White Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Cake

White Choc Mousse Cake Clear White Choc Mousse Slice 2 White Choc Mousse Slice

This little baby has been in my head for sometime as a distant image – I kinda knew what I wanted, but didn’t have time to work it out and thus it missed going into the new book. So you are getting it for Christmas dear reader. As I began to slow down last week, I finally could see (in my mind) how to go about this recipe. As it happened I had a play date set with my gorgeous friend  Emma Galloway (My Darling Lemon Thyme) as a chance for us to really catch up before she heads back home to New Zealand. What a truly beautiful soul is Emma – and talented. Given photography is not my strength, and it most certainly is Emma’s, I asked her if she would mind bringing her camera and take some shots. These gorgeous shots you see here are hers, and the making of it was a joint effort :) Needless to say, we did not stop talking from the second she arrived to the second she left. Thank you for the beautiful photos Emm!

It’s very easy, gluten and dairy free. Now I say that not because I think gluten and dairy free means something is wholesome and healthy, but because I like my sweetness a little less rich and lighter when the weather is 40c (as it is want to be on a Perth Christmas Day). For those of you that follow my work, you will see it’s pedigree in the Vanilla Bean Almond Cream and Creamy Cocoa Butter and Vanilla Frosting from Wholefood Baking. Just a couple of things:

  1. You will need to soak the almonds for the milk overnight to make the almond and coconut milk (and please don’t be tempted to use tetrapak almond milk, it will be watery and not nice. You can however make the almond and coconut milk the day before, so you are ready to go the next day.
  2. You will really only need about 3/4 of the chocolate biscuit base, but I’m too tired to work that out. I would make it up, and perhaps make little tartlets with the left over !
  3. This really is best eaten the day it is made -it will also look it’s best. I know that’s not optimal for Christmas, but you could have the milk made, and the strawberry juice made and it really doesn’t take that long to put together.
  4. Use a good vanilla – I like Heilala 
  5. Dont use a generic agar powder, go to a Natural or Wholefoods store and buy it there. Two good brands are Honest to Goodness  or Lotus
  6. If you are wondering about kudzu, you can find it here (in Australia) here in the U.S

I’d like to ask you something here though…  enjoy this recipe and I would love you to share it  but please respect the copyright of both myself and Emma. There’s a lot of craziness going on in the blogging and instagram world. I (and others I know) will now often see a recipe that is mine (or theirs) directly posted with no acknowledgement, or a few small changes with no nod to it’s source. I would ask that you please respect this.

It’s been a big year for me, with lots of blessings and challenges. I didn’t run the Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Program this year as I was exhausted, and with a book to finish. That new book is just about put to bed, my family are well, I am loved and supported by that wonderful family and true friends, I have wonderful neighbours, I’m finally able to own my home and am building, I’ve been doing public classes again and I have the absolute blessing of doing work I love – and I hope, making a positive difference. I got the flu badly (twice), I didn’t balance work and rest too well and I’ve learnt a lot of about false friendships and those that are true – lessons are blessings in their own way as they free you for the new growth, deeper friendships and all that really matters.  I go into the new year grateful, loving with arms open wide to embrace the new year with joy.

I wish you and your loved ones a joyful, peaceful and safe Christmas, may you be richly blessed with everything that really matters.

x Jude

Chocolate Pastry Base

Ingredients

30 g quinoa flour (Olive Green Organics if in Australia if possible)
30 g teff flour (Bob’s Red Mill Brand)
40 g brown rice flour
30 g unsweetened dutched cocoa powder
25 g desiccated coconut
1/2 cup finely (but not powdered) chopped macadamia nuts
80ml coconut oil (liquid)
90 ml maple syrup
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Directions

Pre heat your oven to 180c or 165 if fan forced.

Grease a 22cm spring form tin lightly with coconut oil.

Place the flours,coconut, cocoa and nuts and whisk together to evenly distribute the ingredients.

Whisk together the oil, maple syrup and vanilla, add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. This is a soft and moist mix, but will firm up as it sits. Press 3/4 of the mix into the tin and press down well across the base (not up the sides). Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the mix appears cooked and drier in texture. This can be a tricky pastry to tell when it’s ready, as it is dark coloured, you can’t tell if it’s burnt – a slightly lower heat and longer is a better option that hotter and shorter.

White Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

ALMOND AND COCONUT MILK

1 1/2 cups almonds with their skins on
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 cups desiccated or shredded coconut
l litre (1000ml) filtered water + 125ml (1/2 cup)

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

1 litre almond and coconut milk
100 ml maple syrup or 100 g golden castor sugar ( + or – to taste **)
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthways and scraped or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste (I like Heilala)
2 teaspoons agar powder
3 tablespoons kudzu
60 g best quality cocoa butter, pulsed in the food processor to a very fine powder

You will need to soak the almond the night before making this recipe.

Directions

THE NIGHT BEFORE:

Add the almonds to a bowl with the salt, and cover well with filtered water. Leave to sit at room temperature overnight.

THE NEXT DAY:

The next morning drain and rinse the almonds, and remove their skins. They should slip of easily, but if not pour some boiling water over them and let them sit for a few seconds – you should find they come of very easily then. Add half the almonds and half the coconut to a blender with half (560 (2 1/4 Australian cups) water and process until very, very fine and creamy. Pour through a nut bag, repeat with the remaining almonds, coconut and water. Squeeze the milk out, you should (and need) have 1 litre of milk.

Add 900 ml almond milk to a medium pot with the sweetener (remember, start of with less – you can always add more), scraped vanilla seeds and pods (if using vanilla paste, you will add that later) and whisk in the agar. Place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, whisking frequently. Reduce the heat to a gentle, gentle boil (blip blip)and cook for another 6 minutes. Take care to stir frequently with a whisk or spoon to prevent the mixture from sticking to the base as it dissolves.

Meanwhile, mix the remaining 100 ml of milk with the kudzu to a paste (I like to do this with my fingers, much easier). When the agar has dissolved, remove from the heat and take out and discard the vanilla beans (or wash and dry them and add them to your sugar stash). Taste and add sweetness as desired. Add the kudzu mix slowly to the pan whisking as you do, it will begin to thicken immediately. Place the pot back on the stove over low heat, whisking constangly as it come to the boil. Remove from heat and add the cocoa butter (and vanilla paste if using) and whisk until the cocoa butter is absolutely melted, whisking briskly to cool the mixture down a little.

Add to your blender and blend well (leave the little lid that covers the hole space in the lid off – this will allow steam to escape and cool the mix down) – this step incorporates air into the mix, and results in lovely bubbles – blend for at least 2 minutes. TAKE CARE NOT TO BLEND THE MIX ONCE IT IS STARTING TO SET – THIS WILL BE AS IT BECOMES VERY COOL. Pour onto the cooked chocolate base, cool for 15 minutes before placing in the fridge to cool fully and set – about 1 – 2 hours.

 

 

Strawberry Agar Jelly

Ingredients

500 – 600 gm beautifully ripe strawberries, hulled
golden castor sugar to sweeten
bare half teaspoon agar powder

You can use any sweetener you like here, but I prefer a semi refined golden castor sugar as it enhances and allows the clear taste of the strawberry to come through. Raspberries would work beautifully also. If you want a more intense flavoured jelly, increase the amount of strawberries and reduce the water added.

Directions

Cut half the strawberries into small pieces – not tiny, just small. Place them in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup water and 1 tablespoon golden castor sugar. Cover and place over a very low heat, allowing them to sweat out their juice – about 10 – 15 minutes – they should look spent.

Place a small sieve over a bowl and drain the strawberries – do not press on the berries to release any juice as this will make it cloudy – let it drip down. You should have, and need 1 cup juice. Discard the pulp.

Add the juice back to the small pan, taste and add extra sugar as desired. Whisk in the agar and place over a gentle heat, bring to the boil whisking frequently as the agar begins to dissolve and stick to the side and base. Cook at a gentle simmer (blip blip) for 6 minutes (from the time of boil) whisking frequently.

While the agar is dissolving, cut and arrange the strawberries on the top of the white chocolate mouse as desired. Spoon (do not pour) the jelly gently over the strawberries. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before returning to the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Run a small, sharp knife gently around the jelly and edges of the mousse before opening the springform tin to release the cake. If the tin is very cold, the coconut oil used to grease the tin may have set, so it helps to just wrap a warm cloth around the outside of the tin, for just a couple of seconds also.

Jude Blereau

Jude Blereau

good things deserve to be shared

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