Next Level Chocolate Mousse Cake

I'm going to do a bit of boasting here... I make a pretty fantastic chocolate mousse cake... No lies... It is AMAZING!!  It comprises plenty of egg yolks, chocolate and cream; so it has got to be super delicious... And good for you 😉

Almond and Chocolate Chip Biscotti

When you are looking for something a little more glamorous and rusks don't quite fit the bill, these hot beverage dippers are just the thing.  Actually, they were traditionally dipped in dessert wine or sweet wine, for example, Vin Santo, which is a style of Italian dessert wine.  The nutty almond or hazelnut flavours are an ideal compliment to sweeter wines that have aged a while

Can you believe...?

I have come this far in my life as a "baker" and not made a chocolate mousse cake!  With the widespread popularity of this cake, this is some sort of anomaly. This week i was asked to make a chocolate mousse cake for a birthday party on Saturday.  I was a little nervous, yet excited at the same time.  Nervous because i have tried several mousse recipes and not yet found one that i like. Excited because it is about time that i get my A into G and master this illustrious cake!  In the December edition of the Food & Home Entertaining magazine, one of the winners of their annual cake baking competition won with her "Death by Chocolate Mousse' recipe.

So, with the confidence that this recipe was a finalist in a national competition, i baked/made the cake.  I was a little disappointed with the taste and texture of the sponge, so for blogging purposes, i have replaced her sponge recipe with mine.  The mousse is nice and light, chocolatey and not too sweet.  I think that with a recipe like this where the chocolate really is the lead performer - it is best to invest in a good quality couverture.  For the mousse, a LOT of cream is mixed with the chocolate - so one can get away with using a really dark chocolate - i used the Lindt Equador 70 %.






Cake

280 g vanilla sugar

225 g cake flour

1 T baking powder

4 eggs – separated

125 ml sunflower oil

125 ml cocoa mixed with 250 ml warm milk

Pinch of salt

1.    Sift together the dry ingredients

2.   Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks

3.  Whisk together the oil and egg yolks and add to the dry ingredients

4.  Add cocoa mixture to dry ingredients.

5.  Fold in the egg whites

6.  Pour the mixture into two 22.5 cm baking tins.

7.  Bake @ 180 ºC for 25 – 35 minutes

Mousse

330 g good quality dark chocolate

150 g butter

150 ml milk

650 ml fresh cream

1.  Combine the chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl.

2.  Bring the milk to the boil (either in a saucepan or in the microwave) and pour over the chocolate and butter.

3.  Stir until the chocolate melts.  (Place in the microwave for a few seconds if need be.)

4.  Cool to room temperature.

5.  Whip the cream to soft peaks and then fold into the chocolate mixture.

Ganache

300 g good quality dark chocolate

180 ml fresh cream

1.  Heat the cream in the microwave to scalding point.

2.  Pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy.

Assembly

1.  Cut each of the sponges into two equal layers (yielding four equal layers of sponge).

2.  Place the first sponge into a clean 22.5 cm spring form cake tin.

3.  Smooth over a layer of the chocolate mousse before placing the following layer of sponge.

4.  Repeat this step twice more, finishing off with a sponge layer.

5.  Cover the top of the cake with cling wrap and leave to set in the refrigerator for approximately 2 hours.

6.  Slide a hot palate knife between the edge of the cake and the cake tin.  Release the cake from the tin and place onto a cake stand/platter.

7.  Using a hot palate knife, neaten the sides of the cake.

8.  Pour the ganache over the cake.

9.  Place the cake in the refrigerator for a little while to allow the ganache to set.

"Bug's" Birthday Cake

I had SOOO much fun making this cake.  I made each of the ladybirds, bumble bees and wormies by hand - it was like being in Kindergarten again!  The colours are so nice and bright and cheerful - really good for the soul.  Here are some pics... and a recipe. I made a marble cake with white chocolate ganache.  This recipe is sufficient for a 25 cm sponge (square or round) with a height of 10 cm.

For the Vanilla Sponge
400 g butter
400g castor sugar
8 eggs
400 g self-raising flour

Cream the butter until soft.  Gradually add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined.  Sift the flour over and mix until just combined. Set aside.

