Celebration Cakes: Coconut White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries on Coconut Joconde

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What would a party be without a decent cake?

As we started this party week to celebrate 3 years of What's For Lunch, Honey? on a healthy note with a power wholegrain breakfast, we can now indulge in decadence without too much guilt!

It's not only my blog anniversary celebration but it is also Mardi Gras or as we call it in Germany "Karnival". Everyone dresses up and masquerades during the celebrations and the streets are filled with people dressed up in costumes and colorful clothing. Usually Soeren and I enjoy this time and are invited to parties or go watch parades, however, he has been ill this past week. Fighting off a fever and a nasty flu. So, Mardi Gras has kind of flown by without us.

However, to perk up our spirits we still decided to dress up at home and play silly games, which made us laugh till our tummy hurts. Did I ever say how much fun it is to be a mummy? I mean, how else can we simply put the usual outer casing of adulthood aside, dress up and play make believe, stomping through the house without a care in the world. Through Soeren's fantasy world it becomes easy. I love it!

The past week Soeren hardly had much of an appetite, I prepared a lot of soup and several of his favorite dishes but usually after a few bites he wanted to lie down again. Shame that he spent his term break fighting off the flu and fever. The past two days I have kept him away from school and as I was home with him we had plenty of extra time. He certainly felt better when we put on our aprons and took out the baking utensils for one of our favorite baking sessions.

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Nothing like a good dessert to perk you up I say! I also know what a sweet tooth most of you have so I thought we all should have good cake to celebrate Mardi Gras, 3 blog years and most of all to celebrate Soeren feeling better.

As I looked through the archives of my hardrive I found these delightful cakes I made using the leftovers of the Opera Cake. I know - how could I?

My hardrive is overflowing with so many exciting recipes I just have not gotten around to sharing them all. But I will - as a matter of fact there will come a time this year when I will be taking a break from cooking and my kitchen, then I know these backup creations will come in handy.

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That Opera Cake back in May 2008 was delicious, but what I got out of the leftovers was just pure bliss. I had plenty of the joconde, syrup and white chocolate mousse leftover and decided to create some special individual cakes. Strawberries were at there juiciest and seemed to be the perfect fruity addition to the cakes.

I love making small individual cakes and my guests enjoy them too as they get their own cake and can eat it too - without sharing. These cakes turned out so well that ever since then I have made them a few times on special occasions with a few variations each time. 

Reminder

MM Caribbean Cooking1The Monthly Mingle this month is partying on the beaches of the Caribbean. Come join me for a fun filled time with great food.

All you need to do is cook up a Caribbean dish and bring it along to the mingle. Your dish could win a spectacular prize too.

All details can be found here.

Deadline is March 9th, 2009!


Recipe: Coconut White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries on Coconut Joconde

Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.

For the Coconut Joconde

3 large egg whites, at room temperature 
15g granulated sugar 
150g ground blanched almonds
75g dried shredded coconut
1 cup icing sugar, sifted 
3 large eggs 
35-40g all-purpose flour 
22g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the White Chocolate Mousse

200g Lindt coconut white chocolate
250g + 3 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon coconut liqueur (like Batida de Coco)

For the Coconut Soaking Syrup

125g water
65g granulated syrup
2 tablespoons coconut cream

Additional

250g strawberries, washed, pat dry, hulled and cut into slices
Handful of dried coconut flakes for decoration

Special Equipment: Set of 6 dessert/pastry rings. If you do not have pastry rings then simply use small cans e.g. tuna or soup cans. Recycle them to make your own pastry rings, by cutting out the top and bottom lids and washing them well. They work perfectly for these kind of desserts

Method

For the Coconut Joconde

  1. In a small food processor give the shredded coconut and almonds a good whiz, to grid them and to mix them well.  

  2. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Line a 31 x 39 cm jelly pan with baking paper and brush with some melted butter.

  3. Using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Set aside.

  4. In a separate clean bowl beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs with the handheld mixer on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

  5. Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined. Be very careful not to over-mix here.

  6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Spread out the batter evenly on the jelly pan to cover the entire surface of each pan.

