This super-light Mango mousse cake recipe consists of a delicious buttery sponge layer and the airiest yogurt-based mousse loaded with fragrant mangos! It is one of the easiest, most refreshing cakes ever with an incredibly delicious result that is light and very well balanced in sweetness.
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🌟 Why this is the best recipe
- It is rather easy – As fancy as it looks, making this Mango mousse cake is extremely easy! Both the sponge cake, as well as the mango mousse comes together really easily and quickly using a handful of easily accessible ingredients
- It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste! The airy mousse texture loaded with delicious mangos goes perfectly with the buttery sponge layer. The melt in your mouth texture with just the right sweetness make this mousse cake absolutely irresistible! It is so super refreshing, you will love it!
- It is an honest, detailed tutorial – While this Mango mousse cake recipe might look long, all the information I have written here, every tip and trick will help you achieve the perfect results without any issues on the way. Remember, baking is science, and every little detail written here is to help YOU!
- It is super pretty - An easy yet tasteful decoration can really take your cakes to the next level. I will teach you how to make it, keep reading
- No special equipment is needed – All you need is a round cake tin to assemble the mousse cake and a poping nozzle tip for the decoration
📝 Ingredient notes
For the buttery sponge
- Butter: Use always unsalted butter as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content European-style butter in all my recipes. For the sponge, the butter needs to be at room temperature which technically means soft enough to be able to cream but not too soft or runny so avoid last-minute microwaving
- Powdered Sugar: Use powdered sugar/icing sugar. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read sugar guide
- Egg: Use room temperature eggs, as almost always in baking
- Vanilla: Please avoid using artificial vanilla. There are several great brands for fine, pure vanilla, I use Nielsen massey which I love and really recommend. I use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract which has lovely vanilla bits in there too
- Flour: All-purpose flour or pastry flour works well to make the sponge part of this Mango mouse cake. They are so-called "soft flour" which are low on protein resulting in a delicate, tender texture. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what types of flour to use in your baking, please read my flour guide
- Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients, make sure you do not left it out
- Baking powder: No baking powder is needed in this sponge recipe. What we are making here is a relatively thin layer of sponge to hold the cake, this kind of sponge is very often used on mousse cakes. In contrast to traditional tall, airy sponge cakes, our sponge will be rather buttery and dense yet soft and moist.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
For the mango yogurt mousse
- Mango: Fresh or frozen (after thawing) mango both work to make the mousse part of the Mango mousse cake. Use a food processor and make it into a puree
- Granulated sugar: I use simple, white granulated sugar. The sugar quantity depends on the sweetness of your mangos, feel free to adjust the quantity if desired
- Yogurt: This is a yogurt-based Mango mousse cake, I recommend using a thick enough (not watery) Greek or Turkish style yogurt
- Heavy whipping cream: Also known as heavy cream or whipped cream, has a fat content of 36%-40%, the one I use contains 36% fat. Use it very cold and do not substitute with vegetable-based “whipped cream”. Heavy cream will make the mango mousse extra smooth and creamy
- Gelatin: It´s an odorless, tasteless, and colorless thickening agent, very often used in mousse cakes like this Mango mousse cake. Powder or sheet versions are available, in my recipes I always use gelatin sheet (1,7 g gelatin/sheet), which I found easier to handle. Powder gelatin can be used 1:1 so when I state 1 gelatin sheet that means 1,7 g gelatin powder. Check my ultimate gelatin article for details on how to bloom gelatin and substitute options
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
For the decoration
- Mascarpone: Very rich Italian cream cheese, exceptionally smooth, and easy to spread or whip. The flavor is milky and slightly sweet. Use the full-fat version, the one I used has 41% fat content
- Cream cheese: I always use a full-fat Philadelphia tub when I state cream cheese in my recipes. I find it easy to cream and very pleasant in taste, in this decoration this cream cheese frosting is the perfect fit for your mousse cake
- Powdered sugar/Icing sugar: We will only need a small amount of powdered sugar to whip up the decoration. Make sure you sift it first and powdered sugar tends to form lumps
- Mango: For the decoration, I prefer to use fresh mango. Once you cut the mangos, soak them with a kitchen towel so they are less wet
- Mint: Some green herbs like mint or rosemary really make the difference when it comes to the decorating your Mango mousse cake, I warmly recommend using them
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
👩🍳 How to make this recipe
1. How to make the buttery sponge layer
Making this sponge layer for the Mango mousse cake is extremely easy, what we are looking for is a thin, moist, buttery sponge layer to hold the mousse. Please note that this sponge won´t be tall and does not need to be. If you are looking for a sponge cake recipe for your layered cakes, check my sponge cake recipe.
