Mom’s Chocolate Cake???

Must be the festive holiday spirit in the air that compelled me to make this special dessert from Laurent Tourondel. I’m no pastry chef, so many of the spectacular holiday cakes that I see in cookbooks and magazines intimidate me…. but I had a feeling that I could pull this one off. This is definitely a chef’s recipe, and by that I mean it is a recipe that was written from a professional’s prospective instead of being geared to the average home cook like me. But it is actually very doable and I am going to try and be a bit more precise as I rewrite the directions. I will warn you that I used a lot of mixing bowls in this process. But you can make this dessert and run the dishwasher a good 36 hours before your guests walk in the door.It cracks me up that this is called “Mom’s Chocolate Cake”! No wonder this guy became a chef….growing up with a mom who whips up cakes like this!

I am so happy to finally know how to make beautiful chocolate curls. Of course I had to do a little online research to find a technique. See what I mean about “chef’s recipes”? They say things like, “decorate with chocolate curls” just assuming that we all know how to do that. But now I do know how to do that so thank you Chef Tourondel for inspiring me to figure it out.

Mom’s Chocolate Cake

(chocolate mousse cake with creme anglaise)

Adapted from Bistro Laurent Tourondel: New American Bistro Cooking by Laurent Tourondel and Michele Scicolone. Here is the basic idea: you make a yummy chocolate mousse, layer it with lady fingers dipped in syrup then let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Then you make a vanilla creme anglaise, let it chill a couple of hours, pour it on top of the cake and chill again for a bit. Decorate with chocolate curls and serve. I’ve made the cake a little less boozy cause I like my liquor on the side rather than in my dessert. In my version the liquor just heightens the flavor but it won’t come through on its own. As for the chocolate curls, I turned to The Pioneer Woman to get a photo demonstration to show me the way. (I used chocolate chips) Here’s a link: Chocolate Curls

Chocolate mousse

7 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoons rum

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup heavy cream

5 eggs, separated

6 tablespoons sugar, divided

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water. Add the espresso powder and rum and let stand uncovered until the chocolate is softened. Stir until blended. Transfer the chocolate to a large bowl to cool.

2. In a large, chilled bowl, whip the cream on high speed for 4 minutes, or until soft peaks form. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of the sugar until pale, about 3 minutes. In yet another bowl, beat the whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 4 tablespoons of the sugar and increase the speed to high. Whip until soft peaks form.

3. Add the egg mixture to the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the whites.

Cake Assembly

Chocolate mousse

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons rum

20 to 25 ladyfingers, cut in half horizontally

1. Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar and ¾ cup water in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool completely.

2. Mix together the simple syrup (you should have ¾ cup) and the rum. Dip half of each ladyfinger in the syrup until slightly softened.

3. In a 2-quart glass serving bowl, alternate layers of 1/3 of the mousse followed by 1/3 of the ladyfingers, finishing with the mousse. Alternatively, you may make individual servings by layering the mousse and ladyfingers in large wine glasses. Cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.

Creme Anglaise

2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1/2 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

Chocolate curls or shavings, if desired

1. Bring the milk, vanilla bean scrapings and pod, and 1/2 cup of the sugar to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and discard the vanilla bean.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until thickened slightly and well combined. Very slowly, add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks and whisk until well incorporated. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened slightly and the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Alternatively, dip a spatula in the sauce and run your finger through it. If your finger makes a trail rather than causes all of the custard to run off, the sauce is ready.

3. Remove the sauce from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. Place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Pour the creme anglaise over the chocolate mousse cake and chill until ready to serve. Decorate with chocolate curls just before serving.