When we where little, our parents would buy or bake us a cake, when you get married and have kids, you don't get a cake on your birthday. I not only do not get a cake on my birthday but since I share a birthday with one of my son, I get to bake a cake on my birthday for someone else. When I started teaching basket weaving I decided that on my student's birthday week I'm going to bake her a cake and we'll sing her a birthday son and share a slice of cake and coffee and have a little celebration. This week I made Mount Blanc Cake, its not that popular in US, actually may not be known in US unlike in Japan or in Europe. I normally make a individual size or a roll cake but since it was for my class and my class size can vary week to week, I decided to make a 8inch cake. The sponge I normally use is little more dense because you only use thin slice like Madeline thickness, then you put a mound of pastry cream, then cover it with whipped cream then drizzle chestnut cream over that and you decorate it with a chestnut. If you are going to make this cake whole like this, I think you should use different cake recipe, this cake recipe will be good for individual size.
here are the ingredients:
for the cake:
4 eggs separated
1/2tsp cream of tarter
150gm white sugar
130 gm cake flour
60ml milk
40gm butter
Pastry cream:
100gm egg yolk (save the whites in a baggie, mark how many and freeze it for angel food cake)
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| I use this instead of peeling and cooking my own | |
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500gm milk
100gm sugar
40gm flour
Chestnut cream:
450gm chestnut peeled and roasted or boiled
90gm sugar
30gm butter
180gm milk
whipped cream:
3 cups milk
3 package Whip it
1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar (to your taste)
extra chestnuts soaked in simple syrup for topping
Bake a cake:
use a mixer and beat egg whites and cream of tarter until it starts to bubble, add about 1/2 of the sugar and whip until stiff peaks! set aside,
in another bowl, beat yolk and sugar until ribbon state. Yolk should look pale yellow.
in a cup melt butter in milk in a microwave tad warm (not hot!)
slowly add the milk egg mixture into the yolk
slowly add sifted cake flour into the yolk and incorporate. do not over mix!!!
now take a balloon whisk and take a 1/3 of the white and mix it into the yolk mixture, then add a 1/3 more but this time mix gently to make sure you do not flatten the white, and then add the rest
pour the mix into lined cake pan and bake in 350F oven for 30 min. Cool completely, then peel off the liner, and slice in half-thirds
Pastry Cream: heat milk, butter and 1/4 of the sugar in a pot, while heating beat yolk and sugar until well mixed and in ribbon state (pale yellow) then add flour and mix until smooth.
when milk comes to a boil, remove from heat, pour a little of the milk in the yolk mixture while whisking. Continue to mix and add a little more hot milk to the yolk until all incorporated. Pour it back to the pot and heat on Med heat. Continue to stir to keep the bottom from burning.
The mixture will continue to thicken and once the mix forms a bubble remove from heat. put in a pan and set aside to cool.
Chestnut cream:
I used the hand blender but food processor most likely be easier but more to clean. heat up the chestnuts, milk, sugar and butter
work while its hot, it blends easier
keep blending
You should have a creamy paste, set aside
whip cream: take the cream ingredients and whip it until stiff! don't over do it you'll end up with butter!!
Now we put it together!
If you have 3 layers, just fill both layers with thin pasty cream instead of one thick fill like I did with mine.
I piped the pastry cream
Spread it evenly
Top it
decorate with whip cream
then each spot you want, pipe a mound of pastry cream cover that with whipped cream then drizzle with chestnut cream. I use big grass piping tip. Not the small regular one. then top it with chestnut that was sitting in simple syrup.
take the filler 3/8" and lay it horizontally in between the horizontal stakes you previously laid down over the 1/2" vertical stake.
