Green Tea Mousse Cake

I am brushing up my baking skill currently in preparation for the girls' birthday in 1.5 months time. Have not decided what cake to bake for them though, just picking a recipe in random. The cake that caught my attention this time is the Green Tea Mousse cake.  The recipe is from the book '100 Desserts' by Winnie.



Cocoa Sponge Cake

2    eggs (room temperature)
60g  sugar
1/3  tsp  baking powder
1 1/2  tbsps  cocoa powder
1  tbsp corn starch
2  tbsps melted butter


Method :

1) Sift flour, corn starch, cocoa and baking powder together.
2) Beat eggs and sugar till thick.
3) Fold in the sifted dry ingredients. Mix well.
4) Add in the melted butter.  Stir well.
5) Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg C for 20 minutes.


Green Tea Mousse

10g  green tea powder
2 tsps corn starch
2  egg yolks
1  cup milk
100g  sugar
3tsps  gelatin powder
1 cup whipping cream

Method :
1) Mix green tea powder and corn starch. Add egg yold, sugar and gelatin powder. Mix again.
2) Bring to boil and strain the mixture.  Leave to cool.
3) Beat whipping cream till stiff.  Stir into custard from step 2.


Chocolate Ganache

80g  dark chocolate
1/2  cup whipping cream
red beans, cooked in water till soft

Method :

1) Bring whipping cream to boil in a pot.
2) Finely chop the chocolate.  Pour the boiled whipping cream into the chocolate. Stir till chocolate dissolves and mixture well blended.
3) Leave to cool and beat till fluffy and thick.

Assembly

1) Slice the cocoa sponge into two layers horizontally.
2) Place one sheet of sponge into the cake tin.  Pour ganache over the sponge.  Top with another sheet of sponge. 
3) Arrange red beans on top. 
4) Pour green tea mousse over the red bean and sponge cake. Refrigerate till set.
5) To garnish, sprinkle green tea powder over the cake.  Add a piece of chocolate.

The preparation of the cake took a long time.  Definitely not for one pressing for time.  Am quite pleased with the outcome although the presentation needs lots of improvement.  The combination of chocolate, red bean and green tea is delightful, especially for a green tea lover like me.