For the Chocolate Sponge
400g butter
400g castor sugar
8 eggs
340 g self-raising flour
60 g cocoa powder

Cream the butter until soft.  Gradually add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined.  Sift the flour and cocoa over and mix until just combined.

In a 25 cm square baking tin, lined with baking paper, 1st layer half of the chocolate batter.  

* i put chocolate at the bottom to avoid that brown colour that the vanilla sponge gets when it is baked at the bottom of the tin.

Then layer half the vanilla butter, followed by a layer of chocolate and a layer of vanilla.  To create the marble effect, drag your spoon through the mixture in a wave-like motion: up and down, up and down from the bottom of the tin to the top .  Make sense?  The mixture of the two different colours should like ocean waves when you are done with this step!  Then use a truffle dipping fork (or just an ordinary one) and pull it through the batter in one direction and then the opposite, in lines from one side of the cake tin to the other.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 180 ˚C for 75 minutes.

For the icing, i used 1 kg of white chocolate ganache.  To make: heat 400 ml of cream in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Pour over 600 g of white chocolate and stir until combined. Set aside until the desirable spreading consistency is achieved.

Happy 2nd Birthday Nina!!

And some cupcakes too!

Chocolate Roll-Out Biscuits

On Monday i came across this post by the oh-so talented Sugarbelle.  My uncle and 8 year old cousin came to visit for a few days this week.  While "baby-sitting" my cousin, he asked if we could bake something.  As he has quite a sweet tooth and a deep fondness for chocolate, i knew exactly what we would experiment with!  Chocolate roll-out cookies...

The Judo-chop cookie cutting method!!

As you can see - a huge variety of cookie cutters were used!

 This recipe is my adaptation from Cookie Sensations by Meaghan Mountford, author of The Decorated Cookie Blog.


250 g butter
250 ml sugar
1 egg
5 ml vanilla paste
500 ml cake flour
125 ml cocoa
2.5 ml bicarbonate of soda


In a mixer, cream the butter until smooth before gradually adding the sugar.  Once light and fluffy, add the egg and vanilla.  Sift the dry ingredients over the creamed mixture.  Mix on low speed to combine the ingredients.  Knead into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes.

Knead the dough until you can roll it out nicely.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 5 mm.  Cut which ever shapes your heart desires (we put almost my entire cookie cutter collection to use!) and place on a baking tray.  Bake for 10-15 minutes (size-dependent) in an oven pre-heated to 200 ˚C.
The baked cookies have a lovely chocolatey colour and flavour.  Good texture too.  Overall, a very easy and yummy recipe!!

Italian-Inspired Desserts, part 3

Unforunately, i don't have any mouth-watering pics of this yummy dessert.  It is a recipe that i tried loooong before i knew what a blog is!  This is a recipe from, as you know, one of my favourite recipe books: Marie-Claire Flavours, Donna Hay, Murdoch Books, 2000.  On page 121 of this gem of a recipe book, you will find a recipe for chocolate panna cotta. Beware, this is not for the faint-hearted!!  This Italian dessert is extremely delicious and just as rich!

Chocolate Panna Cotta
Serves 6
4 cups cream
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
185 g milk or dark couverture chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup water

Place the cream, icing sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and allow to simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until the liquid has reduced by a third.  Be sure that the cream doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan.  Add the chocolate and stir until smooth.
Place the gelatine in a bowl and add the water.  Leave to swell for 5 minutes.  Place the gelatine mixture in a saucepan over low heat until the gelatine has dissolved.  Stir into the hot cream and chocolate mixture and simmer for 1 minute.  Pour into six 1/2-cup capacity moulds or ramekins and refrigerate for 4-6 hours until firm.

Chocolate Cupcake Collection

Before having to make that, for some, very difficult decision of which flavour to have for their wedding cake, i give my brides (and grooms!) a tasting of their top three flavours.  It's also an opportunity for me to show off a little bit with my tasty produce ;)  Today's bride and groom 'really like chocolate'. Their three choices:

*  Double Chocolate

*  Nuts about Chocolate

*  White Chocolate

For the recipes to make these yummy chocolatey creations, carry on reading...

Still no cheesecake...

But, a delicious chocolate cake!!! 

I didn't even get a chance to take a picture before the cake was tucked into!