
A mousse cake with yoghurt inside. By adding yoghurt inside, make it taste more unique than other mousse cakes. We made a Joconde Sponge to decorate the side of this cake. It is just like normal sponge cake, but the difference is use all purpose flour (a stronger protein flour than high ratio flour) and adding ground almond. The sponge is more strong in structure and not easy to crack when rolled up.

White Chocolate Mousse Cake

A mousse cake with a very soft mousse. This cake will more watery because the gelatin inside is less than the others. Therefore, while making the mousse, we have make the mixture a bit set before add in whipped cream. The base of this cake, we made a praline crunch, which made by chocolate and corn flakes, to make it more great while eat. It is also very nice while eat single itself.

Mousse cake is actually not suitable for vegetarian, because of the gelatin inside. But for any vegetarian, there are also have vegetarian gelatin, or you can try another mousse cake call Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse. It is use egg yolk, dark chocolate and whipped cream to set it, there are no any gelatin inside. But ofcause it is more soft and not so strengthen. Therefore, we make it into a dome shape to prevent the mousse melt too easily.

Sponge Cake

Sponge cake is the most common cake, because we can make a lot of filling and flavor on it. We can many types of fruits, or even add some raisin or chocolate also very nice. By the way, to make a sponge cake, it can be very easy and also can be very hard.

Most important thing is how we mix. If we mix too long time, the cake will become too light, then it will raise very high and will sink in middle. If the mixing not enough, it will cannot raise and become hard.

Another thing is, after adding butter, cannot mix to long time, because it will getting more heavier as long as we mix. Beside that, no water or any fresh fruits added inside the sponge cake. It will become like 'kuih' at bottom, because sponge cake no need too much of water, other ingredients had contain water, like eggs. This is from my own experiences.

Baking temperature also a important element. If we set the temperature too low, the cake will cook very slowly and the water will sink into bottom, the cake will become very dry. If temperature too high, the skin will cook very fast, but inside cannot cook.

Black Forest

Black Forest is my favour cake. It is a German famous dessert consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. Traditionally, Kirschwasser (a clear cherry brandy made from the small, sour Morello cherry which has a dark red skin) is added to the cake in Europe. However, because of the 'Halal" purpose, Black Forest cake is most often prepared without alcohol in Malaysia.

By the way, actually make a Black Forest cake most important is the cherry filling. The filling have to cook it until thick but not too over. Actually, most of the Black Forest cake in market does not cooked. Beside that, fresh frozen cherry is more tasty then the can cherry. Morello cherry is use to cook the filling, and the red cherry which decorated on top of the cake is maraschino cherry.

MIB

Finally I go into MIB (Malaysian Institute Of Baking). At first day, when I step in MIB, it's realy different with what I thought. Firstly, the students there are more then what I thought. Secondly, the schedule is more full that i thought. And one more thing is, I'm not the eldest in class. Haha!

Two months had pass, now I learned a lot. And this is just a beginning, I have a long way to go. This is what I had choose, and I didn't make a wrong choise.