A chocolate mousse cake has all the right flavors and texture to make it full of sensual promise. A delicate and thoroughly chocolate experience with just the right extras; Creme Anglaise, bittersweet chocolate sauce and a raspberry sauce for taste bud delirium.
Try this mousse cake when nothing less than the best will do. It has the face of an angel and tastes like heaven. Even without the special handiwork of an artist's touch, its deeply chocolate presence won't disappoint.
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients for filling:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate, cut in pieces
Ingredients for cake:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate, cut in pieces
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp confectioners' sugar
- Creme Anglaise and Raspberry Sauce (recipes to follow)
Raspberry Sauce
- 3 Tblsp seedless raspberry preserves
- 1 Tblsp orange-flavored liqueur
- 1 Tblsp water
Directions for Raspberry Sauce:
- Heat over low heat until preserves melt. Stir until preserves and liqueur are blended. Add 1 Tblsp water until blended. Cool.
Creme Anglaise Recipe
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tblsp cornstarch
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 cups hot milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cold milk
Directions for Creme Anglaise:
- In bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 Tblsp cornstarch. Whisk in 2 cups hot milk and 2 tsp vanilla. Pour into saucepan; over medium-low heat, cook, stirring, 5-7 mins or until thick. Add 1/2 cup cold milk, stir well, chill.
Bittersweet-Chocolate Sauce
- 3 Tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 Tblsp unsalted butter
Directions for Bittersweet-Chocolate Sauce:
- In saucepan, blend 3 Tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder with 1/2 cup water.
- Add 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1 Tblsp unsalted butter.
- Heat over low heat to melt chocolate and butter.
Directions for Mousse Cake
- Make filling. In saucepan, heat cream. Add chocolate; whisk to melt. Heat over low heat, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour into bowl. Cover; vent. Chill.
- Make cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease jelly roll pan (15-1/2 X 10-1/2-inch jelly roll pan). Dust with flour.
- Melt chocolate in microwave in 10-15 second increments until nicely melted.
- In large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in chocolate and egg yolks. On waxed paper, mix 1/2 cup flour with baking powder; beat into butter mixture. In clean bowl beat egg whites with salt until stiff.
- Blend 1/4 of the egg whites into the butter mixture. With rubber spatula, fold in remaining whites, a third at a time. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes or until top springs back when touched.
- Run knife around edge to release cake from pan. Invert onto wire rack to cool.
- Beat sour cream and vanilla into chilled filling mixture just until it is fluffy.
- Halve cake crosswise. Place one half on baking sheet. Spread with filling. Top with remaining cake half. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight. With serrated knife, use a sawing motion and trim 1/2 inch off edges; cut remainder into 12 equal-sized squares. Mix cocoa and confectioners' sugar; dust over top of cake, using shapes such as cut-out hearts or letters.
- Place cake squares on dessert plates. Spoon Creme Anglaise around cake; spoon a ring of dots of raspberry sauce onto creme Anglaise.
- Drag a skewer through dots to make heart shapes.
Rose-Petal Decorations
Lightly coat rose petals with egg white using small brush. Sprinkle with sugar. Let stand on wire rack until dry. Place petals around outer edge of plate. Petals can be purchased in 1 lb bags at Whole Foods Market or picked one by one from a home grown rose bush.
This just might be the piece-de-resistance for a night of pure enjoyment and celebration! For another delicious dessert recipe with chocolate, try this one.
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