Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake

Hello everyone! Boy, can you feel spring in the air yet? Here in Indiana, today we started getting warmer weather (warm enough to leave the winter coat at home!) and it is so nice to finally be able to go outside and enjoy the sun. With the arrival of spring, I can finally start planning new kitchen adventures that utilize spring produce. I saw this recipe a while back from Tish Boyle - Sweet Dreams and thought I would try it one day. Then I actually saw these Meyer lemons at my local grocery store and thought it is finally time to try this recipe out. 

I must say, I was very nervous with making a whole cake, let alone assembling it all together! Last time I used a springform pan it was for a cheesecake I made and I ended up trying to de-form it way too early... well, you can imagine what happened. We had cheesecake "goo" that night - taste was okay but definitely not worth blogging about (I guess I just did, didn't I?) Well, you win some you lose some, at least I learned ;)

How did this turn out? It was great! All the extra work on assembling this cake paid off - the cake had a very good balance of sweetness and tartness, and the homemade sweet whipped cream added a nice balance to the cake. When I used the ginger syrup to coat each layer of cake, I did not add enough and so next time I want to make sure I get each layer nice and moist. 

*Side note: not knowing what Genoise was I Googled it: its description from Wikipedia says that it is a type of Italian sponge cake that does not use any chemical leavening. Cool huh? :)

Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake, serving 10

Genoise:

1 cup (3.5 oz/100 g) sifted cake flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1/2 cup (3.5 oz/100 g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated Meyer lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons (2 oz/57 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Ginger Syrup:

2/3 cup (160 ml) water

1/2 cup (3.5 oz/100 g) granulated sugar

1/2-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and thinly sliced

Meyer Lemon Mousse:

1/4 cup (60 ml) water

2  teaspoons powdered gelatin

1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons (.3 oz/9 g) finely grated Meyer lemon zest

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 oz/225 g) granulated sugar

6 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons (30 ml) Grand Marnier or Cointreau (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) heavy cream

Garnish:

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Lemon peel spiral

Make the genoise:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Dust the pan with flour and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar by hand. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Heat the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the eggs are warm. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer stand and, using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.

4. Resift one-third of the flour mixture over the batter and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula. In two more additions, sift in the remaining flour mixture, again folding in gently. Have the melted butter in a small bowl. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the cake batter into the bowl and stir until blended. Fold this mixture into the remaining cake batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

5. Bake the cake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the wire rack and cool completely.

Make the Ginger Syrup:

6. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally just to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and add the ginger slices. Let stand at room temperature until ready to use.

Make the mousse:

7. Pour the water into a medium saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let the gelatin soften for 5 minutes.

8. Whisk in the lemon juice,  zest, sugar, and egg yolks. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and reaches 180°F on an instant-read thermometer. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the orange liqueur and vanilla extract.

9. Set the bowl containing the lemon mixture in a large mixing bowl filled one-third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn’t splash into the lemon mixture). Stir the lemon mixture frequently until it is completely cool, about 10 minutes.

10. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream at medium-high speed to firm peaks. Fold the lemon mixture into the whipped cream. (The cake should be assembled now.)

Assemble the cake:

11.  Using a long, serrated knife, cut the genoise cake horizontally into 2 layers. Arrange a cake layer, cut side up, in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, centering it so that the gap between the cake and the side of the pan is even all the way around.  Generously brush the cake with half of the Ginger Syrup. Scrape half of the mousse on top of the cake and, using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, letting the mousse fill the gap between the cake and the side of the pan. Arrange the remaining cake layer, cut side up, on top, centering it. Brush the cake with the remaining Ginger Syrup. Scrape the remaining mousse on top and spread it into an even layer as before. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours before serving, until set.

Serve the cake:

12. Run a sharp, thin-bladed knife under hot water and wipe dry. Run the knife between the cake and the side of the springform pan, reheating it as necessary. Remove the side of the springform pan. Use a small metal spatula to smooth the mousse on the sides of the cake, if necessary.  Refrigerate the cake if not serving immediately.

13. Garnish the top of the cake with Sweetened Whipped Cream (either piped of dolloped) and a spiral of lemon peel. Cut the cake using a thin-bladed knife and serve chilled.

Original recipe from Tish Boyle - Sweet Dreams: Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake