Gluten-Free Layered Banana Mousse and Berry Cake

We are in the middle of a heat wave. Two very ripe bananas are sitting on a kitchen counter. We feel like having a dessert, we have had banana pancakes recently, and I am looking for an idea what to make. Lately I have been using AI mode in Google search to work on recipe ideas, and here I did the same. The pattern seems to be consistent: I describe with some detail what I am looking for, what ingredients I would like to use, what I have available, and then ask for a recipe suggestion or validation. It's critical that one does no believe the answer blindly - having some idea about cooking is paramount. Almost always, after a few rounds, I have a recipe I would like to try, along with warnings what I need to careful amount.

In this case the recipe turned out to be particularly good. It was a layered no-bake cake that I could whip up with very little effort, just the cooling took some time. I got a good suggestion to be extras cautious using psyllium husk to thicken the mousse as it could densify the mousse too much, so I opted to go with gelatin.

Next time I make this I will make sure I take a picture an add it to this post. The cake looked great!

Ingredients

Crust:

1. 100g whole almonds
2. 100g walnuts and/or pecans
3. 80g dark chocolate
4. 40g butter
5. 2 TBS dark rum

Banana mousse:

1. 2 very ripe bananas
2. 250g skuta (use quark if you cannot get skuta, or drained low-salt cottage cheese)
3. 3 TBS honey
4. 10g gelatin powder
5. 50 ml cold water (for blooming gelatin)
6. 200ml cold whipping cream (I used 250 because that was one container)

Berry coulis:

1. 250g fresh or frozen mixed berries (I used frozen blueberries and a berry mix)
2. 2 TBS honey
3. Optional: 1/2 TBS psyllium husk
4. Optional: 1 TBS lemon juice

Procedure

1. Bloom the gelatin: Add the water into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatine powder evenly over the surface. Let it sit for at least 5-10 minutes, until a sponge is formed.
2. In a pot at medium heat add berries and honey and let it simmer. The berries will pop and the sauce with start to thicken. I alse added a TBS of rum.
   
   
3. Toast the nuts in a dry pan on a stove on medium heat for 3-5 minues, until fragrant
4. Cool the nuts a bit and pulse them in a food processor to get a mix of crumbs and small crunchy pieces
5. On a stove, on low heat or in a double boiler melt chocolate, butter, and rum. You can also use a microwave in 15-second bursts if you prefer that.
6. Mix the nuts into the chocolate mixture.
7. Line the bottom od a springform pan with parchment. Press the chocolate-nut mixture into the base so that it is smooth and even. I used the back of a spoon, I can imagine using something the bottomn of a glass might work well.
8. Put the pan into a freezer (or fridge) until the mousse is ready.
   
   
9. Place the bowl with the gelatine in a pot with a bit of water so that the bowl is in a shallow water bath. Set the heat to low and let the gelatin melt. I used the "keep-warm" feature on an induction cooktop.
10. In a clean food processor puree the skuta, bananas, and honey. Make sure you blend all of the lumps away.
11. In a chilled bowl whip the whipping cream. Cold cream in a cold bowl whips faster and firmer. If you want you can add a dash of liquer (rum, or flavored liquer - honey or orange into the cream). I also added a sachet of vanilla sugar that contained actual vanilla seeds - some vanilla syrup or seeds from vanilla pod would work nicely, too.
1. Optionally you can add a whipped cream stabilizer to the cream. It is not really needed because the gelatin will do it's job. The stabilizer might help a bit when folding the banana mixture into the cream, or at least it might make you feel safer.
12. By now the gelatin should gave melted. If not, give it a bit more time. 
13. Add the melted gelatine to the banana mixture and run the food processor for another 15 seconds to fully incorporate and temper.
14. Fold the banana mixture into the whipped cream. Fold slowly and gently to avoid deflating the cream.
    
    
15. Get the springform pan and pour the banana-cream mousse on the now-hardened base. Even the mousse out and place the springform pan in a fridge for 2 hours or so, until the mousse thickens.
    
    
16. When the berry mixture thickens, take it off heat. 
17. Add the lemon juice if using. 
18. If you feel there is too much liquid, remember that coulis will solidify in the fridge. 
1. If you feel coulis is really too wet, sprinkle a bit of psyllium husk on top of the mixture to help it solidify. Be careful here as psyllium husk is very powerful gelling agent and can make your coulis too hard as it cools down. It may be safer not to use it.
19. Let the coulis cool down at room temperature
    
    
20. When the mousse has solidified, in about 2 hours, pour the coulis over the mouse, creating the third layer. 
21. Return the cake back to the fridge for another two hours to let the coulis solidify as well.
    
    
22. Before removing the sides of the springform pan, run a knife around the pan to losed the cake away from the wall of the pan.
23. The base of the cake will be completely hard. As you slide the cake on a platter or a large plate, support it with one hand and use the other hand to peel away the parchment. Or have someone help you.
    
    
24. When you slice the cake, use a long sharp knife. Dip the knife into hot water and wipe it completely clean and dry before making each slice. Or not if you are OK with slices not being picture perfect.

Our cake stayed good in a fridge for three days. It was challenging to resist from eating it all immediately. The crunchiness and the nutty flavor of the base, the smoothness and sweetness of the mousse, and the acidity of the coulis combined perfectly.