Okay. Calling this cake is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, it's cake-shaped with stacked layers made for slicing and it's even frosted, but there's nary a crumb to speak of. It's 100% mousse, in cherry chip and pistachio flavors, surrounded by vanilla whipped cream - my take on spumoni.
The trio of cherry, pistachio and vanilla flavors were the primary inspiration for this
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Tart server from Leif; Ice cream spoons from Hey YoYo. |
I found that using instant pistachio pudding to flavor the top layer created a pretty green hue, and the flavor is easily recognizable. It also has just the right amount of ground pistachios in the mix to keep the mousse texture nice and smooth. If you don't have access to instant pistachio pudding, you may omit the pudding from the recipe, add a handful of ground pistachios and use pistachio flavoring.
The cherry layer is my favorite because, well, I'm just a cherry lovin' girl. There's something so wonderful about getting a bite filled with cherry chips. It tastes like happy.
Spumoni Mousse Cake
[click for printable version]
Yield: one 7 or 8-inch cake; about 12 servings
Source: SprinkleBakes original recipe, icing technique inspired by Sweetapolita
Prep: 1 hour 15 minutes plus 4-5 hours chilling time
Cherry Layer
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Pistachio Layer
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1/4 oz. package
of powdered gelatin
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1 tsp. powdered
gelatin
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2 tbsp. maraschino
cherry juice
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2 tbsp. cold
water
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3 egg yolks
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1 1/2
tablespoons egg yolk
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1/2 cup sugar
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1/4 cup sugar
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1/2 cup whole milk
or half and half
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1/4 cup whole
milk or half and half
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8 oz. high
quality white chocolate, chopped
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4 oz. high
quality white chocolate, chopped
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1 tsp. almond extract
or 1/4 tsp. almond oil
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3 tablespoons
instant pistachio pudding
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Few drops of pink
food coloring
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Drop of green
food coloring (if desired)
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24 maraschino
cherries, chopped into “chips”
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-
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1 1/2 cups
whipping cream
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1 cup heavy
whipping cream
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- Lightly grease the bottom and sides of two 7 or 8-inch spring form pans. Line the bottoms with a parchment paper round. Set aside.
- Place the 2 tbsp. cherry juice in a medium saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 1 minute. Whisk in egg yolks and sugar; mix well. Stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened considerably 7-10 minutes. When done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in chopped white chocolate and blend with a whisk until chocolate has melted and has an even color. Let cool.
- When mixture is cooled to just barely warm, whisk in almond extract and pink food coloring. Stir in cherry chips.
- Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into the cooled cherry mixture until well blended. Pour into a prepared spring-form pan and level the top with a rubber spatula. Pick up and drop the pan once or twice to settle any gaps that may have been created when the mixture was poured. Place in freezer and freeze until firm. Wash and dry your saucepan, bowl, spatula, whisk and beaters for the next layer.
For the pistachio layer
- Place the 2 tbsp. water in a medium saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 1 minute. Whisk in egg yolk and sugar. Stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened considerably 5-7 minutes. When done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in chopped white chocolate and blend with a whisk until chocolate has melted and has an even color. Whisk in instant pistachio pudding mix. Let cool.
- When mixture is cooled to just barely warm, whisk in a drop of green food coloring to intensify the green color, if desired.
- Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into the cooled pistachio mixture until well blended. Pour into the remaining prepared spring-form pan and level the top with a rubber spatula. Pick up and drop the pan once or twice to settle any gaps that may have been created when the mixture was poured. Place in freezer and freeze until firm.
Vanilla whipped cream and assembly
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
Pink food coloring
12 whole maraschino cherries, rinsed and patted dry
- Remove pans of mousse from the freezer. Use a dish towel soaked in hot water then wrung dry to warm the outside of the spring-form collars and then gently unlatch and remove the collars. Turn the cherry layer onto a serving platter or cake stand and peel off the parchment round. Stack the pistachio layer on top of the cherry layer and press down until layers are even. If you have gaps between the layers, use an off-set spatula to smooth the two layers together. Peel off parchment circle.
- Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, and then gradually add the sugar. Add in the vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Frost the upper half of the mousse cake white whipped cream; avoid frosting the top – we want the pretty green color of the pistachio mousse to show. Tint the remaining whipped cream pink and frost the lower portion with the pink whipped cream. Use one large spatula to smooth the two colors together on the sides of the cake. Transfer remaining pink whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 12 pink whipped cream florets on the top outer edge of the cake. Place a cherry in the center of each floret. Store cake in the freezer. Slice into pieces while still partially frozen. Serve frozen or let slices come to room temperature – it’s delicious both ways!
