Wheat beer mousse cake

Finally, a recipe for cake! I'm usually only in the kitchen to make cakes, which makes it a bit unusual that I've added four posts so far, none of them about cake!

So, here we go. It's a wheat beer mousse on top of a digestive crust with dark chocolate ganache. It's a bit of an unusual cake, so if you have guests that are usually picky, this one may not be a safe choice. But it's a very interesting combo for those interested in experimenting a bit!
I made it for my dear web designer to thank her for making the gorgeous design for my blog!

What you need:

For the mousse:
250 grams of wheat beer
(if you prefer to tone down the taste of beer, less will do)
Juice of 3 limes (if it's organic, add some zest as well!)
4 egg yolks
130 grams of sugar
7 gelatin sheets
400 grams of whipping cream
A big handful of fresh mint leaves

For the crust:
300 grams of Digestives
125 grams of butter

For the ganache:
50 grams of finely chopped dark chocolate
50 grams of whipping cream

For the decoration:
A small handful of mint leaves
A bit of icing sugar

How to make it:

The mousse:
First of all, you need to chop the big handful of mint leaves and pour over the 400 grams of cream. Leave it in the fridge for at least (!) a couple of hours. You will want the cream to draw as much flavor as possible from the mint. Leaving it overnight is a great option!

Then heat up the beer with the lime juice (and zest, if it's organic). Meanwhile, whisk the yolks with the sugar. Spend at least a couple of minutes on this - you will want the yolks to turn (almost) white.

When the beer/lime juice mix boils, pour it over the yolks while whisking. Start adding just a bit of the warm beer at a time, in order for the texture to become smooth. Add the rest of the beer and pour it back into the casserole/pan and leave the heat on low volume. Meanwhile, soak the gelatin in cold water. Slowly heat it up to 85 degrees (C) while stirring once in a while. When it has reached 85 degrees, pour it into a clean bowl, squeeze the gelatin and stir it into the mixture.

While you're waiting, make the crust and the ganache!

Leave it to cool, stirring from time to time. When it has reached a temperature of about 36-40 degrees, it's ready to be mixed with the cream. I usually just check and see if it's about the same temperature as my finger! Pour the cream through a sieve to remove the mint leaves. Add 50 grams of cream directly into the mixture and stir. Whisk the remaining cream until it has soft peaks, and gently fold in the beer mixture.

The crust:
Chop the digestives in a food processor or the like. Melt the butter and mix it thoroughly with the chopped biscuits. Press it evenly into a spring form pan (approximately 24 cm.).

The ganache:
Heat up the cream and finely chop the dark chocolate. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and leave it for a few minutes. Then gently stir the mixture until combined (I just love the look of a fresh ganache, don't you?)

Spread the ganache over the digestive crust. It can be quite a hassle, as the biscuit crumbs will stick to the spoon! One way to reduce the risk of this is by putting the crust in the freezer for 10 minutes before covering it with the ganache.

When the ganache has been spread evenly on top of the cake, pour over the mousse over the crust and ganache, and leave it in the fridge to settle. It will need at least a couple of hours; overnight would do as well!
Before serving, sprinkle with chopped mint leaves and icing sugar.

That's it! Enjoy, and let me know how it works out for you!

Lots of Love,
Becks