Passionfruit Mousse Cake With Strawberries

Hi everyone; happy Wednesday!
Sharing the recipe for a juicy and so delicious passionfruit mousse cake; the cake is made with a simple vanilla cake layer; I just make a jelly roll cake, and the cake is filled with strawberries and passionfruit mousse and it is just so good! 
I added marzipan on top; but please skip this; or at least cover the top (underneath the marzipan) with heavy cream, made without sugar. My mistake was that I did not add cream on top and unfortunately, the marzipan melts after some hours.

Next time; I will make this cake again and then just skip the cream and ladyfingers and just cover the entire cake with angel feather icing, I love that combination!

Beside the marzipan not being a perfect match on this cake; This cake is just so juicy and delicious, and the vanilla sponge has no butter in it so the cake is so moist even after it has been in the fridge.
This cake comes together quite easily, have fun baking.

Passionfruit Mousse Cake With Strawberries

Cake Layers;

• Vanilla jelly roll, get the recipe →here

Filling; 

• 1 pound ( 500 gram) whole ripe strawberries
• 1/8 cup ( 30 gram) sugar
• Zest and juice from 1/2 lemon

Passionfruit filling;

• 4 or 5 gelatin leaves ( read my notes below if you only have powdered gelatin)
• 200 ml passion fruit juice ( read my notes below) 
• 1 cup (100 gram) powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup (200 ml ) heavy cream
• 1 cup (225 gram) cream cheese 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, optional

To cover the cake; 

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
• Ladyfingers
• or skip the above and cover the cake with angel feather icing, get the recipe →here

Directions for the cake layers;

• Start by making one recipe for Vanilla jelly roll, get the recipe →here
• Cool the cake completely, then cut out two 8 inch rounds; I use an adjustable cake ring for that; you can also just bake the cake in 2x 8-inch cake rings instead.

Directions for the strawberries filling;

• Wash and drain the strawberries, then trim their leafy caps with a paring knife.
• Place 1/2 of the strawberries in a medium bowl(place the other half of the strawberry in the fridge for later use) toss it with sugar, lemon zest, and juice.
• Let stand for about an hour to room temperature, until the berries are swimming in juice.
• Take a fork, and smash the strawberries so it becomes a pure`, place in the fridge for now.   

Directions for the passionfruit mousse;

• Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour the passionfruit juice` and powdered’ sugar in a medium saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and remove the pan from heat.
• Gently wring the gelatin leaves to remove excess water and add them to the passionfruit/sugar- mixture.
• Stir until completely dissolved; set aside to cool to room temp.
• In a stand mixer or a large bowl, beat cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla bean paste until fluffy.
• Gradually add the cooled passionfruit mixture.
• Continue mixing on medium-high speed for another minute or two or until soft peaks forms.

Directions how to assemble the cake layers; 

• Take the first cake layer and place it into an adjustable cake-ring; I have silicon- matt underneath and a baking sheet, so I can easily take it in and out of the freezer or fridge.
• Cover the first layer with half the strawberry puree; spread it out nicely.
• Add 1/4 of the other 1/2 pound of strawberries ( sliced) that you reserved on top; 
• Pour 1/2 of the passionfruit mousse on top. 
• Place the cake in the freezer for 20 minutes, or until the top is a bit more firm.
• Add the next cake layer, again add strawberry puree and fresh strawberries.
• And pour the rest of the passionfruit mousse on top. ( if needed whip up the passionfruit mousse) 
• Place it in the →freezer for 3 hours or overnight.
• 2 hours before serving this cake; place the cake in the refrigerator.
• Just before serving; whip up the heavy cream; cover the entire cake with whipped cream, and add the ladyfingers ( you might need to the cut the ladyfingers to the size of your cake) around the cake.
• As I wrote in my intro; I would skip the marzipan, and just add cream on top or skip the cream and ladyfingers completely and cover the cake in angel feather icing you can find the recipe for that →here.
• I hope you enjoy this delicious and juicy cake, filled with lots of passion.

Have a beautiful day you all, sweet hugs from Manuela xoxo

NOTE; 

• Where I live, I am able to buy passionfruit puree in a large container, at times I use passionfruit blocks that are frozen, the one you use when you make smoothies check at your local store, if you can’t find it just use fresh passionfruit, you can either add the seeds or leave them out, up to you!
• If you can´t find gelatin leaves, 1 tablespoon [(15 ml)] powdered gelatin = 3 sheets leaf gelatin, When using powdered gelatine the method may need to be adjusted slightly too. Powdered gelatine usually needs to be soaked (sometimes called bloomed or sponged) in a little cold liquid first, read the back of the envelop, then just add it into the warmed raspberry-lemon-sugar mixture as I do with the gelatin leaves to dissolve. 

Step by step pictures on how to make the vanilla cake, click →here.