What is French Mousse Cake?

If you are a fan of desserts, you must be familiar with mousse cake. This French dessert is a well-loved delicacy for its light and airy texture.

Find out everything you need to know about French mousse cake in this article.

What Is French Mousse Cake?

Mousse cake is a type of dessert that has an airy or fluffy texture. The word ‘mousse’ itself literally translates to “foam” in French due to its really light structure

This light texture can be achieved thanks to the folding technique, which is the movement of gently folding in an “areator” onto a “base”. The aerator itself can be in the form of whipped cream, meringue, pâte à bombe, or a combination of them. Meanwhile, the base may vary from melted chocolate, fruit puree, fruit curd, or custard.

The folding technique aims to trap and keep the air bubbles in the mixture, which creates a light mouthfeel when eaten. This also makes the cake look fluffy.

In several recipes, gelatin is added into a mousse cake, especially when the base contains chocolate in it. By adding gelatin, the chocolate mousse will have a firmer texture. If you prefer not to use gelatin, you can replace it with agar-agar.

Read more: Embassy Recipes, Chocolate Mousse With Coffee Jelly

The History of French Mousse Cake

Mousse cake was first invented in France in the eighteenth century. Before the sweet mousse we commonly see today, it was the savoury type of mousse that was first created. It was Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, who was interestingly not a chef or a cook, but a bohemian painter.

Although he was a painter, Toulouse-Lautrec had a background as a cook and spent a lot of his time trying to make new creations.

The sweet mousse that we know today was invented a century later, in the mid-19th century.

Read More: White Chocolate And Coconut Mousse "Doger Style" Cake

3 Tips for Making Delicious French Mousse Cake

Mousse cake is made using a few ingredients with a fairly clear method. However, actually making it is not that easy because you are dealing with time- and temperature-sensitive ingredients. Here are some tips for making the perfect mousse cake.

Tip 1: Mise en place is important

Mousse contains various time and temperature-sensitive ingredients. As we have mentioned, it is best to prepare the ingredients and equipment before you start making it. Therefore, you won’t need to hastily weigh or look for things when you already start cooking.

Tip 2: Temper the ingredients before folding

In a mousse cake, there is a heavy mixture (the base) and a light mixture (the aerator). With that, we recommend that you temper the base first. This is done by incorporating a little bit of the aerator (about a fourth of it) into the base. That way, the base will be lighter, making it easier to mix with the rest of the aerator.

Tip 3: Let it cool

When you're done making the mousse cake, letting it cool is an important step. Chill the mousse cake in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before serving. If you plan to make more than 1 layer of mousse, then make sure to let each layer set first before adding the next layer.

Read more: 6 Types of Chocolate Cake for Your Business

Tips for Mousse Cake Storage

Mousse cake is a dessert that is best served cold, so you need to pay attention to how to store it. If placed at room temperature, it can only last for 3 hours before the air trapped inside escapes and deflates.

To store the mousse cake, cover the mousse cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it’s ready to serve. Chocolate mousse cake will last 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can also store it in the freezer, and it will last up to 2 months.

If you're looking for couverture chocolate to make a delicious mousse cake, then Embassy Chocolate is the right choice. We are a #ProudlyAsian couverture chocolate brand. We are proud to manufacture our chocolate in Indonesia to create a versatile couverture chocolate product for all your needs.

For more information about our products, please contact us here.