Chestnut mousse and chocolate cream cake with mascarpone-flavored whipped cream

I made this cake for Christmas eve with a mousse that will remind you of Nestle's Marronsuis... only much better. To tone it down, use freshly made mascarpone-flavored whipped cream and don't hesitate to use a lot of it because it is so good.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

Mascarpone-flavored whipped cream

200 g mascarpone
45 g sugar

230 g cold heavy whipping cream

Vanilla syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

70 g mineral water

50 g sugar

 

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioner's sugar

Chestnut spread mousse

300 g chestnut spread

250 g chestnut spread

42 g sugar

24 g mineral water

72 g egg yolk

30 g mineral water

15 g brown rum

3.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (7 g)

330 g cold heavy whipping cream

150 g fragments of marrons glacés (optional)

Chocolate cream

125 g whole milk

30 g sugar

45 g egg yolk

170 g chocolate 48% cacao

80 g chocolate 67% cacao

180 g cold heavy whipping cream

Method

Mascarpone-flavored whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the mascarpone until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip.

Vanilla syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut one of the two biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Chestnut spread mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Mix 30 g of water with 300 g of chestnut spread.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the 24 g of water with the sugar to 239°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Heat the rum over medium heat and add the gelatin to melt it.

- Add the rum to the chestnut spread, and then add the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the mixture.

- Add the fragments.

- Put a 9-inch ring over the widest biscuit, soak it and pour 4cm of mousse.

- Slather 250 g of chestnut spread on the back of the other biscuit, place it in the ring and pour a thin layer of mousse.

- Put it in the freezer for about an hour.

Chocolate cream 

- Put both chocolates in a mixing bowl.

- Boil the milk.

- Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar without whitening or frothing.

- Pour in 1/3 of boiling milk, beat, add the rest and beat.

- Put the custard back in the pan and cook over low heat to 180°F stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

- Immediately pour over the chocolate, blend with a hand mixer and cool to 86°F.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the chocolate cream.

- Cut the biscuit before removing the 9-inch ring and pour a thin layer of chocolate cream into the 10-inch.

- Freeze it at least for two hours.

Decorate with the mascarpone-flavored whipped cream on the whole cake.

My very own Schuss cake recipe

The Schuss cake is one of the crown jewels of a famous French cooking school: Lenôtre. I took several recipes we can find on the Internet and I built my very own recipe with fresh raspberries and organic vanilla beans from Madagascar. Its unique taste will surprise your senses.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

250 g fresh raspberries

Whipped cream

150 g cold heavy whipping cream

30 g sugar

Vanilla

Raspberry jelly

300 g raspberry puree

108 g sugar

24 g inverted sugar (optional)

4.25 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (8.5 g)

Vanilla syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

70 g mineral water

50 g sugar

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Vanilla quark mousse

1.5 vanilla beans

7 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (14 g)

43 g mineral water

85 g egg yolk

128 g sugar

425 g quark 30% fat (you can replace it by unsalted cottage cheese)

510 g cold heavy whipping cream

Method

Raspberry jelly

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Blend your fresh raspberries, pass them through a strainer into a pan.

- Slowly heat to 104°F stirring with a spatula.

- Add sugar and inverted sugar, then the gelatin melted in the microwave without boiling.

- Pour in a 9-inch silicone mold and freeze it.

Whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the vanilla until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with the decorating tip of your choosing.

Vanilla syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut the biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Vanilla quark mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the quark.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the water with the sugar to 244°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the quark mixture.

- Add to the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the vanilla cream.

ASSEMBLY (without filling)

- Put a biscuit on a cake cardboard and soak it with half the syrup.

- Pour some mousse, add the frozen jelly and cover with more mousse.

- Put the other biscuit, soak it with the rest of the syrup and pour the rest of the mousse.

- Freeze it at least two hours.

- Remove the ring.

- Decorate with the whipped cream and the fresh raspberries.

Strawberry mousse cake

Let me introduce another creation of mine: the strawberry mousse cake. Light and fresh with its homemade sponge cake; you can also add another flavor to your cake: vanilla or lemon. It is very easy to make and will be even better if you use fresh charlotte strawberries.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

Whipped cream

300 g cold heavy whipping cream

60 g sugar

Vanilla

1 kg fresh strawberries shared between puree, syrup, filling and decoration.
Slivered almonds

Optional filling

- Light vanilla cream

82 g whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean

23 g egg yolk

23 g sugar

8 g cornstarch

8 g butter

0.5 gelatin sheet Dr. Oetker (1 g)

83 g cold heavy whipping cream

- Lemon zabaglione

45 g egg yolk

40 g sugar

3/4 lemon zest

40 g lemon juice

105 g cold heavy whipping cream

1.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (3 g)

Strawberry syrup

100 g strawberry puree

50 g mineral water

50 g sugar

Lemon juice

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Strawberry quark mousse

150 g strawberry puree

40 g sugar

9.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (19 g)

43 g mineral water

85 g egg yolk

165 g sugar

425 g quark 30% fat (you can replace it by unsalted cottage cheese)

510 g cold heavy whipping cream

Sugar

Method

Whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the vanilla until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with the decorating tip of your choosing.

Strawberry syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut the biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Fillings

- Light vanilla cream

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 15 to 20 min.

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Meanwhile, beat together the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.

- Boil the milk again and pour 1/3 into the eggs, blend, add in the rest and blend.

- Put it back into the pan by pouring it through a strainer and beat over high heat until it thickens.

- Remove the pan and add the butter.

- Cool it rapidly stirring the whole time so as to prevent the cream from drying.

- Once it is cool, whip the cream and fold it gently in the pastry cream.

- Pour the cream over the first soaked biscuit in a 9-inch wide ring. Cut in half some fresh strawberries and put everything in the fridge.

- Lemon zabaglione

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Whip together the yolks, the sugar and the lemon zest.

- Add the lemon juice and poach in a bain-marie to 158°F.

- Then whip with a hand mixer on medium speed until cool.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add it in, then the whipped cream.

- Pour the zabaglione over the first soaked biscuit in a 9-inch wide ring. Cut in half some fresh strawberries and put everything in the freezer.

Strawberry quark mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the water with the sugar to 244°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Blend the quark, the strawberry puree and 40 g of sugar.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the strawberry mixture.

- Add to the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the strawberry cream.

ASSEMBLY (without filling)

- Put a biscuit on a cake cardboard and soak it with half the syrup.

- Pour some mousse, add strawberries cut in half, sprinkle with sugar and cover with more mousse.

- Put the other biscuit, soak it with the rest of the syrup and pour the rest of the mousse.

- Freeze it at least two hours.

- Remove the ring.

- Decorate with the whipped cream and the remaining strawberries.