Praline Caramel Mousse Cake

In collaboration with Canadian Living, I was recently sent a Kenwood Chef Kitchen Machine and gave it a test drive by making a praline caramel mousse cake. What exactly is a "kitchen machine" you might be wondering? It's basically an all-in-one machine for your kitchen. A mixer, whisker, kneader, chopper, slicer, and blender. Yup, it does pretty much everything and you don't need to buy separate appliances such as a hand mixers, food processors, and blenders. Once you have the Chef Kitchen Machine, you can get additional attachments to make pasta or ice cream. But don't let me ramble on as you can find out more information at kenwoodworld.ca. You're here to see how the cake turned out!

There are four components to this Praline Caramel Mousse Cake and I would highly recommend that you work on it over two days. It helps if some of the ingredients get time to cool and chill. Having the right temperatures for everything will keep your cake-making process easier. This is also one of those recipes that go smoothly when you're prepared. Read the instructions a few time and have your Kenwood Chef Kitchen Machine, saucepans, and containers ready. I suggest making the caramel mousse and pralines first and then the genoise cake and whipped cream icing on after.

To make the caramel mousse, you'll need to pour the gelatin and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until it dissolves. Set aside to cool. In a separate saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar and water to boil until it is amber in colour and smells like amazing caramel. Carefully pour in half a cup of the cream, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until it's smooth and thick. Pour ½ cup of the sauce (for decorating the cake) in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Stir in the gelatin mixture into the remaining caramel sauce until it is combined. Let it cool (preferably in the refrigerator) until it's at room temperature.

Using the whisk tool on the Kenwood Chef Kitchen Machine, beat the remaining cream until stiff peaks form. You can tell when the cream is able to hold its shape (see photo above).

Gently fold the cream with the cooled caramel sauce. See above to look at how lovely the caramel gently folds in using the new Kenwood fold tool! If the caramel is too hot, it won't fold into the cream and will even cause the peaks to separate. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Remember, if you ever need tips or guidance, you can turn to Canadian Living's Cooking School. I know it's not every day that we're melting sugar to make caramel!

Next up, let's make the praline. Arrange pecans on a lined rimmed baking sheet. Give them a quick toast in the oven. In the meantime, bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Always keep careful watch for it can change to amber to black very quickly. Once it is ready, drizzle over toasted pecans.

Let it cool until it hardens and break into small pieces. Attach the food processor to the Kenwood Chef Kitchen Machine and pulse the praline into chunks. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

The genoise cake was the easiest and quickest for me to prep. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool. Using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture triples in volume. Then bean in the vanilla. Sift the flour and salt in three parts and fold into the egg batter. Be gentle and don't over mix or the batter will deflate. Fold in the melted butter until combined and divide among your cake pans.

Bake at 350°F (180°C) for about 25 to 30 minutes and let it cool for 10 minutes before taking the cakes out of the pan. Let the cakes cool to room temperature (also important because if you try to frost it when the cakes are warm, the icing will just melt right off).

To make the whipped cream icing, pour the gelatin and water in a small saucepan and dissolve it over medium heat. Set aside to cool.

The whisk is getting a great workout, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Then beat in the icing sugar and gelatin mixture until stiff peaks form. Set aside to firm up in the fridge.

To assemble the cake, take your first layer and place it on your serving platter, plate, or rotating cake stand. Take the caramel mousse out of the fridge and give it a quick stir. Spread the caramel mousse over the top and sprinkle with some of the praline. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, leaving the top layer bare. Spread the whipped cream icing on top and over the sides of the cake. Sprinkle pralines on top and drizzle with the reserved caramel sauce.

Refrigerate the cake until firm. Then cut, serve, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Canadian Living and Kenwood. I received compensation for it. There was no requirement to produce a positive review of this recipe. All opinions are our own.