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Vanilla Mousse Cake

17/11/2023

Very well, the vanilla mousse cake is a refined and delicate dessert, perfect for concluding a meal or for a special snack. Here’s how to prepare it with an Italian touch.

Ingredients

For the biscuit base:

  • 200 g of dry cookies (such as Digestive)
  • 100 g of melted butter

For the vanilla mousse:

  • 500 ml of fresh liquid cream
  • 100 g of sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod (or vanilla extract)
  • 8 g of sheet gelatin (fish glue)
  • 200 ml of whole milk

For the topping jelly (optional):

  • 100 ml of water
  • 50 g of sugar
  • 2 g of sheet gelatin
  • Vanilla extract or vanilla seeds

Preparation

  1. Start preparing the cake base by crushing the cookies until they are powdered. Mix the cookie powder with the melted butter to obtain a homogeneous mixture.

  2. Press the cookie mixture onto the bottom of a springform pan approximately 22 cm in diameter, creating an even layer. Place in the refrigerator to cool for about 30 minutes.

  3. For the mousse, place the sheets of gelatin in a bowl with cold water to soften them.

  4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the milk with the vanilla almost to a boil (if you are using the pod, slice it lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk).

  5. Squeeze the softened gelatin and dissolve it in the warm milk. Allow the mixture to cool down.

  6. In a large bowl, whip the cream with the sugar until it reaches a firm consistency but not too whipped.

  7. Gently incorporate the gelatin milk into the whipped cream, mixing from the bottom up to avoid deflating the mixture.

  8. Pour the mousse over the cookie base in the pan and let it cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours, until it is firm.

  9. If you wish to add a topping jelly, soften the sheets of gelatin in cold water as before. Heat the water with the sugar and vanilla without boiling, then once cooled, dissolve the squeezed gelatin sheets. Let it cool slightly and then pour over the already set mousse. Put back in the fridge for at least another hour.

Curiosity

The vanilla used in this recipe is an ingredient that recalls the French pastry tradition, but the use of whipped cream and a biscuit base is also very common in Italian preparations, especially in semifreddos and cheesecakes. For an even more Italian touch, you could add a thin layer of shortcrust pastry in place of the biscuits for the base, creating an even more marked contrast of textures.

Vanilla Mousse Cake