This Vegan Strawberry Mousse Cake is made up of a layer of vanilla sponge, creamy strawberry mousse and a strawberry gel. Get the recipe below.
Strawberry desserts
I love fresh strawberries. When they're freshly picked, to me, you can taste the sunshine! So, I love making desserts and other baked goods out of them when they're in season.
This recipe is a celebration of the strawberry using fresh berries to make both a mousse and a gel. Slices of fresh strawberry are also used as a decoration around the edge of the cake.
It's a really creamy dessert with a layer of bouncy sponge at the bottom. It's delicious on its own but can also be served with freshly whipped, vegan creamy to make it even more decadent.
How to make a Vegan Strawberry Mousse Cake
This is quite an involved recipe so I've broken it down into each layer, step by step with assembly instructions at the end.
Vanilla Sponge Layer
The vanilla sponge in this recipe relies on vegan Greek yogurt and vegetable oil to make for a really tender, bouncy crumb. It's a moist cake that works really well as the base layer for the mousse and gel.
To make the vanilla sponge you weigh out your dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) in one bowl and your wet ingredients in another (oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla essence, plant milk and apple cider vinegar). Mix the wet ingredients well before adding to the dry ingredients and mixing until you have a smooth cake batter.
I use an 8 inch round cake tin and bake the cake for 20 minutes at 180 C. Always test that your cake is done by poking a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean then it's ready. You can also tell by seeing if the cake is springy to your touch.
It's important that you have a really level base to the mousse cake so before you assemble, trim off any domed cake. Only do this once the cake is completely cooled, with a sharp serrated knife.
Strawberry Mousse Layer
To make the strawberry mousse, first boil your cashews. This will make them plump and soft. Drain them well and leave them to cool.
In the meantime, make a strawberry compote by boiling strawberries, sugar and lemon juice until jammy. Again, leave this to cool before proceeding.
Once both the cashews and compote are cool, add them to a blender along with more sugar and coconut cream. Blitz this on high until you have an entirely smooth mixture.
Dissolve the agar powder in water and then bring this to a simmer until it starts to thicken. Add this to the blender and again blitz until smooth.
Next, whisk aquafaba until it forms stiff peaks. Fold this in to the cashew/strawberry mixture to make your mousse.
Strawberry gel layer
The strawberry gel layer is made from strawberries, sugar, water and agar powder. Agar needs heat to turn the strawberry mix into a firm gel so, once you've made strawberry juice from the fresh strawberries, sugar and water, you need to heat it and let it simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
You must let it cool slightly before pouring it on top of the mousse layer (as per the assembly instructions below) or it will melt the mousse.
To assemble
Assembly can be fiddly and if you want to be super professional you can get acetate sheets to help shape your cake. This also allows you to see what you're doing better when you stack all of the layers.
If, like me, you don't have acetate lying around you can still build up your mousse in the cake tin you baked the sponge layer in, so long as it is quite a deep pan. To do this, cut a circle of baking paper for the base, then make a collar of baking paper to go round the sides.
Whichever method you use, place the sponge layer into the bottom then place slices of strawberries all around the edge . Spoon or pour over the mousse, followed by the gel.
Whichever method you use, it will need to set overnight or for at least 6 hours. I definitely recommend making this the day before you want to serve it to ensure it has plenty of time to set.
The recipe
Vegan Strawberry Mousse Cake
Equipment
- 1 high speed blender
- 1 8 inch circular cake tin
Ingredients
For the sponge cake layer
- 150 g self raising flour
- 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 75 ml vegetable oil
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150 g vegan yogurt
- 50 ml plant milk e.g. soy milk
- 0.25 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla paste
To make the mousse layer
- 150 g cashew nuts
- 250 g strawberries leaves and stems removed
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 tablespoon coconut cream
- 1 teaspoon agar powder
- 200 ml water
- 75 ml aquafaba
For decoration
- 10 strawberries cut in half
For the gel layer
- 400 g strawberries leaves and stems removed
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 0.5 teaspoon agar powder
Instructions
To make the sponge layer
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 365F / gas mark 4 and line your cake tin with baking paper.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate jug or bowl, mix together the oil, caster sugar, milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla paste.
- Pour these wet ingredients into the flour and mix well until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until it is springy to the touch and a skewer poked in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool completely before levelling the cake by cutting off any "domed" top.
To make the mousse layer
- Add the cashew nuts to a pan and cover with boiling water. Boil for 15 minutes before draining and leaving to cool.
- While the cashew nuts are boiling, add the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a pan and cook until the strawberries have broken down and become jammy. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
- Add the cooled cashew nuts, strawberries and coconut cream to a blender and blitz until smooth.
- In a pan, dissolve the agar powder in the 200ml of water. Bring this to a simmer for 5 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Whisk the aquafaba in a bowl with the cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks.
- Add the agar mix to the blender along with the strawberry mix and blitz until well combined.
- Pour the strawberry mix into a large bowl then fold in the aquafaba.
To assemble the cake before adding the gel layer
- Place a circle of baking paper at the bottom of your cake tin.
- Next create a collar of baking paper around the edge of the cake tin.
- Place the cake layer at the bottom of the tin.
- Arrange the cake halves around the tin with the cut sides facing out.
- Pour over the mousse then place in the fridge to set for up to 3 hours.
To make the gel layer
- As with the mousse layer, add the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a pan and cook until the strawberries have just broken down.
- Strain the strawberries with a fine sieve so that you are left with just the juice. Press the strawberries down if necessary to release as much juice as possible.
- Place this juice back into the saucepan with the agar powder. Bring this to a simmer for 5 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Leave to cool slightly before pouring over the top of the mousse.
- Place into the fridge and leave to set for up to 3 hours.
- Once the gel layer has set, remove the cake from the cake tin and peel back the baking paper. Your cake is now ready to serve.
Nutrition
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