Mom Tang's Succulent Cake
Soil for the succulents: Remove the cream filling from Oreo cookies with a knife, then crush the cookies into fine crumbs using a rolling pin. To make the soil look more realistic, Mom Tang added some Ritz biscuits. Mix the crumbs of the two biscuits together. After melting the butter, pour it into the biscuit crumbs and mix it evenly. At this point, the biscuit and butter mixture will form irregular-sized clusters. Color of the succulents: You can get creative with the succulent colors. Mom Tang used fruit juice, but don’t use just a single color. For example, mix red dragon fruit puree with strawberry puree, or cucumber skin puree with kiwi puree. All fruit purees must be strained to remove seeds or other solids. Successful unmolding of the succulents: After unmolding, let the succulents thaw slightly. Mix a tiny bit of red food coloring with water and use a small brush to decorate the succulents. Then, refreeze them. The color will naturally diffuse. You can use real succulent images for reference, which will improve the effect. The succulents must be stored frozen! This is very important.
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare the succulent materials and molds.
Mom Tang uses fruits to color the succulents: dragon fruit, kiwis, strawberries, and mangoes.
Blend the fruits into puree using a blender.
Cut gelatin sheets into smaller pieces and soak them in ice water.
Pour mango puree into a container.
Add sugar.
Mix mango puree and sugar over a 40°C water bath, stirring until smooth, then let it cool to room temperature.
Drain the softened gelatin sheets and heat in a bowl over a water bath until completely melted into a liquid.
Mix the mango puree with the gelatin solution.
Gradually add whipped cream in three batches, gently mixing each time.
Add mirror glaze to the solution.
Let the liquid sit for a while.
Pour into molds. Secure the molds with rubber bands. Shake the filled molds 10-15 times to ensure even distribution and to prevent uneven shapes.
It's best to use mixed colors for the succulents. Single colors may look unnatural.
Adjust the colors based on your preference. Dragon fruit colors can be too bright, so pair them with strawberries for a more natural look.
Freeze the molds for 10 hours, then unmold them.
Upon unmolding, the succulents will have a frosted layer. They're beautiful!
Fuzzy-looking succulents.
Start making the soil for the succulents.
Remove the cream filling from Oreo cookies with a knife, then crush them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin.
To make the soil more realistic, add some Ritz biscuits.
Prepare a piece of butter.
Mix the crumbs of the two types of biscuits together.
Melt the butter and pour it into the biscuit crumb mixture.
Mix gently until the butter and crumbs form clusters of uneven sizes.
Clean and sterilize the small accessories and allow them to dry.
Prepare one chiffon cake base.
Use a layering tool to divide the cake into three layers.
The divided cake slices.
Use a knife to cut out a heart-shaped pattern.
Prepare the ingredients for making mousse cake.
Cut gelatin sheets into smaller pieces and soak them in ice water.
Whip the whipped cream with powdered sugar and rum until it forms soft peaks. The texture should be soft and flowable—do not overwhip, or the mousse cake will have a rough texture. Refrigerate the whipped cream until needed.
Drain the gelatin sheets.
Place the drained gelatin sheets in a heatproof bowl over a water bath.
Add milk.
Stir the gelatin sheets and milk until fully dissolved and combined.
Soften the mascarpone and whip with 40g of fine sugar over a 40°C water bath until smooth.
Combine the whipped mascarpone with room-temperature yogurt and mix until even.
Add the gelatin milk solution to the mixture.
Mix the ingredients evenly.
Pour the whipped cream into the mixture.
Use a spatula to gently fold the mixture until even.
Take the heart-shaped mold, pour some prepared mousse mixture into it.
Place the heart-shaped chiffon cake layer into the mold.
Pour the remaining mousse mixture until the mold is full. Shake the mold and check for bubbles, especially at the bottom. Use a toothpick to remove any bubbles.
Refrigerate the mousse cake for at least 4 hours, then freeze for another 2 hours.
Unmold the cake. Use a hairdryer to slightly warm the edges of the mousse cake. Do not heat it too long, as the mousse can melt, resulting in an uneven surface.
Run a demolding knife along the edges of the mold. Pull the mold’s edges to let air in. Place a plate or cake board on top, flip the mold, and use a hairdryer to slightly warm the surface. The mousse cake will gradually separate from the mold.
Wrap the sides with chocolate lace.
Successfully unmolded mousse cake.
Spoon some Oreo crumbs onto the mousse cake.
Spread the 'soil' evenly with a spoon.
Place the prepared succulents on the cake.
The succulent cake is complete! It might seem complicated, but with patience, step by step, you'll succeed!
Sending my heartfelt blessings to the man I love most~~
Thank you for your hard work, Da Tou Ge (Big Head Brother). You work tirelessly for our family!
Doesn't the sliced succulent cake look beautiful?