Baker Note; the un-whipped Salted Caramel mousse must chill in the fridge until 100% cold, this takes at least 6 hours, and as always, the texture of the chocolate sponge cake improves after you fill the cake with the Salted Caramel mousse and daim candy and it rests in the fridge for a few hours preferably overnight and the flavors have a chance to mingle and make the sponge cake extra soft, So plan accordingly. To get this airy mousse-like texture I use gelatine in the Salted Caramel Mousse, you can leave it out or make my recipe for "Vanilla Bean & Caramel Whipped Cream" instead, It is made with salted butter which makes it firmer and also extra delicious  ( you find it in the frosting category)

Salted Caramel Mousse

• Bakers Note; the un-whipped Salted Caramel Mousse must chill in the fridge until 100% cold, this takes at least 6 hours, So plan accordingly.
   
• Use a sharp knife to split one vanilla bean lengthwise; Put both the vanilla pod, 1/4 teaspoon maldon sea salt, and 500-gram heavy cream into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer, about 70C°/158F°. Do not let it boil! Remove from heat, cover tightly, and let steep for 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the warm steeped cream mixture, try to extract as many seeds as possible, and scrape the flavorful vanilla goo back into the cream mixture, put the vanilla bean pod back in the saucepan again for extra flavor, and Place it back over medium-low heat to ensure the cream mixture stays warm while you prepare the caramel.
   
• Bakers Note; Cooking caramel is basically burning the sugar to a point where it doesn’t taste bitter and unpalatable, which is why you shouldn’t leave it unattended. Once your caramel reaches the right color and aroma, take it off the heat immediately as it will continue to cook and darken. I prefer my caramel a bit on the darker side, but it is up to you how dark to make it before it burns.
   
• For the caramel, In a small saucepan, combine 150-gram white sugar, 20-gram glucose ( or light corn syrup), and 20-gram water; using a small spatula, stir until all of the sugar is moistened. 
   
• Heat over medium heat and cook until the sugar mixture is dark golden brown. The entire process should take 5 to 7 minutes. The color of the caramel sugar will determine the depth of the caramel flavor. The trick is to cook the caramel to a dark amber brown color so the caramel flavor is intense and has that wonderful intense salted caramel flavor. But don't let it go too far, though, or it will taste burned.
   
• When you see little dark amber-brown bubbles, turn off the heat ( or remove the saucepan from the heat if you see smoke). Immediately but slowly, pour about one-third of the warm cream into the warm caramel. Be careful! It will pop and spit, wait a few seconds and then stir until it is incorporated, then add a bit more cream and stir, then continue until it is all in. Add the vanilla pod in there as well. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes while you prepare the gelatine. 
   
• Baker Tips; Sometimes there will be pieces of caramel left in the mixture that don't dissolve immediately. Don't worry too much about this as the caramel pieces will melt by themselves while you prepare the gelatin mixture.
   
• Immediately without delay, In a small bowl combine 5 grams of gelatine powder and 30 grams of ice-cold water, stir with a spoon until the gelatin has dissolved, and let bloom for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes stir the bloomed gelatin mixture into the warm caramel cream mixture, and stir with a whisk, until it is completely dissolved.
   
• Immediately pour the warm caramel mixture into an airtight container ( vanilla pod included for extra flavor) and cover it with plastic wrap directly against the surface of the caramel cream to prevent a skin from forming, or place a container lock on top. At this point, the unwhipped Salted Caramel Mousse can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days in advance, depending on the expiration date of your cream. If made with super-fresh cream, it will last for 5 days.
   
• When ready to whip it up into a lovely thick caramel cloud, Pull the cold caramel mixture out of the fridge, Remove the plastic wrap, pull out the vanilla bean pod try to extract as many seeds as possible, and scrape the flavorful vanilla goo back into cool caramel mixture. The mixture should be slightly thick like a loose pudding.
   
• Place the un-whipped salted caramel mousse into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stop the mixer after one minute to check the consistency and scrape the bottom of the bowl well, then proceed mixing until light and fluffy. Do not over-whip or it gets grainy.
   
• Place the Salted Caramel Mousse in an airtight container and cover it with plastic wrap, until you are ready to assemble the cake.
   
• If the Salted Caramel Moussesits longer than 24 hours in the airtight container in the fridge it gets very airy because it is a mousse, Re-whip in a stand mixer to bring it back that lovely consistency. (Whisking by hand won´t apply enough force to bring it back to stiffness).

Chocolate Sponge Cake
 

• Baker's Note: For the best results, aim for a high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder with a higher cocoa butter content, ideally around 20-22%. Brands like Valrhona offer such options. However, if you can't find it at your local supermarket, don't worry; you can still use the cocoa powder available there. Just be aware that using cocoa powder with lower cocoa butter content, typically around 10%, may increase the risk of your sponge cake turning out dry or overly crumbly. So, if you encounter such results, now you know why it might have happened.  Also using cocoa powder in a chocolate sponge cake can lead to a slightly denser sponge then my vanilla sponge cake recipe. This happens because cocoa powder, unlike flour, doesn't have gluten, which helps cakes rise and stay fluffy. Plus, cocoa absorbs more liquid, which contributes to slightly the denser texture.
   
• When preheating the oven for my cakes, always use the ‘top and bottom heat’ setting. Please avoid using the fan-forced option, unless otherwise specified.
   
• Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 170°C / 340°F.
   
• For the tallest, lightest chocolate sponge cake, do not grease your pans, as the cake batter has to be able to grip the sides of the pan in order to climb. Line two 20 cm (8 inches) 5 cm (2 inches) deep round cake pans with round parchment circles and set aside for now.
   
• Place a large sieve over a bowl. Add 110 grams of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 40 grams good quality unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder (if using), and 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt then sift. For the best chocolate cake texture, sift the flour/cocoa mixture twice to aerate and lighten it. Set aside for now.
   
• Baker's Note: To make this chocolate sponge cake, I prefer a method where the whole eggs and sugar are whipped and heated together. This process allows the eggs to coagulate while aeration occurs, resulting in a much more stable chocolate sponge mixture compared to using a cold-method process. Make sure to only heat to 40°C (104°F); do not overheat, or you end up with a slightly lower and denser sponge cake
   
• Pick a saucepan that lets the stand mixer bowl sit comfortably on top without actually dipping into the water beneath. Pour in about 2 inches of water and heat it up until it’s just simmering. If the stand mixer bowl is too small and ends up touching the bottom of the saucepan, no worries—just warm up the mix in a separate mixing bowl and then transfer it into the stand mixer bowl to whip it up.
   
• Put 200 grams of white sugar, 300 grams of eggs, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl on top of the pot with the simmering water and gently stir it—just enough to keep things moving. You’re aiming to heat it up, not whip air into it. It’s a good move to use a digital thermometer to check the temp. At 40°C (104°F), it should take somewhere between 1 to 3 minutes. If you don’t have a thermometer on hand, you can test it by dipping a finger into the mixture to make sure the sugar’s fully dissolved—it should feel nice and warm to the touch.
   
• Remove the bowl from the pan and place it onto the stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip on medium high speed for 8 minutes until the mix is thick, and have a mousy foam. Turn the speed down to low speed for 4 minutes to stabilize the foam.The final mixture should be pale in color and slightly thickened, with a consistency where, when the whisk is lifted, the mixture falls very slowly back onto the egg foam. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
   
• Start by sifting half of the cocoa flour mixture over the foam, then carefully fold it in with a balloon whisk. You want to be gentle to keep it fluffy but thorough so it’s nearly all mixed in. Do the same with the rest of the cocoa flour mix, folding until it’s totally incorporated. You’ll notice a bit of deflation totally normal and okay. When adding the cocoa flour mix, be gentle to maintain the airiness but thorough to ensure even mixing. If the flour isn't fully integrated with the foam, your cake could end up with a dense bottom and a light top. A good sign that you’ve mixed it just right is seeing a slight deflation and the mixture feeling tighter as you work through it with your whisk. Set aside for a minute while you warm the cream.
   
• In a small saucepan, warm 80-gram heavy cream or whole milk over medium heat until warm (about 60 seconds, 50°C/122°F), then quickly pour the warm cream around the edge of the bowl and gently fold in with a balloon whisk without deflating the batter too much.
   
• Divide the cake batter (you should have about 675 grams) equally divide the cake batter between the two round baking pans- about 335 grams in each.
   
• Bake both cakes until the top of the cake feels firm and springs back when pressed lightly in the center, about 18 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven and baking pan. Mine was done at 20 minutes. You’ll know the cake is ready when the top is firm and it springs back after lightly pressing on the top of it.
   
• Immediately run a knife between the sides of the pan and the cake, and invert the cakes onto a wire rack; remove the parchment paper and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.
   
• Cover the cooled cake layers with plastic wrap or in a large ziplock bag to prevent them from drying out until you are ready to use them.
   

Assembling
 

• Prepare the two chocolate sponge cakes by using a serrated knife to shave off a very thin layer of the top crusts or use a cake leveler. this step will make sure that the filling softens the cake layer, while it rests in the fridge.
   
• Place the first cake layer on a cake stand or a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, ( make sure that the cake stand or baking sheet fits in the fridge as the cake needs to be in the fridge for at least 8 hours or, optimally, overnight for the best flavor).
   
• Pull the container with the whipped salted caramel mousse out of the fridge, Scoop one-third of the Salted Caramel Mousse on top, and smooth all the way to the edge using an offset spatula. Add about 50 grams of crushed daim candy on top. Then add a large scoop of the Salted Caramel Mousseon top and spread it out using an offset spatula. Place the next cake layer on top and press down lightly but firmly to help it stick to the Mousse
   
• Scoop the remaining Salted Caramel mousse onto the middle of the top and use a spatula to swirl it prettily to the edge. (I prefer making on-the-top billowy swathes, never overthink when smoothing the mousse on the top) Swipe around the side with the remaining mousse, if you don't have much left for the sides you kind of have like a lovely naked cake appearance. Drizzle the remaining crushed daim candy on top, and chopped sea salt dark chocolate, or you can do this step just before serving.
   
• Place a cake dome on top and place the cake in the fridge for 8 hours, preferably overnight. As always the texture of sponge cake improves after you fill the cake with a cream-based filling it rests in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and the flavors have a chance to mingle and make the sponge cake extra soft. Tastewise this cake is at its very best the next day and even better the second day.
   
• Serve and enjoy. Leftovers keep well for up to 3 to 5 days in the fridge.