Pomegranate Mousse Cake

By MarielC

This is a bit complicated but worth it. None of the components are hard to make but there are quite a few of them. Take your time with this and consider making it a few days ahead in stages.

Ingredients

• For the Cake:
• Butter and Flour for the Cake Pans
• 1 1/4 cup Cake Flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 cup Butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup plus 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 3 Eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup Whole Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of Cream of Tartar
• For the Pomegranate Curd:
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated Lemon Zest
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 3/4 cup Pomegranate reduction (reduce 32 ounces of pomegranate juice to 10 ounces and add 2 ounces pomegranate liquor)
• For the Pomegranate Mousse:
• 4 1/2 teaspoons (1 1/2 packets) powdered unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 cups of Pomegranate Curd
• 1 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• For the Pomegranate Topping:
• 6 ounces Pom Wonderful
• 2 teaspoons gelatin powder
• 1 ounce Pomegranate Liquor
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• Seeds of one Pomegranate

Details

Adapted from askchefdennis.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the Cake:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine.
Cream your butte and 3/4 cup of sugar with the paddle attachment of your mixer then after butter has softened replace the paddle with the whip attachment, and continue mixing for about 5 minutes.
Whisk in the egg yolks one at a time until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk and vanilla, then the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time , Don’t over mix! Transfer this all to a larger bowl.
Whip your egg whites and cream of tarter in your mixer for about 3 minutes until soft peaks form, then beat in the remaining sugar for about 2 minutes until medium peaks form.
Start adding your egg white mixture to your butter mixture in 1/4 at a time until ,fold in with a rubber spatula fully incorporating before adding more, repeat process until all your egg whites have been folded in.
Spread batter into your cake pans dividing evenly, and smooth it out with a spatula.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes in a conventional oven, or until the cake bounces back to the touch, or a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean
Let cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cake rack.

For the Pomegranate Curd:
Add your eggs, egg yolks, sugar, Pomegranate reduction and lemon zest into a heatproof bowl that fits over a saucepan and whisk until well blended. Now place this bowl over a saucepan with an inch of simmering water in it, as the mixture begins to get warm add the butter a little at a time, and whisk the mixture until it thickens, about 5-7 minutes (do not let this boil). Allow mixture to cool.


For the Pomegranate Mousse:
Place the gelatin and water in a small bowl and let it sir for about 10 minutes, or until it has absorbed all the water. Stir the softened gelatin with a fork to get rid of any lumps. Then place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until the gelatin dissolves completely.
You may have to warm up your pomegranate curd if it has cooled too much, it should be warm to add your gelatin mixture into it. Once you warmed up your curd, add in the gelatin mixture and whisk it until it has been well blended. Set this mixture aside and allow to get to room temperature.
Whip your cream to medium peaks ,adding in the sugar as it begins to thicken. Fold your whipped cream into your room temperature curd mixture, just enough to blend, do not over mix or whip it will break!!!
Allow this mixture to chill some, while you prepare your cake.

For the Pomegranate Topping:
Place juice in a small bowl, add the Liquor and Sprinkle gelatin over pomegranate juice and let stand 1 minute to soften gelatin.
Transfer gelatin mixture to a small saucepan. Add sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into a bowl and set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and water bath, stirring mixture gently until it is cold and slightly thickened but not set. Stir in pomegranate seeds and spoon topping onto chilled Mousse cake. Chill cake until topping is set, about 1 hour.

To Assemble:
Take your cooled cake and split each layer into 2 sections, this will give you 4 layers. Begin with the first layer, and use the rest of your pomegranate syrup mixture to brush onto the cake layer. After you have brushed on your Pomegranate syrup you can add a layer of your Pomegranate Mousse.
Spread an even layer of Mousse on top of the cake, using a spatula or knife to make it level to the edges.
Now add your next layer and repeat the process until you have added your top layer. You will have three layers of Mousse between the four cake layers.
Now place this into the refrigerator to chill while you make the topping for our cake! Make the topping and spread over cake.