Elegant Chocolate Mousse Cake Food

ELEGANT WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, combine chocolate and 2/3 cup cream; cook and stir over medium-low heat until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl; cool to room temperature. , In a small bowl, beat remaining cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Fold 1/4 cup of the whipped cream into chocolate mixture, then fold in remaining whipped cream., Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours. If desired, garnish with berries.

ELEGANT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Mix chocolate wafer crumbs and butter together in a bowl. Press over the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Freeze until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Whisk 2 eggs and 4 egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually pour in melted chocolate, whisking constantly, until well blended.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until stiff peaks form.
• Beat cream in a chilled glass or metal bowl with an electric mixer until foamy. Add 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar; continue to beat until soft peaks form.
• Fold one-third of the egg whites and one-third of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until lightened. Fold in remaining egg whites and whipped cream until thoroughly incorporated. Pour into the crust.
• Chill cake until mousse is set, 6 hours to overnight.
• Combine 2 cups heavy cream, 1/4 confectioners' sugar, and orange liqueur in a large bowl; beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe whipped cream rosettes to garnish each slice.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Grated chocolate, cookie crumbs or chopped nuts for coating the sides of cake, if desired
• Cake:
• Lightly coat the insides of 3 9 by 1 1/2-inch cake pans with melted butter. Line each pan with parchment paper, then lightly coat the parchment paper with more melted butter. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Heat 1-inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place remaining butter and 8 ounces semisweet chocolate in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with film wrap. Allow to heat for 10 to 12 minutes. remove from the heat, stir until smooth, and hold at room temperature.
• Place the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on high until slightly thickened and lemon-colored, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on high for an additional 2 minutes.
• While the egg yolks are beating, whisk 4 egg whites in a large stainless steel bowl until stiff, but not dry, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold the melted chocolate mixture into the beaten egg yolk mixture. Add a quarter of the beaten egg whites and stir to incorporate, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans, spreading evenly, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 15 minutes. (During baking, the surface of the cakes will form a crust; this crust will normally collapse when the cakes are removed from the oven.) Invert the cakes onto cake circles, remove the parchment paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Filling:
• To prepare the dark chocolate cream, heat 1-inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place the semisweet chocolate in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with film wrap and allow to heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a stainless steel bowl and set aside until needed. Place heavy cream and sugar in the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a well-chilled balloon whip. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Use a hand whisk to combine 1/4 of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate until smooth and completely incorporated. Add the combined whipped cream and chocolate to the remaining whipped cream and use a rubber spatula to fold together.
• Ganache:
• Heat the heavy cream and the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet chocolate in a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Chill 1 cup of ganache for at least 1 hour. Remaining ganache should be at room temperature
• To assemble cake:
• Arrange one of the cake layers in a 9-inch springform pan, evenly spread half the filling over the cake and top with the second layer. Add remaining filling and top with the remaining cake layer. Chill 2 hours. Transfer chilled cup of ganache to pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Remove cake from springform pan and coat sides and top with room temperature ganache. Using chilled ganache, decoratively pipe stars on top of cake. If desired, coat sides of cake with grated chocolate, cookie crumbs of chopped nuts.

EASY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Use a 9 inch springform pan.
• With pan locked, coat inside of pan with a thin film of butter. This will help alumnium foil to adhere to contour of pan. Place sheet of alumnium foil inside pan and press along bottom and sides.
• This step will prevent batter from leaking during baking.
• In heavy saucepan, over low heat, combine butter, sugar, and coffee; stir until all is melted.
• Remove from heat.
• In separate bowl, beat eggs (by hand or electric mixer) a couple of minutes, until slightly thickened.
• Stir in chocolate and mix to a uniform color.
• Pour in pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
• Cake will fall slightly as it cools.
• When room temperature, open springform pan, peel foil away from sides, place serving plate on top and flip over. Remove remaining foil.
• Serve at room temperature.
• Note: This cake is rather hard to slice, use plain dental floss or kitchen string, and holding taut in both hands, slice through cake, dividing it as you go.
• For Christmas, decorate center with holly leaves and cranberries.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Chocolate Cake: In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until very pale.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually beat in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
• Sift the flour and cocoa over the egg mixture; gently fold in.
• Pour into a buttered 8-inch springform pan; bake is a 350 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
• Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it.
• Let cool on a wire rack.
• Raspberry Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water; cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the liqueur.
• Let cool.
• Raspberry Mousse: In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand for 5 minutes to soften.
• Puree the berries in a food processor and then strain through a sieve to remove the seeds.
• There should be approximately 2 cups of puree remaining.
• Transfer the puree to a separate saucepan.
• Add sugar and lemon juice; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the liqueur; transfer to a large bowl.
• Over low heat, heat the gelatin until dissolved; stir into the raspberry mixture.
• Chill, stirring occasionally, over a larger bowl of ice and water for about 20 minutes or until the consistency of raw egg whites.
• Whip the cream; fold into the cooled raspberry mixture.
• Reserve 1/2 cup for garnish.
• To assemble, cut the cake into 3 or 4 thin layers; reserve 2 layers and freeze the remaining layers for another use.
• Sprinkle 1 cut side of each of the 2 layers with the raspberry syrup.
• Place 1 layer, syrup side up, in a 9-inch springform pan; pour in half of the raspberry mousse.
• Top with the second cake layer; pour in enough of the remaining mousse to come almost to the top of the pan.
• Smooth the surface.
• Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
• Chocolate Glaze: In the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water, melt the chocolate with the cream, stirring until smooth.
• Let it cool to room temperature yet still spreadable; pour over the mousse and spread evenly.
• Spoon the remaining mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip; pipe 3 concentric circles over the top of the cake.
• Pull a toothpick through the circles to form a spider web design.
• Refrigerate until chilled.