The Annual Chocolate Cake Tradition.

April really should be renamed ‘The Birthday Month’ on my calendar, with mine, my boyfriend’s and finally my mum’s birthday all within two weeks.

Or perhaps, with the number of cakes that have had laid claim on valuable real estate in our fridge, ‘The Month of Cakes’ would be more apt. (Thank goodness the next birthday in the family doesn’t come till July.)

So to celebrate the last birthday of the month, a chocolate cake was most definitely in order. (For the unintiated, because my mum loves chocolate like nothing else in this world, I make her a chocolate cake every year).

Learning from last year’s 2 am mad frantic rush to get her cake done, I was well prepared this year with the chosen birthday cake marked and filed away months before.

So this year, I went for a chocolate mousse cake- partially because it came from Donna Hay and Donna Hay + desserts = amazing- but mostly because it sounded crazily delicious.

I mean really.

Chocolate.

Mousse.

Cake.

Need I say more?

This was such a breeze to make (stir, bake, stir, pour and leave to set, no mixer needed!) I felt a little bad about how utterly delicious it was.

A moist, slightly nutty chocolate cake topped with smooth, dense milk chocolate mousse, it honestly tasted like I had slaved over it for two days with minimal sleep (not that I’m complaining). One bite of this and I was seriously swooning to myself and making a mental note to give Donna Hay’s dessert recipes a lot more often.

The only downside to this incredibly decadent (and fuss-free) cake?

Having to outdo this one next year.

But if it’s gonna involve chocolate and cake, bring it on I say!

Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake [adapted from donna hay]

Note: If you’re still looking for something to make your mum tomorrow for Mothers’ Day, look no further. This cake is seriously as easy as it gets and every bit as decadent as it looks. I fiddled around with the recipe – halved it to make a more petite cake, winging the number of eggs in the process (original recipe called for 5 eggs) and used milk chocolate instead of dark and the cake still turned out pretty damned perfect. Just a word of warning- be sure to clamp the your springform cake pan tight before you start pouring the mousse over the cake layer or you’ll end up with a huge chocolate mess on your hands (yes, I learnt it the hard way). Other than that, it is easy peasy- definitely one of those low effort, high reward things that I still find a little hard to accept exists. Oh one last thing, to all mums and mums-to-be, happy Mothers’ day a little early! May you always know how much we love you!

Ingredients
60g ground almonds
130g icing sugar
38g plain flour
12g cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 egg whites, lightly whisked
100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Mousse filling
200g milk chocolate, chopped
50g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
250ml pouring cream, whipped

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease a 6-inch round springform pan and line the base of the pan with baking paper and set aside.
2. Place the ground almonds, icing sugar, flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the egg whites and melted butter and whisk to combine. Pour the batter into prepared pan and smoothen the top with a spatula.
3. Bake the cake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake is springy to the touch and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out with dry crumbs clinging.
4. Remove the cake from the pan and trim the top when cooled to get a flat top. Line the cake pan with plastic wrap and place the cake in the prepared pan. Set aside.
5. To make mousse Place the chocolate and vanilla extract in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
6. Fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until combined. Spoon the mousse over the cake.
7. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until set. Carefully remove the cake pan and plastic wrap to serve. Serves 12 small servings

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Posted by thecoffeesnob on May 7, 2011

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