It took me quite some time to come out with the idea for Chloe's birthday cake. Since it is for a 2-year old birthday, its theme should be more kiddie-like. Initially, I was thinking of making a fondant cake but decided against it as I will have to spend a lot of time making the fondant and moulding it but later on we would peel it off. So why spend so much time on something which we would not eat? I should make something which is made of all edible stuff of which the girls would go Wow over it. Chocolate then came popping up my head. Like the crackling of popcorns, ideas suddenly came flooding in my head.
The idea of making a chocolate mousse cake sounds so tempting. But is it viable? There would be (raw?) egg yolk in the mousse. Thinking it over and over again, I have finally came to my conclusion. It should be fine since the egg yolk is somewhat cooked in the process.
I adapted the recipe of the cake from here. I slightly modified the recipe as I wanted to make a firmer cake base and also to accommodate to my bigger-size pan. When preparing the chocolate ganache, I hesitated a while. I wondered whether the ganache would be too runny as it seems that the ratio of whipping cream is more than the chocolate. From all the chocolate ganache recipes that I have tried before, all also called for higher ratio of chocolate to cream. In the end, I just went with the recipe since it is a tried and tested recipe. After I tried it, I feel that my hunch is quite right. The ganache is a bit runny. If I were to make this again in the future, I will use my previous chocolate fudge recipe here for ganache.
Nevertheless, all of us love the cake. It was nice and the sweetness is just right. However, the cake base is not supposed to be made as a stand-alone cake as it is a bit dry. Pairing it with the chocolate mousse balanced up its texture. Overall, the cake is a success for a homebaker like me who have not have any formal training.
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Cocoa Sponge Cake
Ingredients:
(A)
4 egg yolks
22g sugar
68g corn oil
68g full cream milk
(B)
80g low protein flour
22g cocoa powder
(C)
4 egg whites
45g sugar
11g corn flour
1/2 tsp lime juice
Methods:
1. Mix sugar and corn flour in a bowl and set aside.
2. Mix flour and cocoa powder evenly in another bowl and set aside.
2. Whisk egg whites till foamy and add in 1/2 of the sugar-corn flour mixture and lime juice. Continue to whisk till glossy and add in the remaining sugar-corn flour mixture. Whisk till stiff peak.
3. In another bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar till combined. Add in oil and milk. Mix well. Add in the flour-cocoa powder mixture. Mix till combined.
4. Fold in 1/3 of the stiff egg whites into the egg yolks batter. Gently fold to combined. Fold in the remaining stiff egg whites. Gently fold and ensure it is well mixed.
5. Pour into 9 inch round spring form pan (do not line the pan). bake in a preheated oven at 130ºC for 35 minutes and then 150ºC for another 25 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and immediately invert the pan and leave to cool. Once cool, remove from pan and divide the cake into 2 layers.
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients:
150g whipping cream
150g dark chocolate
50ml milk
1 egg yolk
10g sugar
Methods:
1. Whip the cream till stiff and put it in the fridge for later use.
2. Melt chocolate with double boiler.
3. Warm milk in a saucer till about to boil.
4. Put egg yolk and sugar in a heat-proof bowl and place on a pot of simmering water (double boil). Whisk mixture till pale. Then add in the warm milk. Keep on whisking till mixture turns slightly thick. Then add in melted chocolate and whisk till well combined.
5. Remove whipped cream from fridge and fold into the yolk mixture till well combined.
6. Divide into 2 portions weighing about 175g/portion.
Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients:
102g whipping cream
60g dark chocolate
Method:
1. Add cream and chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water (double-boil) and melt the chocolate. Once most of the chocolate melted, remove from heat and continue to stir till it become a smooth paste.
2. Let it cool down a bit before using.
Assembling the Cake
1. Place first layer of cocoa sponge cake in the spring form pan. Top up with first portion of mousse.
2. Place second layer of sponge cake and gently press to secure with the mousse layer. Pour the the second portion of mousse layer on top.
3. Keep chilled for at least 4 hours or overnight to set.
4. Once set, pour chocolate ganache over the cake and decorate as desired.
 |
| Smooth top without any crack |
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