Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Mousse and Blueberry Jam

I promise that this is my last post on my Labor Day baking frenzy. :p This is the cake that I was talking to you about in my previous post - the first cake that I made for Baby William for which I have not enough faith on and therefore decide to reserve it for the home.

There are several reasons for my doubt in this case:

1. I wasn't able to split the cake layer evenly
2. The blueberry jam that I used tasted too sweet for me
3. The chocolate walls that I used for the cake were very similar to the ones I used for my sis' cake

So Alvin suggested that we just cut the cake and eat it ourselves (and of course share it with our "neighbors"). When I bite into the cake, it really wasn't bad at all. The sweetness of the raspberry jam was toned down by the light taste of the vanilla sponge cake, the tangy taste of the cream cheese mousse, and the fresh taste of the strawberry compote. I actually think that this cake tasted more refreshing than the cream mousseline cake. Although Alvin said that both cakes tasted good in their own different ways. :)

As you'll see in the pictures below, the cake is made of several components. It's made of 2 vanilla sponge cake (there's one cake that was split in half), a thin layer of strawberry compote, cream cheese mousse, and blueberry jam. The cake was topped generously with fresh summer fruits. After I'm done with arranging the fruits on top of the cake, I realized that this cake looks like a typical cake in a Chinese bakery (like Sheng-kee). :p My roommate and Alvin also said the same thing. :)

This was also my first time in making cream cheese mousse. Actually, the ideas for this cake came from my discussion with Bertha a few days ago. She told me that cream cheese mousse and blueberry make a good combination. So I decided to give it a try. I have to admit that it is one good combination and I recommend that others try this too.

Cream Cheese Mousse - adapted from Bertha's advice

225 g cream cheese, at room temperature

75 g powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

150 g heavy cream (yes, the measurement is by weight)

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, salt, and sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk the heavy cream until soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, being careful not to over mix the mousse.

Yes, it is that simple to make cream cheese mousse. You can also adjust the sweetness of the mousse by playing around with the amount of sugar in the recipe. :)

I brought this cake over to Alvin's cousin's place and I think the cake was well received over there. :)