Matt’s Chocolate Mousse Cake

 

Chocolate Cake Recipe (make 1 day ahead)

14 oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
10 tbsp butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs, separated
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray 2 - 8 inch rounds with pam and line bottom with parchment paper. For cake, melt butter and chocolate together in a double boiler over low heat Stir continuously until smooth and melted. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.  Beat sugar, egg yolks, and flour into the cool chocolate. Whisk egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold chocolate mixture into whites until evenly combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until firm to the touch, 20 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

 

Chocolate Mousse Recipe
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

 

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1 quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.  Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.  Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.  Put a cake round on a cake plate, top with mousse and second cake round.  Refrigerate. Garnish with seedless raspberry jam and chocolate ganache.

 

Chocolate Ganache (make 2 weeks ahead)

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons corn syrup
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
squirt bottle (I use a plastic catsup or mustard container with a small opening)

 

In a saucepan, bring heavy cream and corn syrup to a simmer; remove from heat; add finely chopped chocolate whisking until melted and smooth. Cool; pour into a squirt bottle, cover and refrigerate.