Mango Mousse Cake (VIDEO)

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
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓ Recipe FAQs
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• Mango mousse cake (VIDEO)

🌟 Why this is the best recipe

1. 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
2. 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!
3. 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!
4. 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
5. 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

1. 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
2. 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
3. Egg: Use room temperature eggs, as almost always in baking
4. 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
5. 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
6. Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients, make sure you do not left it out
7. 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

1. 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
2. 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
3. Yogurt: This is a yogurt-based Mango mousse cake, I recommend using a thick enough (not watery) Greek or Turkish style yogurt
4. 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
5. 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

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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.

1. 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
2. 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
3. Sift in flour and salt then fold into the batter with a Rubber spatula just until combined
4. Pour cake batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with an Offset spatula
5. 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
6. 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.

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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;

1. Cook a very amount of mango puree with sugar for a few minutes, until slightly thickens
2. 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
3. Place the sponge cake into the mousse ring. Make sure that the cake ring tightly sits around the sponge cake
4. Pour or pipe mango mousse on top of the sponge cake
5. Smooth the top with an Offset spatula
6. 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
7. For the marble effect, grab a toothpick and gently swirl the mango puree into the mango mousse
8. 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!

1. 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
2. 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

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