Choclate Mousse Cake with Ganache Icing

CAKE:

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs cocoa
¼ cup butter
½ cup water
¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients, sugar, flour cocoa together and set aside. Combine in a saucepan butter, water and oil heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dry ingredients until mixed well. Then add buttermilk, soda, egg and vanilla.

Grease and flour pan and bake at 350 degrees until cake springs back – depending on pan 10-20 minutes. You can use two 9 inch round pans, two 9 inch square pans, one 13 X 9 inch pan. If you are using this recipe with the mousse and ganache you can use an 8 in spring form pan to make assembly easier.


MOUSSE:

8 oz good quality semisweet chocolate
2 oz of butter – unsalted
¾ cup heavy cream
3 eggs – separated

In the top of a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter with the beaten egg yolks, remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a separate bowl beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. In another bowl repeat the process with the egg whites.

Fold the whipped egg whites and whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. This is no ready to be spread or piped on to a cake.

*Best Practice: I make two cake layers in parchment lined spring form pans, leaving one layer in the spring form pan I then layer in the mousse and place second cake layer on top and chill for a couple of hours – once it is set I then make the ganache frosting.


GANACHE:

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz bittersweet chocolate – chopped
2 Tbs butter – unsalted and softened
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan bring cream to just a boiling, remove from heat and stir in chocolate, butter vanilla and corn syrup. Let this all stand three minutes then whisk the mixture until combined and smooth.

Chill until mixture is just cooled. And frost cake of your choice.

*Best Practice: I use a squirt bottle (like the kind you can buy to put ketchup in) and pour the mixture into that and then cool. The small opening gives you control over the flow when you are icing the cake and you can store this for up to two week. If stored just leave at room temperature for a half hour and shake well.

For variation on any of these recipes you can add extracts such as orange, almond or peppermint. You can also add orange or raspberry liqueur to the mouse or ganache for an extra zip and garnish with fresh berries or mandarin slices.