You're a real artist! Love, love, LOVE this cake!♥
ReplyDeletegorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSpumoni is one of my favorite ice creams. I can't believe you've made a mousse cake out of it! Amazing and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteRefreshing, spring-like, pretty and luscious!
ReplyDeleteChers,
Rosa
absolutamente delicioso
ReplyDeleteThis is spumonilicious. Wow!
ReplyDeleteOh my God! It looks gorgeous, I have no words to describe such an amazing desert.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, I don't know why I still get surprised with your creations. I should know that you always surprise me.
OMG!! So perfect, so delicious!
ReplyDeleteOh my! My family used to love a cheesy little Italian restaurant that has since closed and my favorite part of the meal was always the complimentary spumoni ice cream at the end. My mouth is filling with the phantom flavor of it just looking at this pretty pastel dessert you've created!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI am designing a dessert buffet for my sons wedding and I will try this out as individual mini shot desserts. Of course I will need to attempt it several times before the big day just to make sure I get it right!!!
How would a chocolate lover substitute a chocolate icing for the vanilla?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, you have created a masterpiece!
ReplyDeleteAmanda Rose
http://sewmuchtosay.blogspot.com
This is so beautiful, what pretty colours for Easter
ReplyDeletewhat light, fluffy goodness! This looks delish and I love those colors too!
ReplyDeleteBee - u - ti -ful!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. Spumoni is one of my favorites and I just adore the pink/green color combo.
ReplyDeleteWow. I love the colors together! It looks so appetizing!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteSo so so beautiful! Like everything you do!
ReplyDeleteLooks SO amazing! I want to gobble it all up right now!!
ReplyDeleteBah! The colours in this are insanely lovely! Awesome recipe!
ReplyDeleteThis "cake" could light up a room! I am mesmerized by this cake, and can't seem to take my eyes off the bright, red cherries:)
ReplyDeleteIf you even have any, you should probably start posting pics of some of your kitchen 'fails' so the rest of us don't feel so bad about ourselves :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!
This would be the star at any dessert table! It is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYour desserts really are works of art! Amazing job!
ReplyDeleteSo insanely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWhat an ingenious (and certainly delicious) spumoni 'cake'! Love the spring-inspired colors!
ReplyDeleteMe encanta, ha quedado elegante y delicada.
ReplyDeleteLas fotos también están muy bien.
Felicidades.
*Pilar*
You never cease to amaze me! You got mad skillz lady! :)
ReplyDeleteStunning and gorgeous, Heather! I love Spumoni...fabulous idea to create it as mousse and present in an iced layer "cake"! Beautiful props and photography, too! Love...
ReplyDeleteque bonito
ReplyDeleteThis cake is gorgeous. And I love the flavor combo!
ReplyDeleteRealmente lindo y elegante y segura deliciosa me encantó,saludos desde el sur de Chile abrazos y abrazos
ReplyDeleteThis is just stunning! Wow! You amaze me every time you post!!
ReplyDeleteThis may be the greatest cake in the history of cakes. I LOVE spumoni!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cake, and I'm now speechless. Just left to drool :D
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photographs and delicious deser !!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing. That cake is sooo extremly beautifaul that it sems to be madnes not to do that cake.
ReplyDeleteque delicia, además toda una monada de tarta y de blog.
ReplyDeletebesos
both beautiful & delicious!!
ReplyDelete\
thea.
(spoonfulzine)
xx
This is incredible.
ReplyDeleteI want this at my next birthday party.
It's just too amazing for words really.
Wow.
Take care, keep cooking!
I have tried ur espresso-biscoff-heart-cake and it turned out amazing.... Now I want to try out this cake..... Never heard or tasted but it looks amazing....I want to try this out... Can you please tell me what can I replace it with egg yolk and gelatin... And how much.
ReplyDeleteThanks u r the best :)
Dee
this is just the cutest pastel cartoony awesome cake! love it... ^__^
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this post, I knew that I had to try to make it for my Grandma, since Spumoni is her very best favorite dessert and this is the most gorgeous example of Spumoni that I had ever seen. So I made it on Sunday night as a trial run for Mother's Day...and it is PERFECT. You recipe is flawless and so much easier than I thought it would be. I gave out "sample" slices to my friends and family and everyone's eyes lit up when they tasted it. Everyone also agreed that it is as delicious as it is beautiful! Thank you so much for such a great recipe. I really look forward to making one for my Grandma for Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteMy mum is making me this for my birthday!! it`s soo cool!! :)
ReplyDeleteP. S. Check my blog>>> http://prettyreports.blogspot.com