The hubby and I stayed home for New Year’s Eve – which I am sure surprises no one reading this. We really don’t go out all that often and I do like to cook. I’ll share what I made for dinner later this week but today it’s all about making a celebration dessert. I really do like trying new things in the kitchen but I must admit that my cooking this weekend was really all about the classics, I just presented them in a different way.
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Dessert was really a deconstruction of a Swiss Roll – a jelly roll filled with mousse. I’ve never made a jelly roll and I thought about just going ahead and making one but I wanted something a little fancier so I’ll save the jelly roll for another time. I did use the basic recipe for one from my good ole Betty Crocker cookbook. If you ask me when it comes to the basics there is no better reference.
I then made a classic chocolate mousse and for this I turned to my Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine which is another book I use regularly for classics. When it comes to chocolate mousse it pays to use good chocolate. For this recipe I decided to try something new so I used Lindt Dark Chocolate with a Touch of Sea Salt. It added a delightful taste to the mousse and the overall dessert.
Vanilla Cake with Salted Chocolate Mousse
For the cake:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 salt
For the Mousse:
5 1/2 ounces dark chocolate with sea salt
1 2/3 cups heavy cream
3 large egg whites
2 TBS sugar
1/4 cup strawberry jam
huckleberries
powdered sugar
Make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 375°
Line a jelly roll pan (15 x 10 x 1) with parchment and grease well
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside
In a stand mixer with the whisk attached whip the eggs until thick and lemon colored – 5 minutes.
With the mixer on low slowly add the water and vanilla.
Add the flour and mix just until combined.
Add the batter to the prepared pan, spread evenly with an offset spatula
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes until just done.
Cook on a wire rack
Make the Mousse:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler – I used a glass bowl over one of my small saucepans.
While the chocolate is melting start whipping the eggs whites. As they start to foam slowly sprinkle in the sugar and continue whipping to soft peaks.
Whip the cream to firm peaks – just be sure to not take it too far.
Add the whipped egg whites a little at a time to the melted chocolate folding gently until well incorporated.
Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until well mixed.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
To Make the Dessert:
Cut rings from the vanilla cake using a 3″ biscuit cutter. Save the trimmings to eat later.
Add a large, decorative tip to an ice bag.
Fill the bag with chocolate mousse
Take one cake ring and spread about 1 1/2 tsp strawberry jam
Top the jam with a swirl of mouse.
Repeat this with another circle of cake and add it to the first, then top with a third circle to complete the dessert.
Repeat the process until you use up all of the circles you have cut. You will have leftover mousse to enjoy by itself.
Serve with huckleberries or another fresh fruit. Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar.
How Was it?
Do you have to ask? It was seriously awesome! The simple vanilla cake, the rich chocolate mousse and for the hubby the tang of the huckleberries all came together to create a celebration dessert worthy of welcoming the New Year. It was also a perfect answer to the lobster for dinner. Yes – more lobster. But you will have to wait to learn what I did with it.
Vanilla Cake with Salted Chocolate Mousse – A Celebration Recipe
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 salt
- For the Mousse:
- 5 1/2 ounces dark chocolate with sea salt
- 1 2/3 cups heavy cream
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 TBS sugar
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam
- huckleberries
- powdered sugar
- For the mousse
Instructions
- Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 375°
- Line a jelly roll pan (15 x 10 x 1) with parchment and grease well
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attached whip the eggs until thick and lemon colored – 5 minutes.
- With the mixer on low slowly add the water and vanilla.
- Add the flour and mix just until combined.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan, spread evenly with an offset spatula
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes until just done.
- Cook on a wire rack
- Make the Mousse:
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler – I used a glass bowl over one of my small saucepans.
- While the chocolate is melting start whipping the eggs whites. As they start to foam slowly sprinkle in the sugar and continue whipping to soft peaks.
- Whip the cream to firm peaks – just be sure to not take it too far.
- Add the whipped egg whites a little at a time to the melted chocolate folding gently until well incorporated.
- Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until well mixed.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
- To Make the Dessert:
- Cut rings from the vanilla cake using a 3″ biscuit cutter. Save the trimmings to eat later.
- Add a large, decorative tip to an ice bag.
- Fill the bag with chocolate mousse
- Take one cake ring and spread about 1 1/2 tsp strawberry jam
- Top the jam with a swirl of mouse.
- Repeat this with another circle of cake and add it to the first, then top with a third circle to complete the dessert.
- Repeat the process until you use up all of the circles you have cut. You will have leftover mousse to enjoy by itself.
- Serve with huckleberries or another fresh fruit. Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar.
