Pete’s Special Chocolate Mousse Cake

There are those special moments when you come across someone truly generous of spirit. One such lovely person is Pete, who delivers parcels,fabrics etc to our Chatswood store. Pete and the Chatswood girls share a love for shows like Masterchef and My Restaurant Rules. The girls assure me that whilst they’re casually chatting to Pete about cakes, recipes and cooking programs, they’re also serving Tessuti customers….hmmm!

Anyway I’ll let Pete’s email (to me) explain how the whole thing came about…

Dear Colette,

Peter here. I am so happy that you are pleased with the cake.

Thank you for the compliment. I enjoy the challenge of replicating recipes and offering friends and family the eating experiences I enjoy.

As much as I would like to take all the credit for the cake, the “hidden talents” are the result of having a passion for weekend cooking and following great recipes. Jenni (Pete’s wife) was responsible for the “tessuti”. My idea but Jen’s execution. She has the talent.

As you may be aware, this cake featured on Masterchef last year and is the creation of Adriano Zumbo. All I did was take up the challenge to replicate and luckily for me succeeded. We need to share our successes.

The decision to take the time to make the cake for the girls came about due their effortless pleasantness and their interest in the Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules programs. We would often have a quick recap of the shows while I was making a delivery. Of all the people I have contact with in my job I can honestly say they are the most easiest to get along with and are always polite and happy. I think they are great. I had great pleasure in making the cake for them.

As for the cake layers they are as follows, from bottom to top. (not exactly the same as Zumbos layers)

Cinnamon Sable Base
Two textured apple (a mixture of apple cooked in a caramel until soft and translucent and apple quickly sautéed in orange rind, ginger and sugar than flambéed with cognac)
A layer of jaconde sponge
Cherry or blackberry mousse
A layer of jaconde sponge
Caramel……………………………………………………..was not too happy with this layer this time. Had a gel texture rather than a chewy, soft one. I know what I did wrong this time
Jaconde again
Thicker layer of the mousse.
Finally, a fine dusting of cocoa, topped with tempered white chocolate curls.

The outer of the cake is made from jaconde sponge, (the “white” part) and a cigar paste. To make the outer requires the cigar paste to be made and spread over a tray. A pattern is made then the tray placed in the freezer for about 20 mins. The jaconde sponge mixture is then spread over the top of the paste then baked. You end up with a “pliable” sponge. To get a “logo/text” in the sponge requires the logo/text to be piped onto the tray, in reverse, then having the jaconde mixture spread over. The text piping is done by Jenni. Her effort and talent makes the cake even more special.

Again, it was a pleasure to put the time and effort into the cake for the girls. I think they are wonderful.

Regards
Pete S

I personally think this cake looks better than the original and can honestly say that everyone that tasted it was blown away.

So what do you think all…….. should Pete give up his day job?