  7. Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven.

  8. Remove from oven and put the pan on a heatproof counter. Run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover the pan with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pan over, and unmold.
    Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cake. Let the cake cool to room temperature.

For the White Chocolate Mousse

  1. Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tablespoons of heavy cream in a small saucepan. Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted.

  2. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.

  3. In a clean bowl whip the remaining heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.

  4. Transfer the mousse into a piping bag then refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Coconut Soaking Syrup

  1. Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

  2. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Assembly

  1. Using the pastry rings (or your cans) cut out individual circles from the joconde. Depending on the size of your rings, you should get approx. 4-6 cake rounds.

  2. Keeping the pastry rings around each cake round, begin building up your individual desserts. Brush the cake rounds with the soaking syrup to moisten the joconde. You do not want to soak it completely in the syrup, just enough so that it is slightly moist.

  3. Line the edges of the cake ring with the strawberry slices.

  4. Pipe the white chocolate mousse into the cake rings. Using an offset spatula smooth out the top.

  5. Garnish with coconut flakes and any left over strawberries.

  6. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

 

 


Verdict

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Because we love the flavors of coconut and chocolate and the fruity freshness of strawberries, this dessert is a lovely decadent treat. Visually it will definitely get high marks but wait till you sink your teeth into this deliciously moist dessert. The mousse is airy and creamy without being too sweet, paired with the tart and juicy berries it highlights all the aromas very nicely. Finally that puff of fluffy joconde, with tiny bits of coconut, rounds up the entire dessert so perfectly that you'll want to savor each and every bite.

The celebrations continue over at the Daily Tiffin too as we celebrate 3 blog years there as well. Coma on over!

Stay tuned as I share more cake and ice-cream this weekend to wrap up my celebration week on What's For Lunch, Honey?

You might like these party cakes from WFLH:

PartyCake 10 framed TobleroneTart3 Chocolate Crepe Cake04
Perfect Party Cake Toblerone Tart Chocolate Crepe Cake

Celebration cakes from around the blogs:

Daily Tiffin Reading Tip:


All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

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51 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Meeta! And what a fabulous dessert to celebrate the occasion!

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  2. congrats! i love the base on that cake!

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  3. What a gorgeous dessert! That's a wonderful combination of delicate flavors!

    Congrats!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Lovely cake Meeta..I would love to have an individual cake too;-)..the strawberries on top and the sides look very pretty.Congrats on completing 3 years of blogging..great way to celebrate.Loved the power breakfast and this one too.Looking forward to more yummy recipes!!

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  5. Yes,it's fun to fool around with kids. Glad to know that Soeren is feeling better...hugs to him.

    And the dessert looks gorgeous :-)

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  6. Congrats!! What a beautiful cake! Nice flavours too =)

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  7. Congrats on 3 years! This is a super cake to celebrate with!

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  8. That's just the best way to celebrate Meeta. Beautiful little cakes. I love individual desserts! Congrats!! xoxoxo

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  9. Those look Divine!! What fabulous flavors.

    hope Soeren is feeling good! I could almost visualize with adults dressed up marching around.. reminded me of our house during halloween.

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  10. LOVE it! Love both white chocolate and Coconut, perfect dessert for me. Thank you! :))

    I have one Caribbean goodie for you, will post on Friday!

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  11. Now I'm going to be dreaming of some really really red strawberries and this cake! That is a stunning mini in all ways!
    So glad Soeren is feeling some better, I know how tough it is to watch a sick child.
    Happy 3 years. I look forward to many more.

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  12. Beautiful celebration, you are on party girl :) Hope Soeren is feeling better noe

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  13. Congratulations Meeta, Love your Blog and the cake really looks inviting!

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  14. these look wonderful . coconut and strwberries are surely a nice flavour combination. awesome :) happy 3 yre bloganniversary :)

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  15. Congratulations Meeta. You are a veteran compared to most of us. Hope Soeren is feeling much better now. Your dessert looks so professional and the combination of the flavours is excellent.

