cake

Dame Chocolat – Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Cake

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A birthday cake for my office neighbor!

This bittersweet chocolate mousse cake is another one from Extraordinary Desserts. According to  Extraordinary Desserts’ website:

“This cake is the Grande Dame of chocolate tortes. Dark and intense chocolate mousse sits atop a light layer of flourless chocolate cake creating a richly irresistible chocolate experience.”

I was fairly stressed about all the components to this cake and the execution of the assembly, but I’m happy that it all worked out in the end. Two chocolate genoise cake layers are soaked with a semi-sweet cocoa simple syrup, and topped with bittersweet chocolate-rum ganache and bittersweet chocolate mousse. The surface finish is a chocolate miroir (see description and recipe below), and I used fresh gladiolus flowers for decoration. This is a death-by-chocolate sort of cake (which fortunately was the birthday boy’s wish) that is moist and decadent, and oddly both light and dense at the same time.

The cake layers are flourless, and bake like a giant souffle (including the tendency to collapse). After realizing that I was not going to perfect the souffle in my first couple attempts, I decided to just make two cakes instead of splitting one cake into two halves. Although the cake is flourless, it is actually an airy genoise that holds up well when brushed with a syrup.

The cake is baked in a pan with a removable bottom to allow for easier handling. After baking, the edges of the cake are trimmed to reduce the diameter. Each cake layer is brushed with the syrup, topped with the ganache, and then covered with mousse, which spills over into the outer rim between the trimmed cake and the cake pan. After the cake sets in the freezer, a ganache layer is spread on top, and then a chocolate miroir is poured on to create a glossy, smooth finish.

What is chocolate miroir you ask? I describe it as a chocolate ganache with gelatin added for shine and texture.

Dark Chocolate Miroir

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 gelatin sheet (or about 1/3 packet gelatin powder)
  • 1 tablespoon glucose or light corn syrup

Directions

  1. Combine the sugar, cocoa powder and heavy cream with 2 tablespoons water in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat.
  2. While the sugar is cooking, place the gelatin in cool water to soften and bloom. Squeeze out or drain excess water. Add to hot sugar mixture along with the glucose (or light corn syrup) and mix well to combine.
  3. Use immediately (pour over cake and spread evenly with a large offset spatula).

Dear readers: I no longer possess an SLR camera, so the photography work on this blog will suffer briefly while I use a camera phone and whatever other resources I have within reach during my random baking hours.

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Ivoire Royale – White Chocolate Mousse & Berry Cake

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According to Extraordinary Desserts’ website:

“Ivoire Royale — An exquisite torte made of fine layers of vanilla bean soaked pound cakes and creamy white chocolate mousse. Bursting with fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, this delicate mousse torte is hidden by white chocolate shaving dusted with powdered sugar.”

This is a 10″ cake, with sour cream pound cake layers, brushed with vanilla simple syrup. In between the layers are white chocolate sour cream mousse, fresh whipped cream, and berries. I only used strawberries and blackberries in my cake, but I think any combination would work. The decoration is white chocolate shavings and curls.

I’m not sure the recipe for mousse in the cookbook quite worked. For a better mousse consistency, I suggest the following:

White Chocolate Sour Cream Mousse
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup sour cream (room temperature)
  • 6.5 oz (1 ¼ cup) white chocolate
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup powdered sugar

Directions

  1. Heat ¾ cup of the heavy cream in a saucepan until it boils/simmers. Pour over white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let sit for a couple minutes before stirring with a spatula until the white chocolate is melted and smooth.
  2. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a stand mixer until pale yellow and fluffy.
  3. Add melted chocolate to the whipped egg yolks.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining heavy cream and powdered sugar together until peaks form.
  5. Gently fold in the whipped cream and sour cream into the white chocolate-egg yolk mousse base.

I played with this while in-process, so the measurements may not be exact, particularly with respect to the whipped cream addition. I think that part can be made to-taste and to-texture, depending on what consistency and level of sweetness you are aiming for. The important addition here to the cookbook is the whipped egg yolk base, which gives the mousse a sturdier structure that won’t run.

I had previously attempted this in cupcake form, but because this cake relies on being soaked in vanilla simple syrup, and having almost as much (or perhaps more) mousse and whipped cream than cake, I don’t think the cupcake form delivers the same texture and flavor. Not to mention, I also dropped my entire batch of cupcakes before delivering them to a potluck event, so it is not quite a happy memory. One day, I will post a collage of all my disasters (usually in transit), when it doesn’t pain me so much to think about it!

Yellow roses for my SYZters:

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Banana Cake – A Classic

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This is an oldie but goodie that my mom likes to say gets better each time I make it (thanks mom!). This banana cake (not “bread”, says Anne Takemoto, the brilliant baker behind this recipe), is moist but with a great crispy edge. In my opinion, the secret ingredient is the crushed pineapple.

I hesitate a bit to share this recipe, since in my mind it will forever belong to dear Anne, our resident fellow from college. However, I often get requests, and those of us who lived in Okada probably reminisce about the warm-fuzzy-cozy dorm meetings that residents would show up to if for no other reason than to eat this cake at the end. This is edible love, and I hope I have Anne’s blessing to spread the love!

Banana Cake (oven 325 – 350 degrees)

Mix dry ingredients together:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Mix wet ingredients together:

1½ cups oil (a little less works too)

1½ teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups chopped bananas (about 4 very ripe bananas)

1 8oz. can of crushed pineapple, with juice

Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring gently.

Add 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Pour into greased Bundt pan (I strongly suggest using non-stick spray with flour).

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until done. Don’t try to underbake to ensure moistness. If the cake is underbaked, it will likely tear when removing from the Bundt pan. Plus, you will want that surface to be crispy!



I have tried to make this in a cupcake version with a honey cinnamon frosting, which is also delicious. However, the cupcake form loses the crispy edge (even without frosting), which is such a great part of this cake.

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