GÉNOISE WITH MOCHA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTER CREAM

Happy Birthday to you Muimui.  I hope you loved the cake.  

Ingredients

Génoise
50 g self raising cake flour

20 g corn flour
70 g sugar

3 large eggs 

2 tablespoon Nestlé cream

1 tablespoon vanilla essence
25 g butter

Mocha Swiss Meringue Butter Cream
(Original recipe from Peggy Does Cake; I have added cream of tartar)
62 g egg white
125 g sugar
172 g butter
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso coffee
1 tablespoon hot water

Method (Plain Sponge Method)

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1.  Line a cake pan (I used a 12 cm x 18 cm rectangular tin).  Do not grease.

2.  Sift flour and cornflour twice.

3.  Melt butter.  Mix in the vanilla and Nestlé cream.    

4.  Combine the eggs and sugar in a stainless-steel bowl.  Immediately set the bowl over a hot water bath and whisk until the mixture warms to a temperature of about 110°F (43°C).  Beat the eggs at high speed until they are very light and thick or until the ribbon stage is reached.  (At this point, when a figure "8" or an "S" shape is drawn with the egg foam, it should clearly retain its mark and not disappear into the batter).

5.  Sift in half of the flour and fold the mixture gently.  Sift in the remaining flour and fold again.

6.  Stir two tablespoons of the cake batter into the melted butter.  Fold the resulting mixture carefully into the cake batter.  

7.  Pour the cake batter in the prepared cake pan.  Tap the mould twice or thrice and bake for about 40 minutes at 190°C.

8.  Tap the mould twice or thrice immediately after baking.  Invert on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before decorating.

Mocha Swiss Meringue Butter Cream

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1.  Mix the cocoa powder and coffee in the hot water to form a paste.
  
2.  Combine the sugar and egg whites in a stainless steel bowl.

3.  Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water.  The water should not boil nor touch the bottom of the bowl.  Whisk the mixture until it reaches about 60°C (150°F).  At this point, the sugar should be completely dissolved and if rubbed between two fingers, the mixture should not be gritty.

4.  Take it off the water bath; Add the cream of tartar; whisk the mixture on low for 2 minutes; turn the mixture on high and whisk the egg for about 7 minutes.  Mix for another 5 minutes at low speed or until the meringue is cool enough so that it won't melt the butter.

5.  Once the mixture is cooled, turn the mixer on low speed, drop in the butter cubes one at a time until fully incorporated.  Mix until smooth.

6.  Beat in the coffee paste.

Making the meringue; Beating in the butter, Mixing in the flavouring (coffee and chocolate paste)

7.  Decorate the cake as you wish.

I sprinkled the sides with crushed almonds; piped the top with Mocha Swiss Meringue Butter Cream; added some silver pearls and chocolate. 

Below is a Light Fruit Cake made by my sister.  Am sharing the picture because she decorated the cake without the use of any cake decorating equipment.  She spread the butter cream with a butter knife and piped the rosettes with an aluminium powdered milk packaging (She actually made a zig-zag cut with the tip of the packaging).  Wise huh??