Make Mother’s Day a Sweet One With One of These Delicious Desserts

The last few weeks have been a temptation worthy of Beelzebub himself--I’ve been testing recipes for a book on desserts and pastry.

February began with cold mousses and souffles. March brought charlottes, Bavarian creams and sherbet. In April, I inspected puff pastry and fruit tarts. Tasting everything is obligatory, and who can stop at just a taste?

There is one consolation: By Mother’s Day the freezer will be laden with ice cream and the refrigerator full of long-lasting gateaux like Strawberry Mousse Gateau, Chocolate Checkerboard Cake and Gateau Succes. I’ll be able to sit back and relax enough to entertain at least 15 guests.

Strawberry mousse cake is designed to display seasonal strawberries at their best. The mousse is sandwiched between two layers of spongecake, all assembled in a spring form pan, where it can be left for two or three days in the refrigerator before unmolding.

Made a Day Ahead

Even more accommodating is Gateau Succes, an undeniably successful combination of almond meringue layered with coffee butter cream. The top is dusted with cocoa powder and the sides coated with browned almonds. The gateau should be made at least a day ahead so these ingredients can mellow and the meringue become soft and rich. It can be kept up to three days.

The puzzle of creating checkered squares of contrasting batter in a single cake constantly intrigues cooks and their audiences. The solution I’ve taken is to pipe concentric rings of batter in four layers, then stack them on one another so the checkerboard effect is revealed only when the cake is cut. The classic French chocolate frosting, ganache, which coats the cake, hides the fanciful interior.

DESSERTS FOR MOTHER’S DAY FOR 15

Strawberry Mousse Gateau

Chocolate Checkerboard Cake

Gateau Succes

Suggested drinks: Coffee, tea or sweet white wine such as Muscat or Sauternes

All of these gateaux can be prepared days ahead, but the time table is deceptively short, for each one takes a good deal of time to make.

Up to three days ahead, make checkerboard cake and refrigerate. Make Gateau Succes and refrigerate.

Up to two days ahead, make Strawberry Mousse Gateau and refrigerate.

About one hour before serving, unmold Strawberry Mousse Gateau and strawberry slices and let stand at room temperature.

Shortly before serving, make coffee and brew tea. STRAWBERRY MOUSSE GATEAU

1 round spongecake, at least 9 inches in diameter

Kirsch

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 cup whipping cream

1 pint strawberries plus 5 to 6 large berries for garnish

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup strawberry or red currant jelly

Split cake horizontally into 2 layers. Trim each layer to fit 9-inch spring form pan, if necessary. Line pan with round piece cardboard. Top with 1 cake layer. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon kirsch. Set aside.

Place 1/4 cup water in small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand to soften, about 5 minutes.

Whip cream to soft peaks. Chill. Hull 1 pint strawberries, then puree in food processor or blender. Reserve. (There should be 1 cup puree.)

Beat eggs, egg yolks and sugar in large mixing bowl until mixed. Set bowl in pan of hot, not boiling, water. Beat until mixture is light and holds ribbon trail when whisk is lifted, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk until cool. Stir in strawberry puree.

Melt softened gelatin over low heat. Stir thoroughly into strawberry mixture with 1 tablespoon kirsch. Set bowl over ice to chill, stirring gently until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in whipped cream. Pour mousse into spring form pan. Smooth top. Set remaining cake layer on top. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons kirsch. Cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

Melt jelly with remaining 1 tablespoon water. Pour over cake to form even glaze. Let rest until set. Strawberry Mousse Gateau can be kept 2 days in refrigerator.

Not more than 1 hour before serving, run knife around sides of spring form pan. Remove sides of pan. Set gateau on cardboard round on serving plate. Cut remaining whole strawberries into very thin slices and press against layer of mousse around sides of gateau to form scalloped pattern. Let gateau stand at room temperature so mousse softens slightly before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings. CHOCOLATE CHECKERBOARD CAKE

Butter

Flour

Salt

Eggs

Sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup cocoa powder

9 tablespoons water

2 to 3 tablespoons brandy or rum, optional

1/2 cup apricot jam

1 cup whipping cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Butter 4 (8-inch) cake pans. Line bases with wax paper. Butter paper and flour pans, discarding excess flour.

