Summary:A marriage of flavours and textures, 2 desserts, one basic mousse. Add in some fresh seasonal fruit, top with macarons and you have … Strawberry & Kiwi Bavarian Cake with Razzle Dazzle Macarons, & Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberries & Basil

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes {plus setting/chilling time}
Ingredients:

• Vanilla Sponge
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar {I used granulated}
• 1 cup plain flour, sifted
• 1/2 vanilla bean scraped {or pure vanilla extract}
• Basic Sugar Syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
• 4 egg yolks {large; 5 if small}
• 300ml whole milk
• 200ml low fat cream, room temperature
• 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
• 75gm sugar
• 1 1/4 tbsp gelatin {increase in warm weather}
• 200ml cream, chilled
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• Chocolate Ganache
• 200gm dark chocolate bits {or chopped}
• 200ml low fat cream
• 1 tbsp honey
• Fruit for filling
• 300gm strawberries, chopped {reserve 3-4 for garnishing
• 2-3 kiwi, peeled, chopped {reserve 1/2 for garnishing}
• Vanilla Macarons
• 1 egg white, aged a day
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/4 tsp egg white powder
• 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• Strawberry Puree for the Bavarian Mousse Goblets
• 300gm strawberries, chopped fine
• 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar {increase/decrease as per tartness of strawberries}
• Juice of 1 lime
• 6-8 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
• 1tbsp water

Method:

1. Vanilla Sponge
2. Preheat oven to 190C. Line the base and sides of a 9″ round tin with baking parchment.
3. Beat eggs, vanilla bean and sugar over simmering water until the eggs are thick and mousse like, about 7-10 minutes. Once they triple in volume, remove from water, and continue to beat until the mixture cools dwon {about 5 minutes}
4. Fold the flour in carefully, in figure 8 moves, to ensure you don’t release the air.
5. Turn into prepared tin, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is light golden and springs back when touched.
6. Remove from tin, take off parchment, and coole completely on rack.
7. Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
8. Bloom gelatin in 2-3 tbsp of water. Place in a bowl of hot water to dissolve fully.
   
9. Whisk the yolks with the sugar in a bowl.
10. Heat cream, milk and half the sugar {15gm} until simmering. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar with a balloon whisk, and add 1/3^rd of the hot milk mixture over it, whisking continuously until well combined. Pour this back into the pan with the remaining milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cream is thickened and coats the back of the spoon. {Don’t allow it to boil}. It is important to constantly stir to prevent the bottom from curdling or burning. If that happens, take a balloon whisk and whisk vigorously. If you fear your custard curdled too much, remove from the heat and pass it through a fine sieve before proceeding with the recipe.
    
11. Thermomix: Place all ingredients in TM bowl, and cook at 90C, Speed 3 for 7 minutes.
12. Remove from heat immediately and stir the gelatin well into this hot mixture well, then quickly strain this into a bowl. Cool over a bowl of crushed ice, stirring frequently.  
13. Once cool, beat the remaining 200ml chilled cream to soft peaks, and gently stir into the mousse.
14. Chocolate Ganache
15. Chocolate Glaze
16. Place chocolate in a bowl.
17. Heat the cream and honey in a pan until simmering. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup ganache in a piping bag for macarons.
    
18. Assembling Torte
19. Cut the sponge horizontally into 3 layers. Place in dessert ring on serving platter. {Dessert ring should fit nice and snugly. I use this adjustable dessert ring I bought in Sydney.} Place one layer of cake, top with the strawberries and kiwi, then half the Bavarian mousse. Repeat with the next layer. Cover and chill overnight for the Bavarian to set.
20. Unmold from the dessert ring, frost with the ganache and garnish as desired. Chill until ready to serve.
21. Vanilla Macarons
22. Preheat oven to 140C.
23. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
24. Blend the powdered sugar, almond meal, vanilla powder and egg white powder briefly in the bowl of your food processor to mix. {you can sift it too}
25. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg white and the granulated vanilla sugar till it becomes firm and holds peaks, about 2 minutes.
26. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg white with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and falls in ribbons like molten lave, stop folding. {Do not overmix}
27. Using a teaspoon, or piping bag, drop / pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
28. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest for about about 15 minutes {to an hour}.
29. Bake them for about 15 minutes until the shells feel firm to touch.
30. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
31. To assemble macarons
32. Match equal halves of macarons, and keep together.
33. Pipe a tiny bit of the reserved ganache from above on the flat side of the macaron and sandwich with another half of the same size, squeezing gently. Leave to set.
34. Strawberry Puree for the Bavarian Mousse Goblets
35. Lightly crush the chopped strawberries with the powdered sugar with a fork until the strawberries release their juices. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and reserve in a bowl in the fridge. Distribute over the glasses once Bavarian is set, and chill until served.

Notes: I bake my macarons on the upper shelf in my oven, using just the lower element for heat. I also use double baking trays.