Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

DARK CHOCOLATE MERINGUE MOUSSE ACCENTED WITH ESPRESSO AND SALT. MILK CHOCOLATE CREME ANGLAISE MOUSSE. WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM MOUSSE. COCOA POWDER. SERVED OVER CHOCOLATE GENOISE SPONGE.

Chocolate is the key to the heart and soul, and mousse is one of the all-time great ways to deliver it. There are basically two kinds of mousse – egg white mousse and cream mousse, sometimes with gelatin to help keep structure. Each of these types of mousse can borrow a little from the other, but egg white mousse generally has more body to it, while cream mousse is… well, creamy. So we made mousse out of three chocolates – dark, milk, and white – which would all be great on their own, but were even better layered on top of each other in showstopping fashion! And who doesn’t like a coffee-enhanced chocolate sponge cake surprise at the bottom?

Each mousse layer is a little different, giving a little contrast as you nom your way through the layers. The dark chocolate mousse is a classic meringue mousse, with egg whites and cream folded into a melted chocolate. The milk chocolate mousse started with a custard that enriches the milk chocolate before being lightened with whipped cream. The white chocolate mousse is a a classic cream mousse that gets topped off with a healthy dusting of cocoa powder.

While the recipe itself isn’t too hard, it does test your patience since you have to let the layers set completely before pouring on the next one! Hope you give this one a try soon! – Boo

Servings: 12-16 slices
Difficulty: 

Oven: 350 F, 25 minutes

Preparation:

• Line an 8-inch cake or springform pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the interior.
• Line a 9.5-inch cake ring or springform pan with parchment paper. Optionally, line interior with acetate paper.

Chocolate genoise:

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 0.33 c sugar
• 0.5 ts vanilla
• Dry ingredients
  0.25 c flour
  2.5 tb cocoa powder
  0.25 ts salt
• 0.25 c coffee liqueur

1. Over a bain-marie, beat eggs with sugar until warm, but not hot. Remove from heat, and beat until eggs fall in ribbons. Beat vanilla into eggs.
2. Sift and fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.
3. Bake batter in a buttered and floured 8-inch cake or springform pan, 25 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, and cool to room temperature.
5. Transfer cake to the center of lined 9.5-inch springform pan, and brush with coffee liqueur.
6. Refrigerate while preparing the dark chocolate mousse.

Dark chocolate mousse:

• Chocolate mixture
  6 oz dark chocolate, recommended 70-78%
  2 tb cocoa powder
  1 tb instant espresso powder
  0.33 ts salt
• Meringue
  3 egg whites
  4 tb sugar
  1 ts vanilla extract
• 0.75 c heavy cream

1. Over a bain-marie, melt dark chocolate. Stir cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt into melted chocolate.
2. Beat egg whites with sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. Fold meringue into chocolate mixture by thirds.
3. Beat cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into meringue mixture by thirds.
4. Pour mousse over the chocolate genoise, starting from the center. Tap down gently several times, and smooth the top.
5. Refrigerate to set, 1-1.5 hours, then prepare milk chocolate mousse.

Milk chocolate mousse:

• 1.5 ts gelatin powder
• Custard
  2 egg yolks
  3 tb sugar
  0.33 c milk
  0.25 c heavy cream
• 6 oz milk chocolate, chopped
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1.25 c heavy cream

1. In a small bowl, stir gelatin into 1 tb water. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, heat milk and cream on medium heat to a bare simmer.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk yolks with sugar. Whisk hot milk mixture into yolks.
4. Return yolk mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, and whisk constantly until slightly thickened.
   Small pea tip: the custard should coat the back of a rubber spatula.
5. In a mixing bowl, stir custard and vanilla into chocolate until homogenized.
6. Microwave gelatin until melted, 6-8 seconds. Whisk gelatin into chocolate mixture.
7. Beat cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture by thirds.
8. Pour mousse over the set dark chocolate layer, starting from the center. Tap down gently several times, and smooth the top.
9. Refrigerate to set, 1-1.5 hours, then prepare white chocolate mousse.

White chocolate mousse:

• 1 ts gelatin
• White chocolate cream
  8 oz white chocolate
  0.5 c heavy cream
  0.5 ts vanilla extract
• 1.5 c heavy cream

1. In a small bowl, stir gelatin into 1 tb water. Set aside.
2. Microwave and stir white chocolate in 30-second intervals until melted. Whisk cream and vanilla into white chocolate.
3. Microwave gelatin until melted, 6-8 seconds. Whisk gelatin into chocolate mixture.
4. Beat cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture by thirds.
5. Pour mousse over the set milk chocolate layer, starting from the center. Tap down gently several times, and smooth the top.
6. Refrigerate to set, 1.5-2 hours.

Finish:

• Garnish
  chocolate espresso beans
  chocolate shavings
  cocoa powder

1. Optionally garnish, and serve.