Nougat mousse cake for Christmas

Receta en español aquí

The main ingredient on this recipe is “Turrón de Jijona” (Jijona nougat), a paste of almonds and other ingredients, that is consumed as a traditional Christmas dessert in Spain. I don’t know if you can find this product out of Spain but if you do this cake is delicious and very easy to prepare.

Ingredients (9-10 inches springform pan)

Crust

80 g unsalted butter

200 g Digestive biscuits

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon brandy

Jijona nougat mousse

300 g soft nougat (Turrón de Jijona)

100 ml whole milk

400 ml whipping cream, minimum 35% fat

2 large eggs

50 g white sugar

6 fish tails or gelatin leaves previously hydrated in cold water

1 dash of Baileys coffee

1 pinch of salt

To decorate

Chocolate leaves (you can see how to make them here)

Chocolate vermicelli

Diced Almonds

Cherry in syrup

Cookies  to surround

A ribbon

Directions

Crust

Line with baking paper the springform pan base to protect it.

Crush the biscuits  and mix with the butter and cocoa powder until it forms a dough. Cover the mold bottom with it and set aside.

Nougat mousse

Cut up the nougat. Set aside.

Heat the milk and dissolve the gelatin, previously well hydrated, into it. Stir well to make sure there are no lumps of jelly. Let it cool.

In a large bowl whisk the cold whipping cream until it forms soft peaks, set aside.

In another bowl whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt,  until stiff and set aside.

Blend in a third bowl the egg yolks, crumbled nougat, sugar and a splash of Baileys coffee. Add the milk with the gelatin and whisk again to mix well everything.

Incorporate the whipped cream to the nougat mixture and stir gently to combine. Add the white of the eggs  too.

Pour the resulting mixture onto the biscuit base and put the springform pan in the refrigerator until the next day.

Decorate before serving and enjoy!