Green Tea Red Bean Mousse Cake

It is Grace's son, Leon's first year birthday. Grace and Micheal have survived the first year to raise a newborn boy, at the same time they have enjoyed their bundle of joy.

Grace was very happy that I was going to make a cake for Leon. After thinking cake ideas for days, I settled with this Asian flavor mousse cake. Most of her guests are Chinese who would appreciate more the adult flavor with less sugar. The market is flooded with fresh fruits, so why not use the fruit of season. And it is a great idea for me, since I am not so good at handling the regular icing topping.

Green Tea Red Bean Mousse Cake

Green Tea Red Bean Mousse Cake

Green Tea Red Bean Mousse Cake Inside Look

Ingredients:

Green tea cake base
4 eggs
1 cup cake flour
2 tbsp green tea powder
2/3 cup icing sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Red bean mousse
1 cup red bean paste
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp gelatin


Cake topping
1 mango
1 kiwi
few cherries, and 1 strawberry
5 tbsp boiling water
1/2 tbsp gelatin
1 tbsp sugar

Directions:
The first thing to do is to preheat the oven 325F.

Green Tea Cake Base
A. Mix cake flour, green tea powder, 1/3 cup icing sugar ( another 1/3 saved for the egg white), baking powder, salt.
B. Shift through
C. Add vegetable oil, milk, vanilla extract, and egg yolks.
D. Mix well



E. Put egg white in a different bowl.
F. Beat for one minute, add the rest of 1/3 cup icing sugar, and cream of tartar.
G. Beat for few more minute
H. It is ready when the egg white does not move when put the bowl upside down.



I. Prepare the bake pan, with parchment paper underneath, and around.
J. Mix egg white with the flour batter 1/3 at a time. Fold it in gently to prevent losing the volume.
K. All egg white has added in the batter.
L. Pour the batter into the baking pan.



M. N. In the oven, lower the temperature to 300F, 50 minutes. When ready, use the tooth pick to test it. If tooth pick comes out clean, It is done.
O. Put the pan upside down on a cooling rack for about an hour.
P. Remove the pan and parchment paper on the side, save the parchment paper at the bottom, continue to cool.



Q. Remove the crust on the top of the cake. I over baked the cake, it is tough on the top. Normally you don't have to remove it.
R. Use four tooth picks to center each side of the cake.
S. Cut along the tooth picks making sure that the cake is evenly cut into two slices. Same method can be used to cut three layers as well.
T. Put the bottom layer back into the baking pan. Surround it with new parchment paper.



When working with the gelatin, soak it in the water for 3 minutes, heat it up in a microwave for 1 minute. Let it sit for 3 minutes, the gelatin water will become completely clear as shown on the bottom right.



U. Beat the whipping cream until stiff.
V. Mix red bean paste, milk, sour cream, and clear gelatin water. Mix well, and then fold in the whipped cream.
W. Pour 1/3 of the red bean mix onto the first layer of the cake.
X. Drop the second layer cake, gently press it down. Then pour the rest of the red bean mix. Leave it in the fridge at least for 5 hours.



To prepare fruit topping.
1. Cut the mango as shown on the pictures. Assemble the fruit on the top of the cake.
2. Brush the fruits with the gelatin water. Chill it in fridge for one hour.

After thoughts
1. I over baked the cake for 30 minutes, so it is a bit dry on the outside. Since it is not soft on the top, I have to remove the crust. Otherwise you you don't have to. 300F, 45-50 minutes will be the right time.
2. The fruit topping should be as colorful as possible. Although the golden kiwi tastes great, the color is too close to the mango layer. The regular green kiwi could have been the better choice.
3. It is a delicate work to decorate the cake. The mango layer could be arrange nicer. It looks rough on the edge.