Chocolate Mousse Cake by Karen Yee

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Ingredients:
To make the Chocolate sponge Cake:

3 large eggs, separated
1 large egg white
180 grams granulated white sugar, divided into 130 gms and 50 grms
85 grams all purpose flour
40 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
120 ml safflower, canola, or corn oil
80 ml water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven at 180 C. Grease a 9" cake pan

Separate the eggs into 2 bowls, add one more egg white to the bowl with whites.

Seive and whisk together the flour, sugar (130 grms), salt, baking powder, cocoa.

Mix the oil, water and vanilla together in a cup.

Beat the egg yolks at high speed for about 2 mins.

Turn to low speed and gradually add the oil mixture in until well combined.

Then add the flour mixture in gradually, until incorporated

In the separate bowl, beat the egg whites till foamy, add the cream of tartar and beat for about a min.

Add the remaining (50 grms) sugar in gradually till you achieve soft peaks.

Fold in the egg white mixture into the other mixture then pour the mixture in the cake pan and bake for about 45 mins.

Check with skewer. Remove cake and invert it to let it cool completely.

Cut the cake into two equal layers horizontally and frost with fudge frosting.

Ingredients:
To make the chocolate mousse (Adapted from my idol chef, Mr Bobby Flay’s recipe):

20grms Caster sugar
150 grms Semi-sweet chocolate
1.5 cups of whipping cream
3 large egg whites
¼ tsp of cream of tartar

Directions:

- Place chocolate in a double boiler to melt them gently using low heat. Stir occasionally with a rubber spatula (this is a tip I got from a site that teaches how to temper chocolate).

- When chocolate has melted, turn off the heat and let it continue to sit on the double boiler, stirring occasionally.

- Meantime, beat the whipping cream over a pot of ice water till you get stiff peaks. Set aside at room temperature.

- Put the egg whites and sugar over another double boiler and whisk for about 5 to 10 mins to gently cook the egg whites. It should turn foamy and increase slightly in volume.(ideal temperature is about 70C). If you are comfortable having raw egg whites, you can skip this step altogether.

- Then whip the egg whites with cream of tartar with a electric mixer till you achieve stiff peaks.

- Fold all the egg whites into the melted chocolate.

- When the whites are almost incorporated, add the whipped cream and fold in.

To assemble:

Use a springfoam pan, slightly larger than the cake you have baked.

Place one layer at the base of the pan, spread half of the mousse on over, filling to the sides of the pan.

Then place the 2nd layer on top and spread the rest of the mousse over till the whole cake is covered.

If possible place immediately in the freezer to quick freeze it for an hour before placing it under normal refrigeration for another 4 hours or more.

Remove the springfoam and decorate as you prefer. I used chocolate flakes for the sides.

Do keep the cake refrigerated as mousse tends to melt faster than other frostings.