- Measure all ingredients with a Digital scale, grease a 18 cm / 7 inch round cake pan and pre-heat oven to 180 °C / 356 °F
- With the help of an Electric hand mixer whip together room temperature butter and powdered sugar until creamy and fluffy, then mix in eggs slowly, a small amount at a time, continue creaming the batter, then whip in vanilla for a few seconds
- Sift in flour and salt then fold into the batter with a Rubber spatula just until combined
- Pour cake batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with an Offset spatula
- Bake the sponge for about 10-15 min or until the sides of the sponge starts to come off the side of the baking pan
- Carefully flip the sponge over to a Cooling rack and it to cool completely before assembling the Mango mousse cake
💡 Top Tip: The baking time is intentionally short. We are not making here a layered cake type of sponge, more like a buttery sponge layer that is approx 1-inch / 2.5cm height to hold the mousse
2. How to make mango mousse
Preparing the mango mousse could not be simpler, however, please respect the steps and the temperatures explained below and do not try to cut corners.
- Soak gelatin sheets in cold water while heating mango puree and sugar just until simmering, then squeeze excess water from the gelatin sheets and stir them into the mixture
- After a few minutes, when the mango gelatin mixture is not yet hot, whisk in yogurt until fully incorporated using a Hand whisk. Cool this yogurt mango mixture to room temperature. Do not place it into the fridge, as the mixture might cool too quickly resulting in gelatin fully setting and we want to avoid that at this point
- Whip cold heavy cream until early soft peaks. The heavy cream texture should be more on the runny side than stiff, so it will be easy to fold it with the mango mixture
- Fold whipped cream into the mango mixture.
Use this mousse immediately to assemble the Mango cake.
💡 Top Tip: 7 sheets of gelatin sheets equal to 12g of gelatin. You can easily substitute the gelatin sheets by using the same amount of gelatin powder. For agar-agar, follow conversions according to the package instructions. Check my ultimate gelatin article for details on how to bloom gelatin and substitute options.
3. How to assemble
Building up this Mango mousse cake is super simple;
- Cook a very amount of mango puree with sugar for a few minutes, until slightly thickens
- Assemble the Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) and set it to 18cm / 7 inch that is equal to the size of your sponge cake
- Place the sponge cake into the mousse ring. Make sure that the cake ring tightly sits around the sponge cake
- Pour or pipe mango mousse on top of the sponge cake
- Smooth the top with an Offset spatula
- Move the reduced mango puree into a Piping bag, make a very small hole on the piping bag and pipe small dots on top of the cake. Alternatively, use a small spoon to allocate the reduced mango puree
- For the marble effect, grab a toothpick and gently swirl the mango puree into the mango mousse
- Refrigerate the Mango mousse cake for a minimum of 6 hours to fully set before opening the cake ring
💡 Top Tip: For a neat looking, smooth side surface, consider using Acetate cake collar within the cake ring
4. Decoration
As usual, decoration is totally optional but I think it really takes this Mango mousse cake recipe to the next level and it is so easy!
- Whip up a small amount of cream cheese frosting then move it into a Piping bag fitted with your favorite nozzle tip. The one I am using is Wilton 6A
- Pipe the frosting on top of the cheesecake then place some mangos in between the pipings. Lastly, decorate with some greens (eg. mint or rosemary)
Voila, your Mango mousse cake is ready to be served!
🥣 Equipment notes
For making the sponge, a 18 cm / 7 inch round cake pan is perfect. For assembling the mousse cake, you will need a cake ring, I am using a Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) set to 18cm / 7inches (the size of the sponge). I use this cake ring all the time also for making my signature tall cheesecake crust
How to make the side of the cake neat? Acetate cake collar is the secret! It's an inexpensive pastry chef hack that you can purchase from Amazon and just makes all the difference! Once the cake ring is set, place the Acetate cake collar inside the ring and start building the cake up from the bottom to top as stated in the recipe.
For a consistent, happy baking experience always measure your ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. This is absolutely a MUST!
Last but not least, Rubber spatula will be useful whenever the recipe states "folding".
🎓 Expert tips
- While making the sponge, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature for proper emulsification
- Do not over bake your sponge as that would result in a dry texture
- If using sweet enough mango, you can easily skip the sugar in the mousse and turn it sugar-free
- An inexpensive Rubber spatula is super useful whenever "fold" is mentioned in the recipe. With the help of your spatula, you will be able to fold the cream gently without breaking it
- Mango can be easily substituted in the recipe with strawberry or raspberry and that would make a wonderful Strawberry mousse or Raspberry mousse cake
- Feel free to experiment with flavor pairings eg. use citrus zest in the sponge, and a small amount of citrus juice in the mousse (heat it up along with the mango puree). Another great flavor combination can be replacing 25% of the flour with coconut flour making it a coconut sponge
❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use traditional equipment (eg. springform pan), but the mousse ring is adjustable in size so you can use it no matter the size of the cake
Yes of course you can, this recipe works no matter what size or shape of cake you want to bake, however, you will need to adjust the baking time and ingredients accordingly
Yes, most probably you can, however, you can´t just replace ingredients without reformulating the recipe. When one ingredient changes, some other ingredients need to be changed too in order to keep the balance in the texture and flavor. Sadly, I am not able to provide substitutes for all sorts of allergies and diets
Yes, you can, however, you will need to use another thickening agent eg. agar-agar
The mousse is quite runny when assembling this cake, however, the gelatin will make it set in the fridge. If your mousse has not set, maybe it needs more time in the fridge, or perhaps your measurement was off eg. you used less gelatin than stated in the recipe
Once you assemble the Mango mousse cake, it should be stored in the fridge. I suggest you cover the cake to make sure it does not absorb any smell from the fridge. Leftover cake - if there is any - should be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days in an air-tight container.
