Charlotte Royale

Here's another cake I found on YouTube.  It's time-consuming and has many components, like the Swedish Princess Cake, but isn't as hard as it looks.  And you don't have to frost it.  It was never a contender for the wedding cake.  I used it to test the consistency of the White Chocolate Mousse.  Then I added gelatin (suggested by YouTube) to keep the cake from imploding.

As described in the Jelly Roll post, there are variations on this cake.  You can make a mocha roll for the outside and fill it with ice cream.  The most traditional seemed to be raspberry jam in the cake and raspberry cheesecake filling.  I used the gelatin-stabilized white chocolate mousse infused with strawberry-lavender syrup, and mixed berry jam in the cake.

The bowl part had me stumped.  All of my bowls have either a flat bottom or a dent in them.  Because a perfectly round bowl will roll everywhere.  Even the stand mixer bowl has the concave dent so you can rest it on a counter.  I finally realized my strainer is perfectly round and has a built-in stand, so I lined it very well with plastic wrap, much better than I would have a bowl.  I did not want to have to wash gelatin mousse out of the mesh.

I recipe Jelly Roll
1 recipe White Chocolate Mousse
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
*4 oz strawberry syrup
8 oz fresh strawberries
Powdered sugar for garnish

1.  Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 C cold water and allow to bloom.  Warm the strawberry syrup until it just starts to boil.  Remove from heat and stir in gelatin.  Allow to cool on the counter while you prep the cake.

2.  Line an 8" diameter bowl with plastic wrap.  Slice the jelly roll into 1/2" thick slices.

3.  Starting in the middle, arrange slices as tightly as you can, all the way to the top of the bowl.  When you get to the top ring, you'll have to cut some of the slices into creative wedges.  Any holes you leave will be filled with mousse.  It isn't a tragedy, but you want to minimize the leaks.  One advantage of using the strainer was I could hold it up to the light to look for holes.  Hopefully, you'll have several slices left at this point.  If not, take off half a layer.

4.  Slice or quarter the strawberries.  Separately, beat the prepared mousse to break it up if it has chilled too firm.  Beat in the strawberry gelatin mixture until smooth.  Pour into the middle of the cake, then drop in the strawberry slices and allow them to sink in.

5.  Top with remaining cake slices.  Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.  For longer storage, or if the cake will be left at room temperature longer than 4 hours, freeze until solid.  The mousse is almost an ice cream recipe, so it's fine.  Remove from freezer about 2 hours before serving and invert onto serving platter.  Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serves 10-14

Difficulty rating  :)