Pineapple Mousse Cake

A happy Monday to you all! Today is a special day because it is our dear friend’s birthday. Since she loves all things pineapple, we made her a dessert filled with pineapple goodness.

We thought about making her a pineapple flavored birthday cake but how do we make it cute and fun? Then the idea came to make a pineapple mousse cake with a mirror glaze. We’ve been wanting to make a mousse cake and thought this would be the perfect time to do it. Mousse cakes are beautiful and full of flavor. Common flavor variations are chocolate, raspberry, and mango. It was off to the kitchen for some experimenting.

Our mousse cake is made up of a pineapple mousse, pineapple gelee, graham cracker crust and mirror glaze. Sounds daunting with all those components and it definitely takes some time, but they’re all very easy to make.

For the cute factor, we decided to make the mousse cake into an actual pineapple. We used chocolate to make the stalk and the face. Creating the pattern on the pineapple stumped us a little bit. Initially we thought about piping the pattern onto the mirror glaze but that would have made the pattern stand out too much, muting the cute face. In the end, we discovered that if we made indentations in the mousse then pour the mirror glaze on top, it left a subtle yet noticeable darker color where the indentations were. We love how it came out!

We had so much fun making these cuties. We were mesmerized by the mirror glaze doing it’s magic and making the exterior of the mousse cake look oh so shiny. The face was almost too cute to eat.

Pineapple Mousse Cake

An elegant and delicious dessert filled with pineapple goodness that is simpler to make than it seems. 

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Prep Time 1 d 22 hrs

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 d

Course Dessert

Servings 6 cakes

Ingredients

  

Pineapple Gelee

• 2 cups Pineapple Juice
• 5 teaspoon Gelatin powder
• 2 heaping Tablespoons Raw honey

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs about 10 full sheets
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Pineapple Mousse

• 3 Tablespoons cold water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons gelatin
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Mirror Glaze

• 1 Tablespoon gelatin
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water (divided into two 1/4 cups)
• 1/4 cup sweetened condense milk
• 7 oz white chocolate chips (about 1 cup)

Instructions

 

Instructions for Gelee

• In a saucepan, whisk together the pineapple juice and gelatin. Let sit for 5 minutes while gelatin blooms. Then, turn the burner on medium and whisk until the gelatin has dissolved.

  2. Let the mixture cool until it is just warm to the touch. Whisk in the honey. (Cooling the mixture will preserve the enzymes in the raw honey). Pour into sphere molds and chill until firm.

Instructions for Graham cracker crust

• Use a food processor or blender to grind up Graham crackers or, crush them in a Ziplock bag with a rolling pin.

  2. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar together  in a bowl until combined. The mixture will be thick and coarse, like sand. Press the mixture into the bottom of the dish or pan. Press tightly. We like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to ensure crust is compact and even.

  3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using the crust in your recipe. 

Instructions for Pineapple Mousse

• In a small bowl, combine water and gelatin; let it bloom for 2 minutes.

  2. In a small saucepan, combine pineapple juice and crushed pineapple over medium heat. Using an immersion blender, blend mixture until smooth. Bring to a simmer. Add gelatin, stirring until gelatin melts. Remove from heat, and cool completely.

  3. In a mixer, beat heavy cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in sugar and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Add pineapple mixture to whipped cream and fold until just combined. 

  4. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.

Instructions for Mirror glaze

• Combine gelatin with ¼ cup of water and whisk. Let it sit for a few minutes to bloom.

  2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is clear.

  3. Remove from heat, then add gelatin and whisk until dissolved. Whisk in sweetened condensed milk. Pour hot mixture over chopped white chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Add gel food coloring as desired.

  4. Let glaze cool, stirring occasionally, until glaze reaches approximately 95 degrees F (The glaze needs to be the correct temperature or it will not form a thick enough layer on the outside of the cakes).

Assembling the cake

• Scoop pineapple mousse into sphere mold 3/4 of the way full.

  2. Add one pineapple gelee semi-sphere into the center of the mousse.

  3. Cut graham cracker crust into a circle using a ring mold and place it on top of the mousse.

  4. Freeze for 4 hours to overnight.

  5. Take the cakes out of the freezer and out of the sphere molds. Place cakes on a cooling rack that is on top of a baking sheet pan. Pour glaze generously over cakes, taking care to ensure there are no bare spots left. Allow the excess glaze to drip off for 5 or 10 minutes, then gently scrape the edges to remove any remaining drops.

  6. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, chopped candied pineapple and a sprinkling of chocolate shavings.

Notes

*Tip: Any leftover glaze can be scraped up and refrigerated in an airtight container for later use. Glazed cakes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (The glaze stays tacky so keep the cakes in an airtight container). Let come to room temperature before serving.

Note: We ended up with extras of most of the components of this cake since our mold only made six cakes. We used the extras to make a layered mousse dessert.

Keyword Gelee, Mirror glaze, Mousse cake, Pineapple

Pineapple Gelee

Graham Cracker Crust

Pineapple Mousse

Mirror Glaze

Assembly