Chocolate Mousse Cake: To celebrate my Birthday (July)

September 2016: Chocolate Mousse Cake

**This post was almost ready to be published in September, but it wasn't until my friend asked me for a foolproof chocolate cake recipe earlier this morning that I realized that I had totally forgotten to proof read and publish it.**

This was my birthday cake. (My birthday was in July.. yup, this is how long it took me to post the recipe!) It was made by the husband and almost 7 yo & decorated by me and devoured in July. The tiny hearts was the almost 7 yo's idea. It was perhaps the best cake that came out of my kitchen. But it wasn't until today that I sat down to write the Chocolate Mousse Cake blogpost. It is an established fact now that I become a procrastinator.

We are into the 4th week of school. I am just about getting used spending a chunk of the day alone at home. The almost 7 yo old turns 7 in 2 weeks. I keep looking at his baby pictures and keep wondering when did this happen - when did he become so big. I cannot pick him up as easily as before.. cuddle and snuggle times are getting lesser & lesser and he has a whole new Pokémon vocabulary that I know no head or tail of.

And to top it, the almost 7 yo lost his first baby tooth last Sunday of August - he is officially a big kid now.

Sigh. Let me drown my sorrows in the memories of this super-moist super-chocolaty cake!

Ingredients: (for two 9-inch round cakes) Recipe adapted from here

• All Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 Cup
• Sugar - 1 Cup
• Baking Powder - 1 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Instant Coffee Granules - 1 tsp
• Chocolate Chips - 1 Cup (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• Sour Cream - 1 Cup, at room temperature
• Butter - 1 Cup/2 sticks, unsalted & at room temperature + 1 tbsp, divided
• Eggs - 4, large, at room temperature
• Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp
• Milk - 2 tsp

Ingredients: (for the Chocolate Mousse)

• 1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream, chilled
• 4 ounces of Ghirardelli Baking Bar, semi-sweet, chopped
• 2 tbsp. of butter
• A fat pinch of instant coffee granules
• A pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)
• 1/2 tsp of orange zest (optional)

How to make the Chocolate Cakes

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 2 9-inches round cake pan with butter, dust it unsweetened cocoa powder and shake off the excess. I prefer lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper as well.

Sift the All Purpose Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Take the chocolate, 1 tbsp butter, 2 tsp milk and instant coffee granules in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 30 seconds. Give it a stir and keep heating & stirring in increments of 10 to 15 seconds till the chocolate is all melted and shiny. Do be careful and keep an watchful eye as it is pretty easy to burn the chocolate.

Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar till smooth and fluffy. Add in eggs one by one while still creaming. Beat in the vanilla extract and mix till everything is combined.

Next goes in the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients, in 3 batches while beating the batter. Scrape the sides as required.

Now fold in the chocolate and lastly mix in the sour cream.

Divide the batter and spread evenly into the prepped pans,  Give the pans a few gentle taps, and stick them in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cakes for cool for about 15 to 20 minutes

How to Make the Mousse Filling (Eggless)

Chop the chocolate bar into small pieces using a sharp knife and transfer those to a microwave safe medium sized bowl along with the butter, salt and instant coffee granules. Using a spatula, gently stir it to help the chocolate melt. Or you can use the double broiler method to melt it. Let it cool down

To whip the whipping cream to soft peaks, you need to start with a chilled bowl, cold whipping cream and chilled whisk attachment for your electric blender. Take the chilled whipping cream to the chilled bowl and whisk till nicely whipped and fluffy.

Now take a couple of dollops of whipped cream and gently fold it in the melted chocolate. This is help in tempering the melted chocolate and cooling it down totally. Now fold in the rest of the whipped cream in batches. Do not over-mix it. Lastly, fold in the orange zest, if using.

Let it chill in the fridge while you bake the cake.

How to Make the Chocolate Ganache for the Chocolate Mousse Cake

I make a very quick fix ganache with one cup of chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 tsp of orange zest and 1 tablespoon of milk. Take all the ingredients except orange zest in a microwave safe measuring cup and heat it for a minute. Take it out, give it a stir and keep heating it in increments of 15 seconds till the chocolate is fully melted. Stir in the orange zest and it come to room temperature before you pour it on the cake.

Assembling the Chocolate Mousse Cake: you will need

1) Two 9 inch cake rounds, at room temperature

2) Chilled Chocolate Mousse Filling

3) Coffee Syrup (Made by heating half Cup of water, 1/2 tsp of coffee and 1 tsp of sugar) 

4) Chocolate Ganache, at room temperature and pourable consistency

5) Strips of parchment paper

6) Offset spatula

7) A Cake Scraper or a 1 foot steel ruler

8) Sprinkles

Brush the cakes with the coffee syrup generously.

Place a little bit of ganache in the middle of the cake stand and place the first cake round (flat side on the bottom) on it. Gently stick the pieces of parchment paper under the cake to catch drops of chocolate ganache or chocolate mousse filling.

Add dollops of the chocolate Mousse Filling on top of the cake and using a offset spatula, spread it out evenly. Now place the second cake round on it gently and press it down ever so lightly. Now using the cake scraper, scrape off the excess filling.

Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread it out using a small offset spatula or a butter knife. Coax a little bit of ganache to drip off the edges. Decorate with sprinkles.

Remove the parchment strips.

Let the cake chill in the fridge. Take it out about 45 minutes before you are ready to cut and serve.

Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of a slice of cake! Next time, for sure!