Strawberry Mousse Cake

Finally! Midterm season is over (oh, how the quarter system moves so quickly). Thanksgiving break begins tomorrow, and I am thrilled to return home to Walnut and see my beloved high school friends. As novel as UCLA has been, I miss the friends that I've grown up with for the past 4+ years. I'm tired of living with other people (which may sound rather spoiled, but I am used to having and sleeping in my own room). Here at college, it is so difficult to control my studying and sleeping environment. I can't sleep when I want to, have to desperately search for a quiet place to study, and worst of all, I CAN'T COOK! I'm having cooking withdrawal.

I made this strawberry mousse cake awhile back in October, for my mother's birthday. I haven't had time until today to sit down and write out the recipe because of the whole rush of midterms and papers that has been plaguing me week after week. It feels good to be back. Please decorate the cake as you wish. You don't have to cover it with chocolate covered strawberries or ganache, but I believe that presentation is just as important as taste. If you do try this recipe, I would absolutely love to see pictures of your variation.

Happy thanksgiving! Don't forget to say "I love you" to those you most cherish, because to be honest, you can never say that enough. Even I have to admit that I am never grateful enough to my family and friends for all they have done for me. Thanksgiving recipes will come… later. After thanksgiving is FINALS! Look forward to cinnamon rolls, buttermilk clusters, and perhaps even a swirled cheesecake?!

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Strawberry Mousse

• 250 grams strawberries (about 20 medium-sized berries)
  
• 4 tbs sugar
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/3 cup water
  
• 2 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin
  
• 1 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Sponge Cake

• 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
  
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
  
• 3 tbs milk
  
• ¾ cup sugar
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 tbs butter, melted

• About 20 thin slices of strawberry (to form the outside layer of strawberries)
  

Chocolate Covered Strawberries (optional)

• 6-8 ounces of chocolate chips
  
• 1 tbs oil
  
• 3-4 strawberries (or however many you want to use on the cake)

To make the Strawberry Mousse:

1. Wash, de-leaf and quarter the strawberries and place in a pot. Add the water, sugar and unflavored.
   
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer until everything dissolves. Let the strawberry mixture cool and then pulse in a blender until mixture is pureed. Refrigerate.
   
3. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream until just thickened, before peaks begin to form. Fold in the completely cooled strawberry mixture and mix with a spatula. Refrigerate until ready to assemble cake.

To make the Sponge Cake:

1. Beat the eggs until they become a thick and creamy mixture (around 7 minutes).
   
2. Add the sugar, and continue beating for another 3 minutes. Add in the flour, milk, butter, and vanilla extract and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Pour into a 8-inch circular cake mold (or whatever shape you want your cake to be) and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. When completely cooled, cut the cake in half (lengthwise) so you have two circular pieces of cake.

To make a large mousse cake:

1. Take one of the 8-inch circle cakes and place it into an 8 ½ inch springform pan. Surround the sides of the cake with the 20 thin slices of strawberry (you might need more or less, depending on the size of the strawberries and how good you are at shoving them in between the sides of the cake and the springform pan)Spoon about half of the strawberry mousse onto the cake and spread evenly, making sure to fill out any air bubbles in the mousse.
2. Carefully place the second 8-inch circle cake and place it on top of the mousse. Spoon the remaining strawberry mousse on top and spread evenly with a spatula.
   
3. Give it a gentle shake or two to make the mousse and cakes settle. Cover the cake with saran wrap (but don't let the saran wrap touch the top layer of mousse, or else you'll end up ripping off part of the smooth top layer along with the saran wrap when it is done chilling). Refrigerate for at least an hour.
   

To make the Chocolate Covered Strawberries (optional):

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, heating the chips in 30-second increments until melted. Add in the oil and stir with a spatula until smooth and glossy.
2. Grasp the strawberries by the leaves and dip in the chocolate, lifting up the strawberry in a circular motion. Place on a foiled pan and chill. Repeat with the remaining strawberries.
   
3. Use leftover melted chocolate as a base for the chocolate covered strawberries, or simply decorate the cake however you want. Write a message in white chocolate, cover it with chocolate ganache, or leave it simple.

Garlic Potato Wedges

Boredom is a national tragedy. It really is. I know everyone always says "you only choose to be bored," but honestly, who chooses to be bored? It's not like I wake up and decide "today I shall be bored!" No. It doesn't work that way. After all, you can only look at so many pictures on foodgawker, you can only see so many facebook status updates before you want to rip your hair out, and after omgpop.com KILLED BLOCKLES, there's really nothing you can do. (R.I.P. blockles. He was a good friend if I ever saw one.) Therefore, what else can you do when you're bored than call your friend and complain that you're bored?

This is how our many conversations go, and always resulting in the same outcome:

"Hello?"

"Hi Sandy, this is Kelley."

"Hey Kelley!"

"SANDY I'M BORED. I'M SO BORED. SAVE ME FROM THIS BOREDOM. SCHOOL DOESN'T START UNTIL SEPTEMBER 24^th AND I'M GONNA DIE."

"I'm bored too."

"Wanna come over for a movie night? And make dinner while we're at it?"

"Sure. What time?"

"Four. My house. Be there or be a soggy potato wedge."

Okay, so I made up the soggy potato wedge part. BUT that's not the point. The point is, no one likes a soggy potato wedge! Which is why this recipe (adapted from The Purple Foodie) doesn't make soggy potato wedges. Movie nights are wonderful. Movie nights (in my universe) basically consist of calling up 4-5 people, gathering them up at my house, cooking 3-4 dishes for dinner, and then eating them while watching a movie. The night usually ends by us searching up interesting youtube videos and dancing silly dance moves to weird songs. Yup, that's what I do when I'm bored. But hey, my friends get to learn how to cook, and I get an excuse to invite people over. Spiffy, right?

Garlic Potato Wedges

• 6 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 3-4 russet potatoes
  
• 2 tbs cornstarch
  
• 1 ½ tsp salt
  
• 1 ½ tsp black pepper
  
• ½ tsp garlic powder
  
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1. Combine the minced garlic and extra virgin olive oil in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 1 minute.
   
2. Wash the russet potatoes and cut each potato into 12 wedges (or however many you want). I peeled my potatoes because I don't like potato skin. Place the potato wedges in a large microwaveable bowl.
   
3. Use 2 or 3 tablespoons of the warmed garlic oil to oil the surface of a large, flat baking pan.
   
4. Pour the remaining garlic oil over all the potato wedges and toss to coat. Microwave the potato wedges on high, about 4-6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.
   
5. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the microwaved potatoes and toss to coat.
   
6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake at 475° F for 25-35 minutes, flipping them over once while baking.