Easy Polar Bear Mousse Cake

Method (chocolate mousse)

1.  Line one dome cake tin with grease proof paper. Click here to check out the exact tin I used. Use only one tin to create a half sphere.
2. Place the dairy-free dark chocolate into a glass bowl. Fill a small saucepan 1/4 with water and place on the hob over low heat. Place the bowl on top and allow the chocolate to melt. This creates a bain-marie.
3. Drain the water from the silken tofu carton, then add the tofu into a high speed blender. Drizzle over the melted chocolate and orange extract / flavouring (if using).  Whizz up on high speed until fully combined and smooth. As the mixture is quite thick, you might need to stop and scrape down the sides of the blender a few times. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of water to get it to a blendable consistency. You want it thick enough to be able to hold in the dome shape, so don’t add too much water.
4. Pour the mixture into the lined dome tin. Tap the tin on the worktop a few times to remove any trapped air bubbles.
5. Place the tin into the fridge overnight to chill. Before removing from the tin, place it into the freezer for 20 minutes. This makes it much easier for removing.

Method (brownie)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees c fan, and line a 8×8 inch square baking tin with grease-proof paper. You basically want a tin large enough so you can cut out the circle for the base of the mousse dome. 
2. Make the flax eggs. Add 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed into a small bowl and add in 4 tablespoons of water. Stir to combine then set aside to thicken. This will take around 10 minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter/margarine, both sugars and flax ‘egg’. Whisk to combine until light in colour.
4. Add in the cocoa powder, baking powder and flour. Mix until a thick brownie batter.
5. Spoon then spread the batter into the lined tin, making sure to get it as flat as possible. Smooth out with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
6. Place the tin into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the brownie comes out clean.
7. When the brownie is ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool. You want to cut the brownie whilst it’s still slightly warm, as when it’s cold, it will crack.
8. Place one of the dome cake tins over the brownie and use force to press down so it cuts the brownie into a circle. This will make sure the mousse will fit on the brownie perfectly.   Alternatively, run a sharp knife around the side of the tin to get a clean cut. 
9. Set aside.

Method (white chocolate decorations)

1. Add the dairy-free white chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Fill a medium sized saucepan 1/4 full with water. Place the saucepan on the hob over low / medium heat, and add the bowl on top. This creates a bain-marie. Allow the white chocolate to melt and cool very slightly.
2. Transfer the white chocolate into a piping bag, and pipe large circles on some grease-proof paper. Two large for the ears and a smaller circle for the nose. Watch the tutorial here. 
3. Whilst the chocolate is wet, sprinkle over some desiccated coconut.
4. Transfer into the freezer until ready to use.

Method (buttercream)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter and whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until creamy. The buttercream will be very thick.
3. Pour in the aquafaba and whip for 5 minutes until it turns light and creamy. Don’t over whip it or it can become too soft. If it does, just add in more icing sugar until it’s thick and creamy. If it splits, keep whipping, it will come together.
4. Your Swiss meringue buttercream should be thick, very creamy and silky smooth. If it feels too heavy, add chunks more butter / splashes of aquafaba until its very light.

Assemble.

1. Place the brownie circle on a cake stand or plate. 
2. Carefully remove the mousse dome from the cake tin, and place on top of the brownie base.
3. Using an off set spatula, spread a layer of buttercream all over the brownie base and mousse dome. Be very careful as you don’t want any of the chocolate colour in the white buttercream.
4. While the buttercream is tacky, press desiccated coconut all over the dessert. 
5. Spread some left over buttercream on the back side of the chocolate nose and stick onto the middle of the cake.
6. Press the white chocolate ears either side of the dome, so they stick.
7. Colour any left over buttercream with black food gel, transfer into a piping bag and pipe two eyes and a nose. Watch the tutorial here.