Black Forest Mousse Cake

After seeing how popular the brownies were, I wanted to have a go at using the same recipe to make a gateau so I’ve combined the brownie recipe with the gateau that was on the front page of the WW magazine in October.  Because of the amount of cocoa powder I’ve used, it makes this 2 points a slice on No Count: it is very chocolatey! If you preferred, you could use half the cocoa powder which would make it 1 point per slice.  It would be 5 points a slice on WW Freestyle.

(This recipe was adapted on 13/3/18 with the very kind help of @smartieem.)

Ingredients (serves 10 – 12):

For the cake:

• 200g Ready Brek
• 4 flat tbsp Splenda
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• 2 heaped tsp cinnamon
• 149g cocoa or cacao powder (20 points)
• 40g Flora light, melted (4g per person is free)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (out of daily allowance)
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp sugar-free maple syrup (I used the Myprotein one, available online)
• 4 eggs
• 200ml skimmed milk
• 400g cherries, blitzed in the food processor (I used frozen ones that I defrosted first) or you can just cut the cherries in half before adding them to the mixture
• 2 large bananas, pureed with a blender

For the topping:

• 500g 0% fat Greek yogurt (I used ‘Total’) – at room temperature
• 3 gelatine leaves
• 200g cherries (I used frozen ones and thawed them before using)
• 3 flat tbsp Splenda
• 1 egg white

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. In a bowl, mix the Ready Brek, Splenda, baking powder, cinnamon and cocoa powder.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, sugar-free maple syrup, vanilla extract, Flora, olive oil and egg yolks.  Whisk the egg whites until they are frothy and then fold in.  Pour this mixture into the first bowl and stir together gently.
4. Add the cherries (blitzed or chopped in half) and banana, and stir in.
5. Pour the mixture into a cake tin. (I used a silicone one which was 20cm in diameter and 7cm in depth: the mixture filled this to the top.)
6. Place in the oven and bake for 60 – 70 mins. (Check with a skewer that the middle is cooked through. You can’t leave it too soft, like a brownie, or the cake will collapse when you take it out of the tin.)
7. Take it out of the oven and leave to cool, for about 15 minutes, before taking it out of the tin and putting it on a plate to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile make the topping. Begin by soaking the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes.
9. Put the cherries in a pan with the 3 flat tbsp Splenda and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  I then mashed the cherries so that they would be smaller pieces in the topping. (You can leave the cherries whole if you prefer.)
10. Take the gelatine leaves, squeezing any excess water out, and place in with the cherries. Stir until they have dissolved.
11. Leave to cool, for about 15 minutes, and then stir in the yogurt.
12. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl, until it has thickened, and then fold it into the mixture.
13. I then fastened a piece of card around the cake to stop the topping from dripping down while it set. (Please see pictures below.)
14. Pour the topping onto the cake and place in a fridge for at least 8 hours to set.

This makes a really rich, chocolate gateau which will last in the fridge for about 3 days.  It will be ideal as a dessert for a special occasion without using too many points:-)