The Chef in Me

One of the best things about winters is that it comes with Oranges. Oranges that are Jam-packed with Vitamin A, B-complex and Vitamin C , fibre, calcium, helps reduce blood pressure, cholesterol,viral infections and provide immunity against many other diseases. So make them your best friend in winters and consume them as much as you can.

And this  simple orange mousse recipe is just in time for you to try it and enjoy it with your friends and family. I used cake base, you can even try the biscuit base (if you know how to make it :p) and then simple pour the mousse mix over the base and let is sit in the fridge till it sets.

So when winters give you oranges, you make orange mousse cake.

Another wonderful thing about this orange mousse cake is that not only you can enjoy it in winters or fresh orange juice but also the rest of the year. Preserve orange rind this winters and use it through out the year and ask for the orange juice in the recipe, you can also use packet orange juice but try to use Nestle Pure Orange Juice or any other pure orange juice available.

What you need

For the Mousse:

Orange juice——————– 1 cup
Orange jelly——————– 1 packet, any brand. I used
Instant Gelatin—————– 2 tbsp
Tap water———————- 1/4 cup
Cream/whipping cream——— 200 – 250 ml
Eggs—————————- 2 separated
Caster sugar——————– 5 oz
Orange rind——————— as much as you like, I used 1/2 cup

For the Sponge cake Base:

Eggs—————————– 2
Castor sugar——————— 2 0z
All-purpose flour—————– 2 oz

How it’s made

For the Sponge cake base:

1. Pre-heat oven 180 C.
2. Take a clean, dry bowl, beat eggs till foamy.
3. Add in castor sugar and beat again.
4. Now gently fold in flour with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and bake for 20 minutes or until it is done.
5. Remember your cake base should be nicely cooled to room temperature before pouring in the mousse mix in it.
6. Bake the cake in the same cake, you want your mousse to set. Take a 7″ or 8″ round spring-foam or loose-bottom pan for this recipe.

For the Mousse:

1. Sprinkle gelatin  over regular tap water, do not stir, do not try to mix it, just sprinkle it over the water and let it rest for 10-15 minutes or until the gelatin swells.
2. Whip cream to hard peeks and set aside.
3. Beat egg whites to hard peaks and then add 2 1/2 oz of caster sugar, beat again and set aside.
4. Now take a small saucepan and add egg yolks and remaining 2 1/2 oz of  caster sugar to it. Now place your pan on stove, on low flame and warm the egg yolks and sugar mix, do not let it boil. Keep stirring till sugar is dissolved.
5. Once the mixture has been warmed and sugar dissolves, add in the gelatin mix.
6. Keeping the flame on low, stir till gelatin dissolves. Please remember, do not let your gelatin mix BOIL, once gelatin BOILS , its effect is ruined, and your mousse will not set like the way it is suppose to, so please be very VERY careful not to let the mix boil once gelatin has been added. This is the only technical detail you need to be careful about in this mousse, rest is easy.
7. Now take out your gelatin mix and put it it a clean dry bowl.
8. Mix in the orange juice and the orange rind.
9. Now add in whipped cream and beat lightly till all mixed. Do not over beat. You need to keep your mousse light and airy.
10. Lastly, gently fold in egg whites mix and pour your mixture over your cake base and pop it into the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.
11. Once the mousse has been set, gently run a knife around the edges of your spring-foam or loose-bottom pan to loosen the mixture from the pan, and then gently slide your cake upwards in case of loose-bottom pan or pop open your spring-foam pan.
12. Garnish with whipped cream, orange rind and orange segments as you please.