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Chocolate Mousse and Cake

Introduction & method

There are many ways to make a mousse - at its simplest, it can be nothing more than chocolate and egg, but chefs being chefs, more elaborate concoctions are commonplace, and frequently involve sugar, butter and cream. In this recipe I'm making mousse and mousse cake.

 Chocolate Mousse and Cake Recipe

Make the Sponge


Preheat your oven to 150°C (302°F) for a fan oven, 170°C (338°F) for a conventional one. Weigh the 2 eggs in their shells. You'll need the same weight of sugar and butter. And half the weight of cocoa powder and flour, mixed together. The butter needs to be at room temperature, and cut into small cubes. Cream together the butter and the sugar - you should end up with a smooth, fluffy paste. Add one egg, mix it in completely, then add the other one and mix that in too. Stir in the flour and cocoa and mix it to a smooth batter. Butter the inside of a springform cake tin (about 18cm - 7 inch diameter) and spoon in the batter. Try to get the top as flat as you can. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. When baked, the top should spring back when you press it with a finger. Remove from tin and place on a wire rack to cool down completely.

Make the Mousse


You'll need a small amount of water simmering in a pan, and a bowl of iced water. Put the butter, chocolate and coffee into a heatproof bowl and place it over the simmering water. Keep stirring until everything is melted, then remove it from the pan and set aside. Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a heatproof bowl with the sugar and water. Put this over the simmering water and whisk for about 3 minutes until it's something like a runny mayonnaise. Move it to the bowl of iced water and keep on whisking until it cools down and thickens somewhat. Remove from the iced water and fold in the chocolate mix. In another bowl, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until frothy. Add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and continue whipping until it's thick and glossy, but not quite stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla essence. Fold in  one third of the egg whites. When that is mixed in, add another third, fold in, then the final third and fold in until there are no visible streaks. Reserve about half of the mousse for the cake, and spoon the rest into ramekins, glasses or teacups and put in the fridge to set - this should take about 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream, chantilly cream or just on its own.

Assemble the Cake


If the top of your cake is not level (and it would be a miracle if it was!), carefully cut the top until it is. Put the cake back into the tin it was baked in and spoon mousse on top. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, until set. You can decorate the cake any way you like - whipped cream, chocolate curls (see video), crushed nuts, whatever you like.


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Chocolate Mousse and Cake on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info


SPONGE
 2 eggs
  unsalted butter
  caster (powdered) sugar
  cocoa powder
  self-raising flour
MOUSSE
 100 grams dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa)
 100 grams caster (powdered) sugar
 2 eggs
 3 tbsp strong coffee
 100 grams unsalted butter sugar
 2 tbsp water
 ½ tsp vanilla essence
 pinch of salt

PLUS

See the description of the sponge for quantities!


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Makes 4 mousses and 1 small cake
Prep time: 30 minutes.
setting time: 2 hours.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Total time: 3 hours.