To make the Egg Free Vanilla Mousse start by soaking the agar pieces/ flakes in 3/4 cup of cold water for an hour. Cook this on low heat, stirring frequently, till the agar dissolves. (If this cools, it will become a jelly).

Set aside 1/2 cup of milk. Split the vanilla bean, scrape the inside with a knife and add to the 2 cups of milk. Add the granulated sugar to the milk, stir and bring to a boil. Also add the cocoa powder here if you are using it.

(I added cocoa powder because I did not want a pure white colour to my mousse. The cocoa gave my mousse a slightly off white colour without the chocolate taste which I felt would work well with the other flavours in the log.)

While the milk mixture is coming to a boil, in another pan put the custard powder/ corn starch and add the xbd cup of milk that was set aside. Mix well to dissolve and and cook over medium heat stirring constantly. The mixture will start thickening very quickly. At this point add the milk-sugar-vanilla mixture and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.

Now add the cooked agar mixture. If the agar has jelled, just mash it and add to the above custard and whisk. The agar will redissolve on heating. Cook, while stirring constantly, for about two minutes. Strain this mixture and allow it to cool, stirring it occasionally.

For the Orange and Cardamom Brulxe9e Insert, beat the cream with powdered sugar till stiff. Add the cooled and strained custard from above. Mix gently till well blended. Allow to set and then chill.

Beat together sugar, flour, cornstarch & water on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Bring milk to a simmer, pour about 80ml (1/3cup) of hot milk into the sugar mixture and stir to combine. Add the mixture back to the saucepan with the milk. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat while whisking constantly. It will begin to thicken immediately.

Scrape the bottom and sides of pan as you whisk. Cook until it begins to bubble, then whisk (as vigorously as you can) for 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Stir in the extracts. This can be stored in the fridge for upto 3 days.

Assembling the Cake: I made my cake over 3 days. The first day I made the Crxe8me Brulxe9e and the Coconut Crisp Insert. The next day I made the Eggless vanilla Mousse, the Dacquoise Biscuit and the Dark Chocolate Ganache. I assembled the cake the same day and then covered the cake with Milk Chocolate Icing on the third day.

I first of all lined my 6u201d round cake tin (I didnu2019t have a spring form tin this size) with cling film. I then cut out a round, the size of the bottom of the cake tin, out of acetate sheet and placed it at the bottom. Then I cut a long strip of acetate 4u201d high and used it to line the side of the cake tin. This made it easy for me to unmould my cake and the acetate gave my cake a very smooth finish.

I also made and froze my layers a little larger than 6u201d so I trimmed it to fit into the cake tin. I also chilled my mousse for 3 hours to make it a bit stronger for layering. And I layered my cake as follows : Mousse, Orange and Cardamom Brulxe9e Insert, Mousse, Coconut Crisp Insert, Mousse, and Dacquoise Biscuit.

The cake was frozen and then covered later. This cake keeps well if frozen, but then defrost it by putting it in the refrigerator overnight before serving.