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  16. Meeta Congratulations!! And keep up with your fantastic delicious post like this AWESOME cake wow!!

    For 3 years more!

    Cheers,
    Gera

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  17. Congrats, Meetha!! love love love the cake!!!

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  18. drooling pics Meeta ........ I should not have seen this ... because now I am craving for it like hell :D ..... cakes are my weakness .....

    -Ashima

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  19. Absolutely loved this..Great one Meeta..:)

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  20. coconut joconde sounds so rich! would be lovely if I can have a bit hehehe...

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  21. Congratulations on 3 years of blogging, Meeta! Your stories are always fun to read and the recipes and photography inspiring :)

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  22. Gorgeous. So simple and clean, but full of flavor.

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  23. Thank you thank you for all these wonderful comments. glad you are enjoying these cakes. the flavors are so perfect I am sure you will love every bite!

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  24. Congratulations Meeta! That is one lovely cake! I remember the opera cake challenge...this looks like a wonderful way to use the leftovers!

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  25. Happy Anniversary... My Wish; more nice for many years...

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  26. Happy anniversary. This is a gorgeous cake!

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  27. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!! Such a stunning cake for the occasion :-)

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  28. Dear Meeta! Happy happy happy blog birthday!!!!!!! 3 years is a whole life (in blogging world). Congratulations beauty, you should be proud of your creation :D.
    What a pitty Soereen was sick and couldn't enjoy Carnaval in full swing... I bet his mami helped more than medecines ;D

    Just by seeing the dessert's name one can imagine how spectacular will be... and yes it is spectacular!!!! Enjoy your kid, blog and life :D :D :D

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  29. Happy Birthday WFLH and wishing you many more, cake looks so good :)

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  30. Three years already? Wow!! Times does fly! What a scrumptious cake to celebrate!
    Happy Blog Anniversary my friend!

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  31. WOW! Three years?! Happy blogiversary and I wish you many more!

    Gorgeous cake and outstanding photos!
    ~ingrid

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  32. Happy Blogversary my sweet Meeta!
    I am storing this combination away for later enjoyment.
    xoxo

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  33. These photos look good enough to eat! Just beautifully delicious.
    Michelle
    http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/

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  34. how very beautiful this is! strawberries and mousse are always special :)

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  35. A special cake for a special occasion. Looks lovely, enjoy, Meeta!

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  36. That's a delicious way to cheer up the little guy:)

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  37. Happy blog anniversary! Awesome reason to celebrate.

    I trust that Soeren continues to feel better real soon and I look forward to many more enticing recipes on your wonderful blog.

    Paz

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  38. Congratulations! I'm a very new reader to your blog but I've been enjoying your lovely posts and photos. Beautiful delicious cakes!

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  39. A beautiful dessert to celebrate your three-year blogiversary, or any anniversary!

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  40. It is mousse week. ;)
    This looks so pretty and so Spring like. Loving the coconut.

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  41. Lovely Recipie, but I have a small suggestion that from next time maybe you can level the difficulty of making/baking w.r.t beginners so that we can assess ourselves before plunging in !!!

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  42. thanks to everyone! glad you are liking this and i appreciate all your wishes and kind thoughts.

    ANON - I leave it to my readers to decide the degree of difficulty. As I do not know each ones level I would be a bad judge. Don't you think? But it's nice that everyone "plunges in" nonetheless!

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  43. Congrats on 3 years! And that's a beautiful dessert. Being the strawberry fiend that I am, I love it that much more! ;-)

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  44. So fancy! Nice, fancy way to celebrate 3 years.

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  45. It's been three years? Congratulations! And I know what you mean by having so many photos and recipes store in your hard drive you forget sometimes.

    Beautiful cake, and I love how you put white coconut shavings on top as decoration---simple and elegant. Perfect!

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  46. thanks once again for all these lovely wishes. hope you all enjoy the lovely cake!

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  47. That looks nice and cool and refreshing and good!

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  48. Celebration Cakes:!! they are my favorite. I am definitely going to make these celebration cakes. my family is going to love these. thank you for shearing your post.

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Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hugs
Meeta