I was trying to remember where my family’s obsession with entremet cakes came from, and I think we had one at a bakery in New Orleans the first time we went there. They tend to be fairly delicate cakes with layers of mousse and cake and fruit gelee. They are a pleasure to eat, and if you enjoy pastry making, fun to make as well.
This is a 3 day project, so it is a commitment, but you are only making 1 or 2 components a day and freezing them, so it isn’t actually that much time wise any given day. It is key for the end result of these cakes that the previous day’s layers are full frozen. There are all kinds of cool entremet molds for making these. you can also just use an 8 inch springform pan if you don’t want to get a mold, but they are not very expensive. This is the one I used for this cake. You can search entremet molds on amazon and see the variety.
This particular entremet starts with a coconut dacquoise cake base which is topped with layers of mango cremeux, mango compote, and then a coconut mousse and a mirror glaze. I really loved both the coconut dacquoise and mousse and could definitely see making a coconut only version of this dessert.
Mango Coconut Mousse Cake
Entremet cake with coconut dacquoise, mango cremeux, mango compote and coconut mousse
Equipment
- 1 8 inch entremet mold or springform pan
- 1 6 inch silicone cake pan or cake ring
- 1 quarter sheet pan
- kitchen scale
Ingredients
For the mango puree:
- 400 g diced mango frozen or fresh
- 2 tbsp simple syrup or honey
For the mango compote:
- 200 g fresh mango diced small
- 20 g sugar
- 2 g pectin NH or 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 50 g mango puree
- 20 g lime juice
For the mango cremeux:
- 170 g cream
- 85 g mango puree
- 30 g sugar
- 50 g egg yolks
- 3 g gelatin powder
- 18 g water
For the coconut dacquoise:
- 75 g egg whites
- 16 g sugar
- 10 g almond flour
- 50 g powdered sugar
- 40 g coconut flakes sweetened or unsweetened, I used sweetened
For the coconut mousse:
- 7 g gelatin
- 45 g water
- 62 g egg yolks
- 45 g sugar
- 312 g coconut milk
- 300 g cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the mirror glaze:
- 205 g water
- 415 g glucose
- 415 g sugar
- 26 g condensed milk
- 20 g powdered gelatin
- 165 g water
- orange or yellow food coloring as desired I used a small amount of orange
Instructions
For the mango puree (Day1):
- If using frozen mango, defrost mostly first, then blend in the blender with the simple syrup or honey until very smooth. Pass through a fine mesh strainer to get very smooth pulp. Store in the fridge until needed.
For the mango compote (Day1):
- Line a 6 inch cake ring or cake pan with plastic wrap or use a 6 inch silicone pan. Place onto a quarter sheet pan to make easy to transfer to the freezer.
- Mix your pectin/cornstarch and your sugar in a small bowl or container first. This helps prevent lumps in your compote. Add your mango puree into a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Bring it to a soft boil. When your mango puree starts to bubble, add in your diced mangos and vanilla extract. Constantly stir with a spatula to prevent scorching. Add in your pectin and sugar mix. Keep stirring. Add in the lime juice. Keep stirring and cook your compote for about 5 minutes or until al dente (or until the fruit is soft, but still slightly firm in the center).
- Pour 150 grams into your silicone mold or lined cake ring ( or fill your mold about halfway) and freeze it for at least 2 hours.
For the mango cremeux (Day1):
- Bloom your water and gelatin in a small bowl or container and leave to sit until the gelatin has fully absorbed the water. (3-5 min). Add the mango puree, cream, and half of the sugar into a medium sized pot.
- Whisk your yolks and the other half of the sugar into a separate bowl until you reach the ribbon stage.
- Bring your mango mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent burning and then remove it from the heat. Add ⅓ of the hot mango mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to prevent the eggs from curdling. This is called tempering. Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into your mango mixture while still on medium heat. Keep whisking.
- Add in your bloomed gelatin. Cook the crémeux for about 3-5 minutes or until the mixtures is thickened and coats the back of the spatula or spoon. When the crémeux is done, pour 200 grams into your mold on top of your frozen mango compote and freeze the mold overnight.
For the daquiose (Day2):
- Preheat your oven to 360º F. Add your egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed until the egg whites reach soft peaks. Add in your sugar and continue to mix until you reach medium peaks.
- Sift your powdered sugar, almond flour, and coconut flakes into a separate bowl. Add in ⅓ of your dry ingredients into your meringue then fold with a spatula. Add in the rest of your dry ingredients and keep folding. ( Do not overmix because the more you fold the more air you lose. More air equals more volume, so fold lightly).
- Pour the batter into a 7 inch springform pan and gently spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake for 16 minutes, or until the sponge is golden and bounces back when touching it. Place the sponge in the freezer right after baking or until you are ready to use it.
For the coconut mousse (Day2):
- Add your cream into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip to a soft-medium peak. ( Do not overmix.)
- Add your coconut milk, and half of the sugar into a small pot over medium heat. (this prevents the coconut milk from burning). Add in your vanilla. Whisk the mix in the pot and bring it to a boil. Add in your yolks and the other half of the sugar into a separate bowl. Whisk together until you reach a ribbon texture. Once your coconut milk mix is boiling, temper your yolks with some of the mix by pouring ⅓ of the hot mixture into the yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Pour everything back into the pot.
- Cook everything while whisking constantly until it reaches 176º F (80 º C) 2-5 minutes or until the mix no longer drips from your whisk. Add in your gelatin and whisk until dissolved. Pour your mix into a separate bowl over ice to cool down the mix quickly to 68-72ºF.
- While the mix is cooling down, un-mold your coconut dacquoise insert and your mango compote and cremeux insert. Place it back into the freezer until you are ready to assemble. Add in ⅓ of your whipped cream into your cooled coconut milk mix to make the mixture lighter. Whisk together.
To assemble cake (Day2):
- When the mousse is set, prepare a piping bag, and pipe the mousse about ⅓ of the way full into the bottom of your silicone entremet mold.Using a spatula spread the mousse around all the sides and to the top edge of the mold.Take the mango compote and cremeux insert out of the freezer and push the frozen insert into the mousse until it's about ½" below the top edge of the mold. Cover the top of the insert with a super thin layer of mousse. Take out the coconut dacquoise and place that on top of the mango compote insert. Trim away any excess sponge. Place the whole entremet in the freezer to set overnight or minimum of 6 hours.
For the mirror glaze (Day3):
- Soak your gelatin in your cold water ( blooming). Let it absorb for 1-2 minutes and set aside for later.
- Pour your water, corn syrup, and sugar into a medium sized pot over medium heat. Bring the syrup to 222º F (106º C). ( This may take about 10-15 minutes). Place your condensed milk, and vanilla bean into a tall container. The shape and size is important for mixing without getting any extra air into the mix.
- Pour your hot syrup over the vanilla and condensed milk. Add in your gelatin. Blend the glaze until it becomes super smooth and combined using an emulsion blender. Add one or two drops of your yellow or orange color and about ¼ teaspoon of white food coloring and keep blending. Strain your glaze with a strainer so you get rid of any lumps. Cool the glaze and use at 76-77º F
- When glaze is cool, unmold your cake from the mold and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Quickly pour the glaze in a circular motion over the top of the cake and down the sides. The gelatin sets quickly on the frozen cake so you need to move fast. Trim off any drips and place onto serving plate.
- You want to cake to defrost before you eat it, so place into the fridge for a minimum of 4-6 hours before you eat. You can bring out and let sit at room temp for about 45 minutes before serving to help defrost. Store in an airtight container in the fridge if you have extras. Ours lasted less than 24 hours. 🙂