Butternut squash cakes with chocolate mousse

For the cakes:
1/2 cup Butternut squash puree (dry roasted in oven and pureed in blender) (u can use pumpkin puree),
1 cup brown sugar,
6 eggs,
2 tbsp melted butter,
1/2 cup cake flour,
1/2 cup starch,
1 tsp baking powder,
1/2 vanilla pod,
pinch of salt.

For the chocolate mousse:
400 ml double cream,
2 egg whites,
4 tbsp cocoa powder (dutch processed),
2 tbsp Irish cream liquor,
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of cream of tartar,
1 tbsp gelatin powder.

Cakes:
Preheat oven to 180C. Lay a baking sheet with parchment.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until white. Separately, whip whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks. Add butternut squash puree to the egg yolks and stir, when add a melted butter and seeds from vanilla pod, stir until smooth.

Mix starch, flour and baking powder and add to the yolks and stir well. Then add beaten egg white and stir carefully.

Spread the mixture on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Cool the cake for 10 minutes, then cool completely on the rack.

Using mold rings cut 8 round bases, then cut each base in half with a very sharp bread knife. You should get 8 bases and 8 tops (or 10 depending on the diameter of your rings). Put mold rings on the parchment, then place one cake base in each ring.

Mousse:
Soak gelatin in 1 tablespoon of water.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar and 2 tbsp of sugar until soft peaks, set aside. Melt the gelatin 10 seconds in the microwave and stir well until completely dissolved. Add to the beaten egg whites and stir thoroughly.

Whip cream with remaining sugar to hard peaks, add to the mixture and stir carefully but quickly.

Fill the prepared forms with mousse, leaving a bit of room for cake tops. Cover with the remaining cake tops and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Decorate your cakes with grated butternut squash and mint or with melted chocolate.

Enjoy!