I’ve been asked to make a chocolate cake torted with raspberry mousse.  Would you use a whipped cream (only) mousse?  Mousse w/a custard type base?  Help, help, help.  Don’t want it breaking down and becomeing mushy or watery.  Any suggestions/recipes/tips???? 

Thx
Lisa

PS, I really want to impress this lady.

Hi Lisa, hope you have couple of days in hand and i’m sure you will get useful tips from the experienced and lovely contributers, may be even Rose. i am no expert but think buttercake(chocolate) will be too heavy to keep the mousse in shape. have you ever made Rose’s Chocolate Chiffon? this one is very light.  i often bake chiffons in regular(not tube) pans and cool the layers inverted on a rack already covered with baking paper. when i lift the layer for assembling, the bottom(orininally top) crust is left on the paper. that is the thinnest possible skin gathering excess moisture. if some part of the skin is still sticking to the layer, a light rubbing with the fingertip is more than enough to peel that off. surprisingly that “peel” feels almost wet, while the layer is absolutely perfect. if you have enough time you can make a smaller test cake for your “Mission Impression”

If you have the cake bible, see the recipes for Raspberry Jam Cream or Fruit Cloud Cream.  The recipes specify keeping times.

Just remember the lighter (and softer) the filling, the more easily it will be squished out of the cake from the weight of the cake layers on top of it.  I would suggest you use a filling that will firm well upon refrigeration, and use thinner layers of cake with thinner layers of filling in between them.  cake, filling, chill (the filling until firm), cake, filling, chill, etc until you’ve reached the desired height of your finished cake.

Something else to think about, you may wish to use a cake that contains oil instead of butter (butter cakes are very firm when refrigerated - I don’t mind eating them cold, but some people do).  Additionally, the frosting you choose will have to be taken into consideration too - I wouldn’t serve cold buttercream frosting, but maybe top your cake with more of the raspberry mousse and garnish with fresh raspberries (leaving the sides of the cake exposed so that you can see the cake and filling layers).

Just some thoughts.