I do not recommend freezing this cake as the texture might change after thawing
🍰 More Cake recipes
Mango mousse cake (VIDEO)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the sponge layer
- 37 g (⅓ cups) Unsalted butter 82% fat content, at room temperature
- 37 g (⅓ cups) Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 Eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste
- 37 g (⅓ cups) All-purpose flour sifted
- Pinch of salt
Mango mousse
- 320 g (1¼ cups) Mango puree
- 85 g (⅓ cups) Granulated sugar
- 7 Gelatin sheet equal to 12g gelatin
- 290 g (1⅙ cups) Yogurt thick, Greek or Turkish style yogurt
- 230 g (1 cups) Heavy Cream 36% fat content, very cold
- 1 tablespoon Reduced mango puree cook a small amount of mango puree with some sugar for a few minutes until slightly thickens
Decoration
- 40 g (⅙ cups) Mascarpone 41% fat content
- 75 g (⅓ cups) Cream cheese Philadephia, full fat
- 20 g (⅙ cups) Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 Mango fresh mango cut into identical chunks
- Mint top
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
Make the sponge
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C / 356 °F and grease a 18 cm / 7 inch round cake pan
- Sift in flour and salt then fold in with a Rubber spatula just until combined
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth the top with an Offset spatula
- Bake the sponge for 10-15 min or until the side of the sponge starts to come off the side of the baking pan
- Allow the sponge to cool completely on Cooling rack before assembling
Continue with the mango mousse
- Soak gelatin sheets in cold water while heating the mango puree and sugar until simmering
- Squeeze excess water from the gelatin sheets and stir them into the mixture mango puree
- When the mango gelatin mixture is not yet hot, whisk in yogurt until fully incorporated using a Hand whisk. Let the mixture come to room temperature
- Whip cold heavy cream until early soft peaks, then fold into the mango mixture
Assembling the cake
- Make the reduced mango puree by cooking a small amount of mango puree with sugar for a few minutes until slightly thickens
- Start to build up the cake from bottom to top. Place sponge into the mousse ring, then pipe or pour the mango mousse on top
- Move the reduced mango puree into a Piping bag, make a very small hole on the piping bag and pipe small dots all around the cake. For the marble effect, grab a toothpick and gently swirl the mango pure into the mango mousse
- Chill the cake in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours to set
Decoration
- Once cake fully sets refrigerated, open the mousse ring and proceed with decoration
- For the cream cheese frosting whip mascarpone, cream cheese, and powdered sugar for a minute until fluffy
- Decorate the cake with the cream cheese frosting, fresh mango slices, and mint
- Store in fridge
Notes
- Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
- Good quality butter and pure vanilla are the heart of making the sponge layer. Use high-quality 82% fat content European butter and the best quality vanilla you can access
- 7 sheets of gelatin sheets equal to 12g of gelatin. You can easily substitute the gelatin sheets by using the same amount of gelatin powder. For agar-agar, follow conversions according to the package instructions
- For the mango mousse, use thick yogurt and high fat (36%) content heavy cream
- Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details, and science behind baking.
- While baking the sponge layer, remember not to overbake it. Over baked sponge cake can become too dry
- While making the mousse, follow the steps and temperatures stated in the recipe in order to avoid gelatin setting too quickly, etc.
- For a neat looking, smooth side surface, consider using Acetate cake collar within the cake ring
- Make sure you do not open the cake tin before the cake actually sets, respect the 6 hours chilling time
Gumer B. Milhet
Excellent. I liked this recipe. Thanks
Tasneem Hussain
It’s very nice, light and refreshing
lb
hi, is there supposed to be a video for this recipe, i cant seem to find it :((
thanks!
Balint Balazzs
I can see it under the table of content.
sam
can i replace the gelatin with pectin
Katalin Nagy
not in this recipe.
Mae
I made this mango mouse cake last night for new year’s eve celebration, among all the deserts on the table this was everyone’s favourite 😍 so it’s really recommended 👌👌😋😋😋
Irina
A wonderful cake, so refreshing and light! Simple ti make, but sure to impress everybody! 💛
Eliza
Amazing turnout. I love that you give tips and honest recipes. It has been too many times when a chef gives a recipe with steps missing
Elizabeth
Would you recommend using cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Katalin Nagy
It will work either way.
Deirdre Gilna
This was amazing, thank you so much!
Elizabeth Kuten
I love this recipe. It's delicious. 5 starts
John
This is the loveliest most delicious light summer cake, just what I needed this weekend! Thank you so much😍