To make vanilla spongecake, sift 1 cup flour with dash salt. Reserve. Beat 4 eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in mixing bowl with electric mixer until ribbon trail is formed when beaters are lifted, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Sift 1/2 cup flour over egg mixture in 3 batches, each time folding together as lightly as possible. Reserve.

Make chocolate spongecake batter in same way by repeating ingredients and procedure, sifting cocoa with flour. Place each batter in separate pastry bags fitted with 1/2-inch plain tips.

Pipe ring of chocolate batter around edge of 1 cake pan. Pipe round of vanilla batter inside chocolate ring. Continue alternating rings of batter until pan is full. Fill remaining 3 pans in same way, starting with ring of vanilla batter in 2 pans and ring of chocolate batter in other pan. Bake at 350 degrees until cake layers shrink slightly from sides of pans and spring back when lightly pressed with fingertip, 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, make sugar syrup by heating water and 3 tablespoons sugar in small saucepan until dissolved. Bring to boil. Boil 3 minutes. Cool.

When cake layers are done, turn out onto rack to cool, discarding paper. While still warm, sprinkle cake layers with syrup and brandy.

To assemble, set 1 cake layer on round of cardboard. Melt apricot jam. Work through sieve to make glaze. Melt glaze. Brush glaze on cake layers. Pile cake layers one on another, alternating vanilla and chocolate outer rings.

To make ganache frosting, bring whipping cream just to boil in saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate. Stir until melted. Cool. Beat, preferably using electric beater, until frosting is light and very smooth, about 5 minutes.

Spread top and sides of cake with 2/3 of frosting. Place remaining frosting in pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe rosettes on top of cake. Chill at least 2 hours. Checkerboard cake can be kept 3 days in refrigerator, or frozen. Makes 8 to 10 servings. GATEAU SUCCES

Butter

Flour

4 large eggs, separated

Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup ground almonds

2 tablespoons cornstarch

6 tablespoons water

1 cup unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dry instant coffee granules

2 tablespoons hot water

Cocoa powder

1/3 cup toasted chopped almonds for garnish

Butter and flour baking sheet, shaking off excess flour. Mark 2 (8-inch) circles with baking pan or lid. Or line baking sheet with on-stick silicone paper and draw circles with pencil.

Beat egg whites in large mixing bowl using electric beater. Add 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat until mixture is glossy and holds soft peaks, 30 to 60 seconds. Beat in additional 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make stiff meringue. Mix vanilla, ground almonds and cornstarch and fold into meringue.

Using pastry bag with 1/2-inch plain tip, pipe spirals of meringue onto baking sheet to form rounds, starting on outside edge and working inward. Or spread meringue over rounds with metal spatula. Sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake at 250 degrees 1 hour or until firm to touch and pale cream color.

Let meringue cool slightly, then transfer to rack to cool completely. If meringue browns too quickly, lower oven temperature and prop door open for few minutes.

To make butter cream, heat 1/2 cup sugar with 6 tablespoons water in small heavy saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Boil until syrup reaches soft ball stage, 239 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove from heat. Let bubbles subside.

Meanwhile, beat egg yolks in medium-size mixing bowl. Gradually pour in hot syrup in thin stream between beaters so syrup does not stick to bowl. Beat as fast as possible until mixture is thick and cool.

Cream butter and gradually beat into cool yolk mixture. (If yolk mixture is warm it will melt butter.) Dissolve coffee in hot water and beat into butter cream.

Sandwich meringues using some butter cream, then coat sides of gateau with all but about 3 to 4 tablespoons of remaining butter cream. Generously sprinkle cocoa on top of gateau. Press toasted almonds around sides. Place reserved butter cream in pastry bag fitted with small star tip. Pipe small rosettes on top around edge of gateau.

Refrigerate gateau at least 1 day and up to 3 days so meringue softens and mellows. Gateau also can be frozen. Makes 6 to 8 servings.